An Unending Struggle
by The Unknowing Herald
Summary: An end to a conflict is just the beginning to another. Is there an end to this cycle of grief? Is there a point to struggle onwards? Join Terra Branford, an amnesiac with memories of old allies, and an improbable group of allies as they find their answer.
1. The Unknowing Herald

**Author's Note:** Well this is it, I have had this idea for god knows how long and now I've finally got on trying to write it down. This story is not limited to the characters in Dissidia bear that in mind, and while Terra is a protagonist she's not the only one as you will see. Finally I'll leave it to you to speculate who is the character in this chapter... for now. Constructive criticism is appreciated.

PS: The character's thoughts are written in italic.

Re-edited on 31/10/11.

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><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

******Prologue: The Girl Who Did The Impossible******

**Chapter One**

******The Unknowing Herald******

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><p><em>A cycle has ended, and I have lost everything in its wake. But if these warriors have taught me <em>_anything, is that we have to have hope in the future. I shall disappear soon, but my will shall live on inside another body. That body shall be my herald. That body shall be the wild card in the times to come, but this time there is no second chance, every__ single universe in this multiverse is at stake. I do not wish for repentance, I accept what I was... a selfish fool that toyed with the lives and emotions of others all for his own gain. Now that my time is here, it is time to raise to curtain for the fin__al act in this grand play that is life!_

**Lo and behold the true Final Fantasy!**

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><p>He slowly opened his eyes. He was in a small shack. It wasn't in the best conditions but that was the least of his worries. How did he get here and even better...<p>

"Who am I?"He asked himself before being startled by a cry.

"Duane! He's awake come here!" A brown haired teenager girl shouted.

"What? He's alive? Coming Katarin!" Another voice replied. A lot of footsteps could be heard after that.

"Hello, I'm Katarin. We found you floating at the sea and we carried you here, are you alright?" She asked in a very motherly voice.

"I'll survive... so you don't know me I'm afraid?" He asked. Nothing... He remembered nothing at all, his name, his past, people he knew. It was like there was nothing to remember. If he didn't look he wouldn't even notice his brown hair, he could have pink hair for all he knew.

"Oh my... amnesia?" She seemed startled but somewhat excited. "Oh you can stay here until remember who you are! And then you can tell me all about it! By the way this is Mobliz, you can really feel at home here! Do you need anything?"

"Oooookay..." He was kinda thrown back by that childish side of her. _Is she for real?_. He thought

Just then swarming through the bedroom door came at least ten kids, and holding a baby came one brown haired teenager.

"I'll be damned, you ARE alive! My name is Duane, and this baby over here is Leo! What's your name?"He exclaimed.

"He's an amnesiac Duane..."

"Oh... oh sorry about that." He seemed to have settled down by now.

"No problem... So do you guys live here by yourselves or?" He asked seeing as there was no adult in the midst of so many children.

"No, as a matter of fact we do have Mama living here with us... But she's away right now." Katarin seemed to get depressed after saying that.

"She seems to be about your age, I mean I'd give you 20 years tops." Duane continued.

"Wait, what?" He was literally shocked at that statement." How old ARE you Duane?"

"You react just like everyone else! He's sixteen." Katarin stated getting back to her cheerful state. "Well you see we are orphans, Mama just took care of us when we lost our parents two years ago."

That explained a lot but still, he felt that there was something off here. Just what could have happened to these kids? He decided to put it off for now, it should be a very depressing story to tell.

"And what about that baby? He seems too young to have been in that situation…" He asked.

"Oh Leo? He's our son. Isn't he Katarin? He's one year old already! Isn't he awesome?" He had a large, smug grin on his face.

He was beyond shocked at this statement. Weren't they sixteen? "So that means..."

"Exactly, I don't regret it though." Katarin seemed embarrassed, so he decided to stop touching this matter.

"What about us?" The kid mob asked in unison, obviously feeling left out. They were interrupted when the air was filled with something startling.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" A little girl's scream was heard. The nameless youth jumped out of the bed, and surprisingly out of the second floor window, landing on one knee.

"Wow, I can do this?" he exclaimed before looking up. "_This isn't good_."

A pack of wolves had surrounded the little girl. Still trusting his instincts he lunged at the wolves, jumping above the pack, grabbing the little girl and head stomping a wolf in the process.

"Whoever I am... I'm awesome!" Picking up a conveniently placed pipe he started wailing at the wolves knocking a good number of them out in a single hit."Hah! Piece of cake!"

And then, the irony kicked in. An abnormally large wolf howled, and the pack formed full circle around our amnesiac. The alpha had just entered the fray.

"Spoke to soon huh?" And with that he jumped towards the wolf and tried to strike his head, to no avail. The wolf not only dodged but managed to claw his right leg, making him bleed and fall to the ground. The wolf then started to walk slowly, as if he was taunting him, but it wasn't going for him... It was going for the girl.

"Damn... she's unconscious... What can I do?" And with that a memory flashed before him. A spiky blonde haired man, raising his hands towards the enemy and yelling..."Blizzard!" Our amnesiac yelled at the top of his lungs, freezing the left paw of the wolf and causing him to flee in agony, with him going the rest of the pack.

"What the heck did I just do?" He thought to himself. Magic? He looked up just to see an astonished Katarin stuttering.

"Y-you can use MAGIC?" She was beside herself. "Magic vanished from this world a year ago when Kefka was defeated, how can you... Even Mama lost her magic powers!"

"Katarin he's hurt, and Maria is unconscious, let's talk about this indoors." Duane said as calmly as he could. Could he blame them? Even he was astonished. He knew nothing about this whole magic thing until moments ago. They headed back into the shack with him limping.

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><p>"Well if you are hurt, why don't you try and cast Cure on yourself? Mama did it all the time." Katarin asked. She seemed to be back to her motherly self as she was caring for Maria.<p>

"I don't exactly control this yet... Sorry." He replied. He didn't even know how he had cast blizzard, how could he devise a new spell? "_And what was that memory? Who was that blonde haired man?" _He asked himself.

"Well, take this and put it on the wound." Duane threw him a bottle with "Potion" labeled on the front. He slowly dripped the content on the wound, and surprisingly it was gone.

"Talk about handy!"He exclaimed.

"Yeah, Setzer left quite a few here, so that we could survive without Mama for a few days but that pack of wolves was just bad luck." Duane replied.

"Setzer?"

"Yeah, he's the owner of the world's only airships, the Blackjack and the Falcon. He's also a close friend of Mama."

"Well Maria is going to be fine. We owe you, whoever you are." You could see the relief in Katarin's face as she said that.

"It was nothing compared to what you did to me." He replied. How could he repay them? He had to find a way. "Well what about this ma..." He started.

"So since you use magic you must be related to the Empire huh?" Duane interrupted as if he had had an idea. "I know! You should go talk with Mama!" He had another smug grin in his face. Humility didn't seem to be in his vocabulary.

"But didn't you say she was away?" The amnesiac replied.

"Well but you don't know about our secret do ya?" He was acting like a child again.

_"God talk about bipolar, their mother must have spoiled them."_ He thought.

"Follow me!"

Duane left the shack and Katarin and the amnesiac followed. They left the "town" and headed towards a nearby cave. Inside was something that he never imagined these kids could have and with that came another flashback.

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><p>"A chocobo... shinning?" The same spiky haired man asked surprised. He was accompanied by a dark skinned man with what seemed to be a gun for an arm, a man who seemed to be in his mid thirties smoking a cigarette, a red wolf, a young teenage girl jumping around the chocobo, a man in a ominous red cape, a black cat? And finally...<p>

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><p>"The legendary gold chocobo!" A long, raven haired woman exclaimed. "We did it Cl..." Everything started to go black. The memory ended right there.<p>

"So close!" He kicked a rock out of frustration. Who was that man? And more importantly that woman sure had really... impressive features if you know what that means. But more to the matter at hand. "_These kids have a gold chocobo!"_ He tried to mask his surprise but to no avail, his jaw had almost hit the floor.

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><p>"Surprised huh?" Duane exclaimed with a grin. "Stardust here can fly as fast as an airship, and he knows the way to Figaro. He'll get you there in no time!" He seemed pretty proud of his chocobo and who wouldn't?<p>

_"Those guys in the memory called it legendary_!" He thought.

"When you arrive there give this pendant to the guards and say that Duane and Katarin from Mobliz sent you. Mama will talk to you no doubt." Katherin gave him a small silver pendant with a ruby in the middle.

"So, what's her name? It would be kinda embarrassing to call her Mama." He joked, a good laugh was what he needed to clear his mind.

"I almost forgot! Her name is Terra. Terra Branford. Well off you go, Stardust here will get you to the Figaro Castle town in less than two hours."

"Thanks... I really appreciate it."

"No problem, you saved Maria for us, just tell Mama we miss her okay?" Duane replied.

"Will do."

Climbing on top the chocobo he couldn't help but pet him."I'm an animal lover huh? Let's go Stardust. To the sky!" The chocobo warked happily and took flight. "I'll get some answers in Figaro. I know it...AAAAHHHHHH! Slower Stardust! Slower!"He screamed while trying to hold for his life_._

_"They weren't kidding about the speed."_

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><p><span>In the next chapter:<span>

_"My name? Not worth knowing."_

_"That girl, killed a God?"_

_"Well... Maybe I'm a li__on!"_

_"We'll call you..."_


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

**Author's note:** Well this chapter was hard to write in a sense. It was way too big for one chapter, so instead of having a 10k words chapter I divided it into two, that way the publishing would be more fluid, expect the next chapter soon. That aside I'm quite proud as to how I managed to not leave anyone behind in this chapter but here's always room for improvement. Have a good read.

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><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Two**

**The Calm Before the Storm**

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><p>After thirty minutes he was bored, very bored. He couldn't watch the landscape because quite frankly he was going way too fast. So fast any slip would make him fly off the chocobo into the ground. <em>"I have to take two hours of this?" <em>Our amnesiac thought.

"Stardust, can't you go any slower?" He almost begged. The proud bird just picked up the pace, making him have to hold on for his life.

"Well, guess I'm stuck here for a while." He whimpered.

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><p>Terra just stood there in her guest room, watching the city from the window, her blonde hair untied. She was dressed with the same clothes that she was wearing when they defeated Kefka, fitting knowing what she was going to be a part of later in the evening.<p>

"Terra hurry up! The guys are already ready for the parade!" A woman's voice screamed.

"The parade..." Terra sighed. "I don't like crowded places."

"Well you're going and that's that." The woman said barging in the room.

"You're the one they want to see and contrary to what you might think, they now respect you Terra. You're not "the magitek monster" they once feared." She was wearing yellow trousers with a vest to match,purple armor covering her chest, with white high boots, her hair as blonde as Terra's. Just like a year ago.

"I know that I'm not a monster, you know that I'm not a monster, but do they know that Celes? The last time they saw me they did everything to stay out of my path and only greeted me because Edgar made them." Terra replied. She was completely terrified of large crowds. Mostly because the last large crowd she had around her ended up fried in less than a minute.

"At least they don't think you're a bear!" A tall muscular man barged in the room and was promptly slapped by Celes. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Get out of our bedroom Sabin! I won't say it twice, what were you expecting to see?" Celes face had turned crimsom in rage.

"Talk about short fuse..." Sabin replied dryly. "Anyway, Edgar sent me. The parade is waiting for you two, hurry up!" And with that he left the room while trying to mask the red hand mark on his face.

"Well you heard the man, bear, thing... Time to go Terra!" Celes stated before starting to pull a reluctant Terra. It was at times like this that Terra wished she could still fly.

As she was getting pulled off the room she saw a shining light in the sky, landing on the outskirts of the city.

_"Stardust? No... must be my imagination." _She thought.

"You don't need to drag me there Celes..." She said, tying her hair into her normal ponytail. "I can walk on my own."

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><p>"FINALLY!"Our amnesiac yelled at the top of his lungs."Well Stardust, you're staying in the stable. While I'm going to go look for your Mama." He mocked the bird. "That's what he gets for joking around with me." He mumbled.<p>

_"Why would someone build a town and a castle in the middle of a desert?"_ He thought before entering the town.

Figaro Castle Town was located what around Figaro Castle and seemed to be a work in progress. Houses were half-finished and there were planks and pipes everywhere, but strangely there was no one around working.

"Just great, now how am I going to find her?"

"Looking for someone?" A brown haired man asked. He was wearing a brown cape and had mysterious feeling to him.

"Yeah, but why is it that there are no people in town?" He replied.

"Not from around here I see... But still how can you not know? One year ago, fourteen heroes defeated Kefka, the God of Magic. There is going to the a "Thank you" parade in their honour... or at least the ones that show up." The last comment was made in a very somber way.

"Wow... I mean I forgot!" He exclamed without thinking. "_Crap he must be on to me now_." He thought. And he was right.

"Huh... What is your name?" The man asked, as if he had already figured out the situation.

"You got me... I don't remember."

"Thought so... I might as well help you... Who are you looking for?" He asked, his expression remained emotionless but he seemed to sympathize with our amnesiac.

"Why are you helping me now?" He asked surprised.

"Let's just say... I know loneliness." The man replied.

"Oh... okay. The one I'm looking for is someone called Terra Branford."

"Pardon me?" The man's face was still unreadable.

Well, he did expect to have trouble finding her without the help of the guards, but he still felt disappointed.

"Terra Branford... I should have guessed that you wouldn't know her, since she is from Mobliz."

"Do you not know Terra Branford, would have been better question." The man said in a dry tone. "What business do you have with her?"

"The kids back at Mobliz told me that she could help me. What... is she famous or something?" he asked obviously surprised. "_Maybe this won't be so difficult after all!"_

"Famous is an understatement. Go to the parade at the center of the town, near the castle. You can't miss her, she is one of the heroes that will be there."

"What?" Well that made things easier for him, he thought. "How?"

"Well, killing evil gods may turn you into a hero, but that's just my opinion." The man used the most sarcastic tone he could muster. "Bonus points for being the only one left on her feet at the end."

He was speechless. Just what was the person was he looking for? He thought.

"I'd normally charge for these kind of services, but today you're in luck. Go on kid, the parade will start any minute now." The man said while starting to walk away.

"Thanks... what's your name?"

"My name? Not worth knowing." And with a jump he vanished. _"I'd better stay alert, something must be happening."_ The man thought to himself.

_"Well that was wierd... No use thinking about it though."_ Our amnesiac thought to himself before going towards the giant castle.

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><p>A few minutes later he arrived at the plaza, and it appeared that the parade had already started, but the only thing he could see was a giant mob watching from the sidelines as hundreds of guards passed through the street. They were making their way to a stage, and with a line on each side of the road they made a path for the upcoming heroes. It was quite the impressive sight actually.<p>

Trying to mend with the crowd he eventually got to the front, and at that time the crowd started cheering. Two blonde haired appeared, one had a ponytail, was wearing a quite elaborate blue overcoat and had a very lord-like appearance, the other one was the complete opposite: tall, hair a mess, and was wearing what seemed to be martial arts garments. They called them Edgar and Sabin, with distinct "Marry me Edgar!" comming from female watchers.

"He sure is popular..." He mumbled, being was overheard by an old lady.

"Well, you have got to admit that our King is pretty handsome." She said directing her atention to him.

"If you say so..." He couldn't help but feel jealous. "Wait, King?"

"My... you don't know King Edgar? He was one of the people who took down Kefka along with his brother Sabin beside him."She seemed surprised. That didn't surprise him, this should be common knowledge. The discussion was cut short as the old lady exclaimed: "Oh look, here come the lovebirds."

What he saw was not something he would describe as two lovebirds. The blonde haired woman was too busy smacking the light brown haired man when he tried to get on with his female admirers. He was wearing a bandana and a blue vest and pants with a white shirt underneath.

"I swear Locke one more move like that and you're going to wish you didn't ask me out!"And with that the blonde haired woman dragged the poor guy to the stage.

"Aren't they adorable? Celes really protects her man doesn't she?" The old woman asked.

"Yeah... maybe.." He was just sorry for the poor guy, even if he was asking for it.

"Oh, oh that's Setzer over there! Setzer! Take me on the journey of love!" A young woman screamed, after seeing the silver-haired man, wearing a black cloak with a gold linning.

"Fangirls... Wait isn't Setzer the owner of the Blackjack and the Falcon?"

"Well off course dear, without him they wouldn't have gotten to the tower were Kefka was." The old woman responded.

Right after Setzer came the kind off group he didn't expect. A very young girl, twelve years old tops, a very old man which seemed to be in his seventies, and a young man... walking on his fours.

"Oh you must be surprised dear." She joked, as she saw his jaw hit the floor. "Strago there was the best blue mage this world ever saw and his grand daughter Relm could make pictures come to life. Gau is a special case, he was raised by animals so he could copy the skills of others. They all helped in their special ways."

He found it wierd that she spoke in the past tense, but then he remmembered that magic seemed to have disappeared.

Behind them seemed to be the last in line, a man that seemed to be in his early fifties and...

"Oh c'mon, that's a Moogle!" He just didn't want to believe it. A moogle fought a god?

"Do not underestimate Mog, he is the only Moogle dragoon AND dancer in existence. Cyan there is the best samurai the Kingdom of Doma ever saw, he is also the last of that Kingdom... Kefka killed them all, even his son and wife." She shed a tear at the thought.

"That Kefka seemed to have been just despicable..." he muttered to him self. He then noticed that no one else was comming in the parade. Did that man lie to him? "_No, he seemed honest, but then again where is Terra?"_

"Hey!" A man in the crowd shouted."Where is Terra? We want to see her!"

In an instant the crowd started chanting "Terra, Terra, Terra!"

"Just what kind of person is this Terra?" He thought out loud.

"She was once the Empire's deadliest weapon, the perfect soldier, she slaughthered whole armies in minutes..."The old woman looked nostalgic when she started the statement.

_"If so, why do they all have this much respect for her?_"

"But that was just because she was being mind controled, when Locke freed her from it she rebeled against the Empire and not only did she bring it down, but she struck down Kefka, who had made himself God of Magic, even though that was probably going to cost her life." When she concluded the crowd cheered.

What he saw wasn't what he expected."That girl, killed a god?"He asked astonished. She didn't seem by any means possible a fighter. Just above 5 feet tall, no muscle to talk about, innocent face, and a fragile looking body. "_The perfect soldier? In her dreams."_

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><p>The crowd cheered, but Terra wasn't happy. She didn't want this kind of atention, she was so nervous she couldn't even form any though other then getting to the stage and hidding behind Celes. She may have been confident alone against Kefka but civilization was still a rough concept in her mind, after being feared for eighteen years. So nervous she was that she tripped. While she did stop the fall it was enough to show her necklace. The polar oposite from our amnesiac's, gold with a blue sapphire in the middle.<p>

* * *

><p>"Well, she's definitely Terra." He said looking at the pendant the kids gave him. But as he looked he felt strange. "Oh not again!"<p>

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><p>A man stood before what seemed to be a lion with a woman fused to it. He charged, but was struck by an energy wave that sent him to the ground.<p>

"See, pesky bug? No human kan stand before me, I shall become the one and only being in a world of kompressed time!" She stated with a smug look on what seemed to be her face, if it was a her.

The man looked in front of him and saw his pendant. It was a silver pendant with the shape of a lion's head.

"No human can defeat you huh?" The man said while standing up, picking up his pendant and grabbing his sword. The sword had a blue edge and seemed to have a gun attached to it. "Well... Maybe I'm a lion!" And with that he charged. Everything started to fade back to black again. The memory had ended.

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><p>"Well that was... weird..." He muttered. The King seemed to have made a speech while he was having that flashback and the parade was over, everyone started going for the food tables while the stars of the parade headed back to the castle.<p>

"Well did that refresh any of your memory dear?" The old woman asked with a soft smile on her face.

"How did you... never mind. Yeah, a little bit. Thank you, for being so patient with me."

"Oh, it was quite fun to have someone to explain these kind of things too. Well I've got to go back to my family, best of luck youngster." And with that she slowly walked to a man and a woman with a kid that were calling her.

"Well, now I need to get in the Castle." He looked at the pendant. "I hope they recognize this."

He arrived at the impressive double doors to the castle and was imediatly approached by two guards.

"What do you want commoner?" The guard spat.

"I want to speak with Terra Branford. Give this to her and tell her that the children of Mobliz sent it." He spat back at the guard. He didn't like people that abused their positions.

"You expect me to believe trash like you can meet with Miss Branford?" The guard tossed the pendant to the ground and punched him in the gut. "Out of my sight!"

What the guard didn't see was the large muscular man behind him. Picking him up he threw at least 20 yards in to a fountain that the castle had."When you get back, enjoy cleaning the castle for the next few months... or years depending on my mood!" He then picked up the pendant and seemed to be measuring it.

"Yup! Definitely the real deal, I was there when she gave that pendant to Katarin on her birthday. Kid follow me, I'll get you to Terra." And with that he opened the doors by himself and started walking into to the inside of the castle, with our amnesiac following him.

After a while of walking and just before entering the main castle he asked:"I'm Sabin, but of course you know who I am, but what's your name kid?"

He immediately cringed, he wanted to delay this question as much as possible but it was obvious that wasn't happening."I don't remember... I have amnesia." He prepared for an onslaught of questions.

"Wow... harsh. Well good luck with regaining your memory." Sabin replied, much to our amnesiac's surprise.

"You trust me?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

_"He does have a point there."_ He thought. "Nothing. Just forget it."

"Well we are arriving at the dining room. Stay here, I'm going to talk to my brother."

Sabin entered the dining room and left him to reflect.

"What am I going to say? Hello I'm an amnesiac that can use magic?" He mumbled.

"Well, that's a start." a man's voice echoed."Name's Locke but you know me."

He then stared at him like he was measuring him. "Look kid I don't know you, but if you can really use magic then we have a lot to talk about." A mischievous grin appeared on his face. "Don't worry I won't tell a soul, wouldn't want to spoil the surprise for the rest would I?" He then left him and headed to the dinning room.

Locke felt like he had experienced a dejá vu_."What's with me and amnesiac magic users?"_ He though before entering the dinning room.

"Well these guys are... interesting." Our amnesiac thought.

* * *

><p><em>"Sabin finally got here... Now if Locke doesn't hurry..."<em> Terra looked at a dangerously impatient Celes. _"I don't really want to think about it."_

She was still feeling nervous, but this time she had a sense of relief inside her. Today was the first time in her life that strangers cheered her._"Maybe all is not lost yet." _She thought with a smile reaching her cheeks.

Locke then entered the room, trying to mask the mischievous smile, to no avail. _"What is he up too now?" _Terra thought.

Locke then interrupted the conversation Sabin and Edgar were having. They snickered for a little bit, Sabin then nodded before going back to talk with Edgar.

"Terra, we have a situation." Edgar said, standing up. "Someone with Katarin's pendant arrived at the castle.. He wants to talk to you."

"Bet ya he's an amnesiac mage." Locke seemed to joke as he sitted at the dinner table.

That earned the laugh out of everyone in the room except Terra.

"I bet 500 gil that he's not an amnesiac, and 2000 gil as he is not a magic user!" The ever gambling Setzer stated.

"You're on!" Locke said. _"Sucker."_ He thought to himself while giving Sabin a thumbs up.

"Why would Katarin give a stranger her pendant?" She asked Edgar.

Sabin, who was snickering with Locke seemed to have lost his patience.

"Let's find out!" Sabin exclaimed while running to the door.

"This can't be good..." Celes lamented.

* * *

><p><em>"Well, they sure are taking their time." <em>He had been waiting for Sabin for at least ten minutes.

Suddently the door opened.

"Sorry to keep you waiting.. come on in!" Sabin exclaimed.

"What I have to get in there?" He didn't like the idea off talking in front of so many people.

"Just shut up and get over here!"

Oh, and he did "get over there". Sabin proceeded to pick him up and throw him inside, making him land right on top of a certain silver haired man.

"Always the knucklehead, eh Sabin?" Celes stated dryly. The rest of the room was too busy laughing theirselves to tears to make a comment.

"Ouch, I think i broke something..." Our amnesiac said.

"Yeah... my pride!" Setzer said, before taking the amnesiac off himself.

"No hard feelings right?" Sabin said as he helped both man back up.

"Right..." They both said in unison.

"Well are you done?" Celes interrupted. "I really want to get on to business."

"Why are you always such a party pooper Celes?" Locke said before realising his mistake. If looks could kill Locke wouldn't have been among the living anymore. "I mean... Let's get down to buiseness everyone!" He exclaimed, trying to not get on his girlfriend's bad side.

"Well..." Edgar started while trying to put a straight face on. "Who are you, and what brings you here?"

_"Again? Didn't Sabin explain this to him?" _Our amnesiac thought. He then saw a mischievous smile on both Sabin's and Locke's face._ "Why those sneaky bastards..." _

"Well you see, your Highness, I don't remember who I am."

"That's 500 gil Setzer." Locke said with a triumphant smile.

"How did you... Well never mind, a game's a game." Setzer answered.

"And has to what brings me here..." He started explaining the events that happened at Mobliz right until when the alpha wolf was going for the girl. "And then... I cast blizzard, somehow."

"2000 Gil, Setzer! I'm rich!" Locke said while fistpumping Sabin.

"Oh Lady Luck, why have you forsaken me!" Setzer lamented before passing the 2500 gil to Locke.

The rest of the crowd was in too much of a shock to be suspicious about Locke's mysterious knowledge.

"And what do we have to do with any of this." Relm said in an annoyed voice.

"Well, Duane thought that I may have been part of "The Empire" whatever that was, so he sent me here. He said that Terra may know something about it." Our amnesiac said.

"You weren't part of the Empire. I would know, I was a general there, no man besides Kefka and Gestahl were infused with magitek and survived." Celes said, standing up. "And do you actually want us to believe this crap?"

"Celes.." Locke started.

"Shut up Locke!" Celes said while approaching our amnesiac. "Do you have any proof of what you just told us?" Her face darkened after saying this. "How do we know that you didn't kill them to get that pendant?"

Our amnesiac then did the stupidest thing he could have done. He confronted Celes.

"Why don't you go there and see for yourself?" He said.

Next thing he saw was a blade stopping right next to his neck.

"Don't joke around with me..." Celes had a dangerous look on her eyes.

"Everyone, stop it now!" A still unheard voice screamed. "Celes, stop being so distrusting. He didn't do anything wrong... yet."

"Fine Terra, but don't come crying to me if your softness kills us all." Celes answered going back to her seat.

"Now... why don't we all take a seat? Let's talk about this while we eat." Terra finished. Everyone complied, except the amnesiac.

_"Now that's what I call leadership... Guess I was wrong about her after all." _He thought to himself, obviously surprised at the way she controlled that beast called Celes.

"What's wrong? Why are you still standing?" She asked.

"What, can I have a seat to?" He asked.

"Why not?" Edgar answered. "There's space on the table."

"Well, thank you, your High..." He began.

"Edgar. Just Edgar."

"Okay, thank you Edgar."

"Now... LETS EAT!" Sabin roared. The man sure liked his food.

"But before that..." Setzer interrupted. "Lets play a little game."

"What do you want now Setzer?" Edgar asked.

"Well, he does need a name doesn't he? Even if it's only temporary."

"Go on..."

"Well what about we let lady luck give him a name?"

"What? How?" Our amnesiac asked.

"I throw a dice from one to six. The number it rolls will be the number of letter your name will have." Setzer seemed proud of his gambling capabilities.

"And how do we pick the letters?" Locke asked, this seemed to have picked his interest.

"Relm, could you draw at least 3 copies of each letter?" Setzer asked.

"Of course, but why?" Relm answered.

"Someone will randomly pick those letters, and if the name is logical he'll keep it." Setzer finished.

"Seems interesting! Let's do it." Locke exclaimed, he seemed way to excited for his age.

"Well, it would be good for someone to call me by name... Okay." Our amnesiac agreed.

"Here goes." Setzer threw the dice and it stopped... at four.

"Okay Terra, pick four letters." Locke said patting her back.

"Huh? Why me?" She asked confused.

"Celes is in a cranky mood..." Locke said looking at Celes staring at him with an ice cold look.

Terra started to pick letters:B.U.T.Z. Everyone cracked right there, even Celes.

"B-B-BUTZ? AHAHAHAHAHA." Locke was literally rolling on the floor laughing. "Can't... breathe..."

"Reroll!" Our newly name Butz shouted. The name seemed strangely familiar to him but he washed that thought away quickly_. "No, no one in their right mind would ever, EVER call their child BUTZ!"_ He assured himself.

"Yeah..." Terra said wipping away her tears. "That's the worst name I ever heard

"Fine, but you better pray that lady luck is on your side now." Setzer said."I'm not rolling the dice again though."

Terra picked the letters again: S.H.I.N.

"That's definately not my name..." He didn't feel any kind of vibe from that. "But at least it's not Butz."

"Fine. That's done." Locke said.

"We'll call you Shin. At least untill you remember your name." Terra finished.

"Well, Shin... we have a lot to talk about." Edgar's voice darkened. "I didn't call everyone here just for some parade... Something's up..."

* * *

><p><span>Next chapter:<span>

_"Remember me, Sunshine?"_

_"How am I still alive?"_

_"That man's dangerous!"_


	3. The Beauty and the Beast

**Author's note:** We finally get some action in this chapter, not much but still, it isn't all talk like the others were. This chapter kinda solidifies Terra's position as one of the main characters as she seemed to be a glorified secondary character in the last chapters. You'll also see a very familiar face right as this chapter ends but I won't spoil any of it. As always constructive criticism is appreciated. Have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Three**

**The Beauty and the Beast**

* * *

><p>"As you know by now Shin, magic completely disappeared with the fall of Kefka." Edgar started. "But recently there have been some "matters" that called the atention of some of us." Edgar began the explanation, a frow marking his expression, that's the most serious he had been in a year.<p>

"Right, when I was, you know, "illicitly appropriating" stuff in Zozo, I saw some cloaked guys muttering something so I, curious as I am went to check it." Locke explained. "I managed to overhear something about "Materia", whatever that is and how they should punish the ones who killed Kefka."

"What happened next was the kicker." A calmer Celes began." Locke came to Jidoor full of burn marks. It seems they could cast magic. Locke did manage to defeat them but they burned themselves to avoid giving information."

"That's not the worst of it." Strago continued. "Some monsters that were made solely of magic like bombs for example are coming back, but in every appearance at least one of those cloaked men are there, arm shining with a strange sphere mark on it."

"And then the worst came. After we organized the parade to discuss this, Locke "found" this." Setzer said as he threw a paper on the table. "Read it out loud."

"Well, okay." Shin said before he started reading.

"Terra Branford must be leaving Mobliz in the next days, you who work at the Blackjack are the chosen for the holy mission of taking the live of the greatest sinner. Plant a bomb inside the airship, for our lord Kefka's sake. Do not disappoint me, Brendan." He read.

"Crap... How did you survive?"

"We wouldn't have..." Setzer started "Me and Terra owe our lives to Locke, without him we would have died when I went to pick her up. Brendan was an example of a crewmate, there was no way I would suspect him." He seemed disappointed.

"Wait! If they are calling Terra the greatest sinner, that means..." Mog had figured it out already. He was quite perceptive for a Moogle.

"Exactly, those maniacs are our old acquaintances. Gentlemen, the Cult of Kefka is alive and kicking." Edgar anounced.

"But who's the leader? I killed the Magic Master..." Terra said with a tone of sadness in the last part.

_"Way to kind..."_ Shin thought. It seemed impossible to him that that girl would even hurt a fly, how could she have killed a person? A god even?

"That we don't know." Cyan said. "But if I may be so bold, I'd say this was the reason Celes didn't trust thou."

Celes grunted.

"Well, I feel slightly less offended." Shin said streaching his hand. "Truce?"

"Truce." Celes replied giving him an handshake.

"Look guys, if I can help just say it. Maybe I'll discover my past if I help you." Shin proposed.

"Well... I suppose a magic user would be useful." Edgar looked at everyone, most of which nodded in approval. "Okay you're in. Just don't complain about it afterwards."

"Guys, the food's getting cold." Sabin said. "I'm not waiting anymore!"

And with that he started filling himself up. After a small laugh everyone started eating as well.

_"Hmm... So that's what's happening."_ The mysterious brown cloaked man thought as he watched from the window._ "I'll keep one eye on you Relm, don't worry..."_ He then jumped of the castle, disappearing into the shadows.

* * *

><p><em>"These people... How can they be so calm when they are being targeted."<em> Shin thought.

"It's because we're used to it." Terra replied to the unheard question. "What? It was written all over your face." She said noticing his surprised expression. "For now just forget it, take it from me I used to be in the same situation that you are."

That caught him off guard. "Do tell." She had definately picked his curiosity.

"Waking up with no memory, being able to use magic, getting in a major struggle. It all happened to me. It all began in Narshe when..." Terra told him all about how she was controled by the empire and was saved by Locke, about how she joined the Returners and the events that led to the battle for Narshe.

"Wow... That's sad. I feel bad just from listening to it." Shin replied. Whatever happened to him couldn't even compare to what she had gone through, and there she was smiling, it made him feel stupid to for being depressed about his situation.

"Well, what about afterwards? Don't tell me it ended there."

"That's... a story for another time." Terra replied. She didn't want, no she couldn't talk about her secret to a stranger.

"Well, I'm off to bed! I'm stuffed." Sabin anounced. For a prince he was a really simple minded man.

"It is getting late... We should get to bed, we may not have that privilege once we did deeper on this matter." Edgar said and with that everyone started to get up.

"What about me?" Shin asked.

"You can take Locke's room, he'll sleep with Celes." There was a devious grin on Edgar's face.

"Yeah!" Locke shouted before noticing that Celes still had her "You're screwed." look on.

"I mean no! Please Edgar give a room, a stable to sleep... anything!"

"Sorry, we're full..." Edgar deviously replied.

"Damn you Edgar... DAMN YOU!" Locke screamed as he was pulled away by Celes.

Shin was then guided by Edgar to Locke's room. After having said their goodbyes a small hand touched his shoulder before he got into the room.

"One thing... the moment you think that you are a monster... It's all over."

He turned just to see a familiar blonde ponytail getting into the room next to his.

As he got into the room he was amazed. "They didn't hold back did they?" The room was adorned with expensive looking paintings he didn't understand, a gold chandelier, the biggest bed he ever saw with silk blankets and even the wardrobe had gold embed to it. The mirror frame was made of solid gold as well. On the wall there was a Figaro swords display.

As he lied down on the bed he thought about what Terra told him. "What did she mean by that? Well, I'll ask her tommorrow." And with that he drifted to sleep.

The same could not be said about Terra, she was in her bed staring at what seemed to be a black oval rock with red flames at the bottom.

"Where did this thing come from? And why do I have these memories?" She thought.

When she looked at the rock for a long time she could see herself walking with a blonde, spiky haired man with a huge sword and a blonde kid wearing a red suit of armor. Sometimes, she could even see herself in a blue dress talking to a blonde haired, shirtless man that seemed to be her age.

"I'll worry about it latter, I need to listen to my own advices." She said, putting down the rock and drifting to what seemed to be a good night's sleep. She was wrong.

* * *

><p>She waked up and got up to open her window, trying to get some fresh air. What she saw at the window was just darkness, no it wasn't nighttime, just pure darkness.<p>

"Remember me, Sunshine?" An oh too familiar voice asked in a sadist tone. "What? Don't remember the sound of your own voice? We were quite literally "inseparable" a while ago."

Terra turned to see herself, with green hair, smirking. "You.. but you disappeared a year ago." She managed to say, not wanting to recognize the figure that was in front of her.

"And I bet you missed me, I am what gave you those powers aren't I?"

Terra continued to stare at the figure, it was as she feared, that was how she saw her Esper personality before she became human. "How are you back?"

"You don't remember anything do you?" Esper Terra said as she lifted the rock. "Cosmos, Chaos, The Onion Knight, Vaan, Cloud? Ah those gods were selfish untill the very end."

"What do you mean? I can't remember any of those names."

"I'm not going to waste my precious time battering on lost memories Sunshine. I'm here to to warn you about one thing." Esper Terra said gaining an evil smirk. "Magic is no longer gone from this world, accept that. And you know what that means... I'm back to being your permanent roommate!"

"No!"

"Relax, at least you can use magic again... You just have to say the word."

"I won't ever ask for you help again, not after what you did at the end of the battle for Narshe."

"Oh but you will, you always do, I am you, you need me, but can you handle me? I hope not, it's a lot more fun that way."

"You're just like Kefka."

"You need to rephrase that Sunshine. Say it with me "I, Terra Branford am just like Kefka Pallazo. I am destruction incarnate.". As I said I am you, so what I am is what you are."

"No... you aren't.. I'm not like him!" Terra yelled in frustration.

"Keep telling yourself that Sunshine, now wake up before you end you fried."

"What?"As Terra asked before the room began to fade as she woke up.

* * *

><p>As soon as Terra woke up she could only notice one thing, smoke was everywhere.<p>

"The castle... It's burning?" She thought as she rushed out of her room just to get a look at a big red ball floating in the air."Bombs?"

The flame ball charged at her. Barely able to dodge Terra reached for the dagger in her belt. As the bomb charged again she dodged and sliced part of the bombs body, but it didn't seem to make the bomb even flinch.

_"Should have brought Apocalypse with me..."_ She thought. But that was the least of her worries as another bomb had entered the fray. _"You can always blast them Sunshine... just say the word."_ The voice in her head told her.

"No! I don't need your help!" That being said she lunged at the wounded bomb, jumping and landing on top of her. She drove her dagger on the bombs body causing it to shriek in pain. The other bomb, enraged, lunged at Terra who at the last moment jumped of the bomb she was standing at, causing both bombs to colide, exploding.

"See?" She told herself triumphantly.

_"Look again Sunshine."_

What she saw was something literally out of this world. It seemed like a bomb but it had what seemed to be a torso and two handless arms.

"What is that thing?" Terra thought, she had never seen it in when Kefka was alive.

Whatever it was, it swinged it's arm at Terra. Being too big to dodge in a hallway Terra could only brace for impact, an impact that never came. The beast started crying in agony as a sword was carved into his back.

"Need some help?" Shin asked as he threw another sword at Terra. "That sword display really came in handy don't you think?"

He remembered the mother bomb just in time to dodge a fire spell from her.

"Let's see how you like this. Blizzard!" As he cast it's name a shard of blue ice went plumeting against the monster, shattering in one thousand tiny ice pieces, and sending it across the hallway into a wall.

"So you really can cast magic." Terra said.

_"An interesting fellow isn't he?"_

_"Shut up and stay back." _Terra mentally told her other side.

The mother bomb got up but this time it was larger than ever.

"No! If she explodes here the whole castle is doomed." Terra shouted.

"C'mon head, remember something. Oh god, Terra watch out."

Before he could say anything more the mother bomb charged at Terra and, while Shin did grab her rear, she made contact, sending herself, Terra and Shin through the wall and off the castle.

As he fell Shin got that feeling again."Please let it be useful this time." He begged desperately.

* * *

><p>An old man with grey hair and a turban was facing a bomb, he drew his sword started preparing magic.<p>

"Blizzard!" He casted, but not on the enemy, he did it on his sword. The sword gained an icy shine and when he swinged it the enemy bomb froze completly at the spot he touched, allowing him to cut it in two easily and without it exploding.

"And this girls and... you boy, is what us Mystic Knights call Spellblade. We focus our spells on our sword so we can deal devasting but precise damage on the oponent, it's also a lot stronger than if you hit it and cast the spell separately." The old man said, with a proud look on his face.

One of the girl was extremely impressed and happily questioned it's works, but the other one that seemed to be dressed like a man had an emotionless look on her face. The other young man was a mystery as the memory stopped right before it got to him.

* * *

><p>"That was... surprisingly convenient." Shin admited looking at his sword. "Better try this out now. Blizzard!" He casted on his sword. The sword started shining with the same icy glow, but what was surprising was how natural this felt to him. "It's like I've mastered Spellblade already..."<p>

Climbing on top of the mother bomb he yelled: "Say hello to my little friend! Spellblade: Blizzard." As he cut the mother bomb's "head" clean off, shards of ice and fire flying through the night's sky. That, impressive as it may have been didn't change the fact that they were on freefall and their victory soon to be cut short. In a desperate move to save someone he took Terra and threw her in the direction of the castle, but she didn't reach the window and continued falling.

_"What about now Sunshine? Still going to be stubborn? You two won't be any good dead will you?"_ The voice inside Terra's head taunted, knowing that Terra had no choice.

_"If I die here, who will take of the children? And Shin is only here because he tried to save me..."_ Terra reflected. "I won't be responsible for two deaths today! Give me my powers back." She yelled her Esper self, being fully prepared to take on that burden yet again.

_"I knew you would see the light, just don't be blinded by it."_ Esper Terra said while laughing maniacally.

She felt a surge of power running to her body. A surge that she didn't feel for a whole year. So much power a normal person would be driven insane by it, but not Terra. No, she had lived her whole life with this curse that people called a blessing, she wouldn't surrender to it so easily. Welling up her determination she called the power she held most dear, the power to fly, and stopped, beginning to float in the air. Seeing as Shin and the bomb were about to hit the floor she wasted no time in plunging herself downwards at the maximum speed she could muster.

"This is it for me huh? Will Terra survive or was it all in vain? Let's hope it wasn't..." Shin lamented as he closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.

"Nobody's dying today!" Terra shouted as she grabed his hand, but it was too late, she couldn't stop at that speed. "Protect!" She casted, making a shining green wall of light envelop them just before they hit the ground, rolling for a good 10 metres. It still hurt a lot, but at least they survived.

"How am I alive?" Shin asked still stunned by the impact not killing him. He looked to the side to see Terra laying beside him. "Did you just fly?"

"You owe me..." She said gasping for air. "That... was hard..." Completley exausted she only managed to sit, unable to stand up on her own. "Can you help me up?"

"Sure." Shin replied pulling Terra back to her feet. "So... how come you can use magic now?"

"Look, the town is burning!" Terra said trying to change the subject.

_"Ohhhh, you want to hide me Sunshine? Why is that? Embarassed? Scared? Or do you just hate yourself that much?"_ Esper Terra taunted.

Ignoring her taunt Terra signaled Shin to go and they started running towards the city. _"I'll worry about you later."_ She mentally told her esper.

"So, what did you use back there?" She asked.

"Oh, spellblade? It's just a flashback I had at the time, turned out pretty good huh?" He answered.

"You're almost as full as surprises as I was." She joked, but before they could continue that friendly banter she felt a chill going through her spine. Apparently he did too, as they both stopped after seeing the figure in the midst of the flames.

The tall man was wearing a black coat, silver shoulder pads to match his long silver hair simmilar to Setzer but much more kept and by his waist... he was holding a 7 foot long sword. Every moment they looked at that man was like watching the mouth of hell, accompanied by a latin choir.

"Look who's come to play, a fearful godslayer and... you." He said in a soul-chilling voice. He turned towards them, revealing his green cat-eyes. "How've you both been? We haven't seen each other in what? A year?"

"What are you talking about? Do you know me?" Shin asked, curious about his identity and the man's as well.

"Stand back Shin! That man's dangerous." Terra yelled, assuming battle position.

He only saw a flash...

"Vanish!"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Ignorant traitor..."_

_"How about we have our rematch?"_

_"Who am I? Name's..."_


	4. The Magitek Elite vs The Perfect SOLDIER

**Author's note:**Well, here we have it, our first real confrontation. I would say more but I'm afraid to spoil some of the stuff on this chapter so... Have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Four**

** The Magitek Elite vs The Perfect SOLDIER**

* * *

><p>Shin didn't have the reflexes to dodge. What seemed to be only one slash felt like at least ten, sending him flying into a building. "This guy... what IS he?" Shin said while coughing blood.<p>

"That's it? I don't remember you being so... weak." The man spat. He seemed to be sincerely disappointed. He obviously knew who Shin was and seemed to have already seen him fight.

"Shin!" Terra called as she looked for him in the rubble.

"I'm right here." Shin informed, standing with his hand clencing to the cuts on his chest.

"Try and stay still. Cura!" Terra casted, a green light shone on her hand as Shin's wounds started to disappear. That however took a lot of energy out of her. "Even level two spells are two much? How can we get out of this?"

The man however was chuckling, hand covering his face. "Shin? SHIN?" He asked as he started to laugh maniacally. "Where did you get that name? You don't even remember who you are? The irony of it is too much, everyone knew your name and now... look at you, even you don't know it." He quickly regained his calm, bone chilling composure. "I am sorry about that, now... shall we begin?"

"Stand back Shin... This isn't an opponent you can face at your skill level." Terra ordered. She had a different look on her face, the look she thought to have vanished forever. No one who had ever gotten that look was still alive.

_"Let's wreck that cocky bastard Sunshine!"_ The voice in her head yelled gleefully

_"Heh... you know, for once I agree with you."_ Terra thought before lunging at the man, shooting ice shards from her left hand to distract him. The man started to deflect everything effortlessly but as he was busy deflecting a blade pierced the air in his stomach's direction. Just as the hit seemed to connect, the sword crashed into a green wall of light, making Terra flinch.

"Fear not..." the man said as he delivered countless stabs to Terra. "The pain will stop now..." he muttered as he tried to bisect Terra, who was imobile in mid air after so much punishment.

"Oh no, you don't!" Shin yelled as he blocked the blow with his sword. The sword didn't hold though and shattered into a million pieces.

"Slow!" The man taunted as he delivered tens of slashes to Shin's body, then again, lifting him up, and one last time sending flying. He then pointed his arm at him, shining in a red light. "Firaga!" he casted, but as he did he felt his arm get stabbed, changing the direction of the massive fireball, only grasping Shin, who fell on a roof nearby.

"You ignorant traitor... you dare stab your former ally?"

"I would never ally with someone like you!" Terra shouted, ignoring what she thought to be a bluff.

"You would ally with anyone... because you are nothing but a puppet."

"Shut up! Just who do you think you are? Calling me a puppet!"

"Humpf, maybe my name will refresh your memory. I am Sephiroth."

"Doesn't ring a bell!"

Terra jumped and started flying, shooting shards of ice again at Sephiroth. But this time she was going to take a gamble.

"Again with the childish tricks? How did Kefka lose to you not once, but three times?" He spat as he started to deflect the shards of ice again.

_"Three times?" _she thought._ "No, I won't let him get to me."_ And with that she started to cast fireballs at the same time as the ice shards. Sephiroth had no trouble at keeping up, but in the middle of this intense heat and the fireballs the shards of ice started to turn into water and evaporate.

"Now's my chance, Thundara!" The humidity in the air made it impossible for Sephiroth to escape the bolt, making him take his first hit. He growled in pain as electricity coursed through his body. Before he had regained his sence of awareness Terra was already on top of him, impaling him with her sword and sending him against one of the flaming buildings, Sephiroth grunted in pain as his body meet the stone walls.

"Not done yet! Blizzara!" A huge chunk of ice flew out of Terra's hands, coliding against Sephiroth's body, making him go through the wall. The house, already weakened by the fire could not stand this pressure and fell on top of Sephiroth. Terra however, fell to her knees.

"What's the matter with me?" She thought as sweat covered her face. "Normally this wouldn't even phase me... Why am I so tired?"

"Well Sunshine, you can't just expect to be back at full force after losing your magic for a year. I would say to take it easy but, by the looks of it, if you do you're as good as dead." The voice in her head explained.

The rubble started moving and from beneath it came Sephiroth, a small grin still planted on his face. His body was pretty much unscathed, a few scratches was the best that Terra could do.

"I was wondering why this hurt so little, you aren't trying you hardest are you?" Sephiroth asked while summoning his katana back to his hand.

Terra froze at that statement.

"Thought so... you are afraid to lose control of your powers again. Can't you just forget about the others? Let's enjoy this." The small grin in Sephiroth's face turned into a sadistic smile as he said that.

_"He's right... If I dive even deeper into my powers I might..."_ Flashes of the destruction she had caused in the past haunted Terra._ "What can I do?"_

"So you won't give in to your powers? I see... Maybe I can make you reconsider."

Sephiroth dived straight at Terra with a speed she had never seen before, he passed through Terra and stopped dead on his tracks.

"Did he miss.. AHHHHH" Terra screamed as she felt every muscle of her body being slashed countless times.

"You're body really is special, I thought you would only feel the slashes in a minute. I guess that cuts our fun short." Sephiroth said approaching Terra, who had just fallen to the floor immobilized.

"Stay away from her!" Locke shouted as he ambushed Sephiroth from the air, driving both his knifes on Sephiroth's shoulders.

"Oh, the one of the original Warriors of Order. I am honoured." Sephiroth seemed unhurt even with the two daggers twisting his flesh. He didn't even flinch when Locke pulled them out.

_"Just what hell IS this guy?"_ Locke asked himself, thinking about how to penetrate his seemingly flawless stance.

"Locke Cole, let me see it, the speed that made you the first Warrior of Order to ever look Chaos in the face."As Sephiroth said that he unleashed a unending flurry of slahes. Locke could barely keep up even though speed was his strong point. "That's it? If so, I'm trully disappointed..." As he said that he rested his sword above his head, holding it with both hands while pointing at Locke."Cut..." Seven strong slashes hit Locke at a blinding speed, hitting the precise muscles that allowed him to move, incapacitating him. "Vanish!" A final, vicious slash followed, the impact of it leaving a gushing wound on Locke's chest and sending him flying, only to be catched by Celes.

"I'll take it from here Locke." Celes said while giving Sephiroth a disgusted look.

"Thanks, I owe ya..." Locke said as he fell unconscious.

"Ah the foil, you remind me of my remnants Celes Chere." Sephiroth said as he blocked an incomming slash from Celes. "But I do give credit to when it is deserved. I heard that you were an example of a Warrior of Order in a cycle previous to mine. Took down both of the Zilart princes at once, I heard."

"What are you babbling about?"

"None of your concern. But do you really believe you can stand up to me if you haven't even regained your magic?" Sephiroth asked as he overpowered Celes, making her lose her grip of her sword and grabbed her throat. "You are nothing but a shadow of the original, never forget that." He said as he plunged the Masamune into her.

"CELES!" Terra cried desperatly.

_"Wake up Sunshine, why don't you let me take over? You can avenge them that way."_ The voice battered in her head.

"Oh... does this enrage you?" He said as he droped Celes to the ground. Terra cringed and sparks started flying from her skin. "Yes, give in. Show me what you are capable of." He then started to kick her in the stomach, making her cough blood. Terra's hair began to untie at seeing her best friend get treated that way.

_Good, gooooood Sunshine! Let it all out, that hatred, that rage, that sadness, that frustration... Do it!"_ The esper said in the midst of an irracional laughter.

"I don't care anymore I just.. WANT TO KILL HIM!" Her skin began to shine just like it used to, she was about to lose control.

Sephiroth rested the tip of his blade right on top of Celes's heart. "I'm going to kill her and you can't do anything about it... or can you?" Sephiroth taunted. He was getting just what he wanted... Until he caught a flash of steel coming in his direction, jumping to avoid it he caught a very familiar face, one that he never expected to be in that place.

"Sorry Sephiroth, but I can't let you go around and murder such fine women." The stranger joked, he seemed awfully playful for this kind of situation. "I'll find a way to make it up to you... Hey, I know! How about we have our rematch."

Seeing the stranger arrive and Celes safe made Terra start to calm down, her skin and hair getting back to normal and the sparks disappearing.

_"Who does he think he is? Stealing my fun..."_ Her esper side mumbled.

Terra paid no mind to it and continued to observe the stranger, he was wearing what seemed to be a black uniform, having the same symbol on his belt as Sephiroth. "_Are they allies?"_ She thought. _"If so... why did he save us?"_

"I have no interest in fighting a traitor."

"Hey, hey Sephy. The way I see it YOU betrayed us. You betrayed SOLDIER and worse you betrayed your honour, your friends and every single person that looked up to you as a hero. That includes me of course." The stranger replied, his face getting serious for the first time.

"You'll never see the truth will you? But on a more pressing matter, why... no HOW are you here?"

"Let's just say I have some "contacts" on the Lifestream. That girl can really pull off amazing things don't you agree?" The stranger had gone back to his playful self.

Sephiroth grunted before making his sword vanish.

"I have no further business here. But don't worry, if you get in my way one more time, there will be no Cloud to save you." Sephiroth warned as he disappeared in a storm of black feathers.

"What, no talk about pears? Oh no I didn't!" The newcommer joked before understanding the gravity of the situation. Terra was over Celes breathless body casting a weak excuse for a cure spell while sobbing.

"Please Celes... Don't die...You're the only one that understands me!" Terra begged, starting to cry after so much useless effort to reanimate her friend.

"Stand back, I don't like to see pretty girls cry." He said as he took a green sphere and implanted it into his arm. "Raise materia do your stuff. Raise!"

As a white light surrounded her body Celes started breathing again.

"She's lucky, a few more minutes and not even raise would have brought her back."

"Thank you! I... I..."

"Save it. It's a hero's job to do the right thing." He said putting his hands on his hips. Hearing some footsteps he quickly grabbed his claymore preparing for a fight.

"Terra! What happened? Where is that man?" Shin had arrived, cuts all over his body and dragging one leg. "Who is this guy?" He asked as he noticed the stranger.

"That man, Sephiroth is gone. As for him I don't really know who he is..." Terra answered before looking at the stranger scratching his black, spiky hair.

"Who am I? Name's Zack Fair, SOLDIER 1st Class... But I guess you don't know what that is do ya?"

Terra and Shin just shook their heads, confirming Zack's suspicions.

"Well I'll explain later, we need to get this two to a doctor... Now!" Zack said while grabbing Celes. "Ohh soft skin..."

"She has a boyfriend." Terra said before Zack got any ideas.

"They all do..." Zack replied, disappointment plastered on his face.

"Guys, Locke's bleeding to death here... Hurry up."

And with that they headed back to the castle.

* * *

><p>""The flames have died down!" Terra exclaimed.<p>

"Not thanks to any of you, might I add." An familiar voice said.

"A monster! Kill it with fire!" Zack screamed playfully.

"Very funny... whoever you are." Edgar his face completely black and was covered in ashes with one bucket of water in each hand. "Wait, what the hell happened to you all?" Edgar asked as soon as he realized the how everyone was heavily wounded. "And who's he?"

"Long story, where's the infirmary?" Shin asked, the last thing they could do is waste time talking.

"Right, this way."

* * *

><p>""I'm not sure they can make it, their cuts are too deep for us to cure. We would need a miracle to save them." The nurse said in the calmest way possible. "I'm sorry..."<p>

"Then let's make a miracle! Edgar did you keep those ethers?" Terra asked, determination appearing on her face."_This curse might come in handy now..."_

"Yes, but why do you need them? It's not like you can use magic." Edgar responded.

"Well, about that... That's kinda part of the long story." Shin admitted, maybe they should have talked after all.

"Wait... seriously? I'll go get the ethers right now!"

"And what about you? You sure have been keeping quiet." Shin asked turning to Zack. "Anything you can share with us yet?"

"Well, duh by I'd rather explain it to a large crowd than explaining it one thousand times." He gained a naughty grin on his face. "But if you go on a date with me I can make an execption..." He said turning to Terra.

That caught her totally of guard. "Well... uh .. we just... you know... meet and... uhh."

"A date it is!"

"No!"

"Yeah, yeah I... What?" Zack asked as his jaw hit the floor. "That's... the first time the "date" line doesn't work. I'm impressed, and somewhat disappointed."

"I'm here. Good thing I don't like to waste this kind of stuff." Edgar said while holding a whole box of blue jars. He tried to wink at Terra but it failed to get her attention.

Not wasting any time Terra grabbed two and drank them. She felt completely energized, she even stopped feeling her wounds.

"No reason why I can't waste energy now is there? Curaga!"

A green flood of light filled the room. As it died down nobody in that room had so much of a scrath on them. That however was way too much for Terra's current state and she passed out.

"Terra!" Edgar got on one knee and checked her pulse. "Thank god... she's only exausted."

"I'll get her to her room, we all need rest." Shin proposed.

"Yeah. Tomorrow I'll tell ya everything I know about this situation we're in."

"That's all good but... she HAS NO ROOM!" Edgar informed. "The right wing is all but a pile of ashes now."

"She'll just take yours. You ARE a gentlemen aren't you Edgar?" Shin knew he had got him, if there was something Edgar though he was, it was being the dashing knight that all women adore. He had gotten that even in the small amount of time they had been together, it was just THAT obvious.

"I guess..." Edgar hesitantly replied.

"Then it's done, we'll just sleep here on the floor."

"Yes... of course we will..." Edgar and Zack looked at each other with evil grins on their faces.

"Edgar, if I know that ONE perverted deed happened tonight I WILL kill you." Celes said as she woke up, she seemed to have a perv radar. "Don't make me stand here watching you."

"Point taken." If there was one rule in Edgar's book it was not making Celes angry.

"Now that that's settled I'll get Terra to Edgar's room and then we'll sleep. We went a lot today." Shin anounced. He felt like being a leader was something he had already done. _"Well no use thinking about it now."_

* * *

><p>After leaving Edgar's room Shin felt tired, very tired. "Guess I'll crash here."<p>

The hallway had a window which showed the beatiful night sky. As he stared at it Shin remembered about how he woke up in Mobliz, the mysterious man, how he watched the parade in the company of the old lady, how he quickly befriended everyone at the dinner, about his "meeting" with Sephiroth and all the memories that came at the strangest times.

_"What kind of mess have I, no, have we gotten ourselves into?"_ He thought as he drifted to sleep, reclining on the door to Edgar's room.

* * *

><p><span>Next chapter:<span>

_"These people, they are not from this world."_

_"A wild card indeed..."_

_"Manikins!"_


	5. Under Watchful Eyes

**Author's note: **Well this chapter will certainly shed some light on some questions, but I don't guarantee that won't it raise more doubts than it takes. I'm also aware that Zack matured a lot during Crysis Core, but he'll always be a happy go lucky guy in my opinion. That said, have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Five**

** Under Watchful Eyes**

* * *

><p>"These people, they are not from this world." A blonde haired man wearing a blue armor said as he returned the binoculars to a blonde haired woman.<p>

"They might actually tip the scale a bit don't you think?" The blonde haired woman replied. She was wearing a sleeveless black leather top tied at the front, blue jeans and black boots.

"You're being too optimistic for your usual self Aya. You're different from what the files said about you..." The man replied. " But I digress, do you recognize any of them?"

"Well that's obviously Zack Fair." She said as she pointed to the man talking to Edgar. "His description fills in perfectly: black, spiky hair, SOLDIER 1st class outfit and a cheerful mood. That's a textbook SOLDIER claymore he has right there as well, at least it has the SOLDIER symbol on the handle."

"What about the other one? That guy who picked Branford up?" Ramza asked, seeing Shin taking Terra to Edgar's room.

"You don't expect me to know everything do you Ramza?" Aya asked impatiently. "I didn't read ALL of the files, besides hasn't it been a year since they were written? A change of hairstyle or clothing would throw us off easily..."

"Well its the best we got. No use complaining is there?" A young brown haired boy said. He was wearing proeminently yellow clothes, with green straps around them and a distictive red cap.

"Thank you Luso, that was trully enlightening." Ramza replied dryly.

"And our target's have just fallen asleep. How about we do the same?" Aya asked as she saw Shin fall asleep in the hallway.

"Fine, today's my day to be on watch, you two go to sleep."

As the woman and the boy grabbed to blankets and layed down on the floor, Ramza looked at the stary sky and asked himself.

_"Are we doing the right thing?"_

* * *

><p>The blonde spiky haired man was on top of a cliff kneeling besides a bloody black haired man.<p>

"Hey Cloud... for both of us... live!" The black haired man asked. His life seemed to be about to end, no one could survive with those injuries. "My honour, my dreams... take them. You are my... living legacy." He said as he lifted up a giant sword and gave it to Cloud.

"I'm your... living legacy..."

As Cloud said that, the man passed away, a smile etched on his bloody face. Seeing him die Cloud screamed in despair. Lifting himself up he closed his eyes and gave his friend his last goodbye.

"Goodnight... Zack..."

* * *

><p>Shin suddenty woke up.<p>

_"Zack?"_ He thought to himself. _"No way, he's alive I saw him... did I just... see the future? I'll have to ask him about this eventually."_

After that Shin went back to sleep, there was nothing he could do at the moment.

* * *

><p>As the morning light made its way into Edgar's room Terra slowly opened her violet eyes. She sat up and looked at her surrondings.<p>

_"Is this Edgar's room? What am I doing here?"_ She asked herself before arriving at the only logical conclusion. "OH GOD NO!" She yelled panicking.

Getting of Edgar's bed with a jump, she ran outside, determined to bend Edgar's neck in ways that no neck should ever be bended. However she was stopped by an unseen obstacle that made her trip and fall on top of a body.

"We're under attack!" Shin screamed as an unknown object fell on top of him. Getting a better look at the "object", he realized it was just a clumsy blonde. "Oh it's just you."

"Shin? What are you doing sleeping at Edgar's door, and more importantly what did Edgar do to me last night?"

"Huh? Oh, about that. Don't jump to conclusions, he just gave you his room."

"OH... oh... Why?"

"Me and Zack kinda manipulated him to." Shin then remembered something far more important. "Speaking of Zack. We should go find him. I'm curious about what he knows."

"Not much, sleppy head." The spiky haired SOLDIER said as appeared, grabbing Shin in a headlock. "But I do know a lot more than you." Seeing Shin turn purple he released the headlock, Shin falling to the ground gasping for air. "When you can walk again let's get to the throne room, it's already noon, everyone is waiting for you... I don't even know your names!"

"I'm Terra and this is Shin... for now."

"For now? Tell me about it as we go."

As they went towards the throne room they talked about Shin's predicament and what happened while Shin was unconscious during the battle.

* * *

><p>"We gotta listen to that!" Luso exclaimed as he saw everyone gather in the throne room.<p>

"Aya, I believe it is your turn now." Ramza said looking at the blonde haired woman.

"Fine." Aya concentrated in one of the guards inside the room and launched her consciousness into him, taking control over his body.

_"I'm in."_ Aya, in the body of the guard, thought. She gave a thumbs up towards the window, much to the delight of Luso and Ramza.

Zack, Terra and Shin arrived at the throne room, unaware that there was a uninvited guest in the middle of it.

"Before we get started I want to ask Terra something." Setzer said as he revealed a ring with a red stone on the top. "Terra can you feel any magic from this? I found it on the city's plaza, shining with a red light.

Shin had a very familiar feeling when he saw that ring.

_"Here we go again."_

* * *

><p>Two men in black armor were standing in the middle of a flaming vilage, one of the armors beared a striking resemblance to a dragon.<p>

"The ring, it was a carnelian signet, it called forth bombs!" The knight in the dragon armor said.

"Kain... What have we done?" The other man desperatly asked, he knew the answer but he didn't want to believe what he had done.

Sounds of sobbing scattered across the air and the two men ran to the back of one of the house, only to find a young, green haired girl crying over a woman's body.

"Mommy wake up! Please!" The girl cried.

"Cecil... I heard that when the summoners of Mist have their summons killed, they too die." A cryptic silence crossed the air. "That dragon...We killed her mother with our bare hands Cecil..."

"You killed my mother?" The child asked, falling into even deeper despair.

"I... I'm sorry, we had no idea." Cecil asked for forgiveness, even knowing there was none to give.

"We need to kill the girl Cecil... Its the orders of the king." As Kain said that Cecil restrained him.

"Kain, I can't stand what the king made us do. You may be against me but I will not stand and watch!" The man in the dark armor said in renewed determination.

"You'll always be too righteous for a dark knight Cecil... Very well I am with you, this dishonours the Dragoons my father tried so hard to maintain."

"Thank you Kain..."

"What about the girl?"

"Let's take her with us." Cecil said as he approached the girl.

"NO, I HATE YOU!" The girl screamed as she began to shine, a giant appearing.

"This girl can summon?" Kain asked bahfled.

The giant hit the earth with his colossal fist, creating a massive earthquake, everything began to fade to black, the memory ended.

* * *

><p>"That's a carnelian signet, that ring summoned the bombs." Shin explained as he regained his senses.<p>

Everyone became a bit suspicious of Shin's sudden knowledge of the matter.

"And how do YOU know that?" Edgar asked.

"What are you implying Edgar?" Sabin asked as he put himself between Shin and his brother, as to stop a possible fight.

"I had a flashback right now, I remembered a vilage being burned by the same method. You can believe me or not." Shin knew how suspicious he sounded after saying that, but it couldn't be helped, it was the truth after all.

"Well, I believe him." Terra said stepping in. "He had a flashback last night, he even used a techinique I never saw before because of that. Another flashback doesn't surprise me."

Edgar just couldn't win an argument that involved a woman so he hesitantly changed the subject.

"Now for the reason we are here..."

"Yeah , yeah. You want me to spill the beans right?" Zack interrupted Edgar, obviously tired of being left out. "Well, do I start with who's doing this, why are they doing this or do I say how they are doing what they are doing?" He grinned seeing the confused look on everyone.

"Who's doing this should be obvious." Shin replied.

"Oh, you mean Sephiroth? Nah he's just taking orders, someone helped him back from the dead you see, I would know... I was dead as well when that happened." The whole room became silent after that. "What, too soon?"

"If you were dead then how are you here, alive right now? " Celes asked, she did trust him to some degree since he saved her and Locke, but not ennough to excuse him from suspicion.

Shin on the other hand was preplexed by another reason. _"That dream was true?"_

"Well you see, in my world..."

"Your what?" Sabin asked, this was becoming to much for him.

"Just let me finish okay? As I was saying in my world when we die we go to the "Lifestream". This is where our bodies and souls are used to create other beings in the world. However Sephiroth found a way to manipulate the Lifestream in order for him to be recreated in the living world after his death. The first time he did this it was no big deal, but this time it was different, he recreated himself in the Rift, the bridge between all worlds. Someone must have helped him do that, but don't ask me who."

Everyone just started blankly at Zack trying to make sense of all that.

"Now I have a friend that can communicate with the Lifestream. Noticing what Sephiroth had done, she used the cells that I shared with Sephiroth as some sort of a Seph-o-vision, and recreated me in the closest place to Sephiroth she could find, this city. And the rest I have already told you all before I went to get these guys."

"So you're basically saying you're a formerly dead, genetically mutated human... from another world?" Relm asked.

"You could say that..."

"Awesome!"

"I know, right!"

Zack highfived the twelve year old, again showing his childish side.

"And what about the "who" and "why"?" Locke asked.

"I have absolutely no idea!" Zack exclaimed cheerfully, making everyone in the room facepalm. "While I do know that he has help, I don't know who or what is helping him and for what reason."

"One more thing. How can you use magic?" Terra asked , remembering how he casted raise on Celes.

"I use Materia to do it. They are some stones from my world that are infused with mako. If you connect to your body they let you cast magic, use battle techniques enhance you capabilities and a lot more things."

"So, it's just like magicite... what are the odds?"

"Lazy programers?" Locke said, imeadiately being smacked by Celes for fourth wall vandalism.

"And what does this information acomplish?" Edgar asked.

"Hell would I know. I just told you that you have otherwordly invaders, told you how your enemies are using magic and you ask for more?"

"He does have a point Edgar." Terra said, agreeing.

"And if I know Sephiroth he wouldn't just leave like that, whoever they are, they know what they want and how to get it." Zack's face had just turned dark for the first time since he entered the room. Everyone understood that what he had told them was no lie.

_"Oh hey Sunshine. Good morning to you too. You know I was thinking... what about those little todlers? Ever thought about what may be happening to them?"_ The voice in Terra's head asked in a sadistic tone.

"Oh no! I have to go get the children! They might be in danger."

Terra started darting to the door until she heard a familiar voice.

"Way ahead of you Terra." Setzer anounced. "You can come out now." And with that signal a flood of kids opened the door by storm, running over several guards, including the one that Aya was possessing forcing her back to her own body as the body she was in became unconscious.

"Mama! It's so good to see you." Katarin said as she hugged her "mother".

"It's so great to see you all safe! How's Leo doing?"

As the reunion continued Aya regained consciousness in her body.

"How did it go?" Ramza asked her.

"They don't know anything at all. The best they got is knowing this is an matter that isn't limited to their world." Aya said while sitting up.

"Well fiddlesticks, I guess we'll need to tell them eventually." Luso said.

"Yes but not now, the leader told us to just observe didn't he?" Ramza retorted.

"I guess, man I wish I was Marche, I bet he's doing all kinds of crazy stuff with him..."

"What do we do now Ramza?" Aya asked.

"Now..." Ramza began while looking at the throne room, everyone was having a good time with the kids. "Now we wait."

* * *

><p>Sephiroth walked through the convulted hallways of the Rift thinking about what happened last night.<p>

_"A wild card indeed..."_ He stopped as he felt a presence, an annoying one at that.

"So Sephy, my boy, how did last night go? And how is my kitten doing? Boy she must miss her owner sooooooo much." The man asked.

"I may have been disappointed with Celes and Locke but now I've understood... just how interesting those two are."

"Two? Oh well, none of my business. Is my kitten healthy?"

"Yes Kefka, she's quite healthy." Sephiroth answered annoyed.

"Good, good. Then that means it's time for the long awaited reunion!"

"Do not take this mission lightly Kefka." A dark skinned man said as he emmerged from the shadows.

"Oh Xande, you gotta let yourself go a bit, enjoy the destruction you're causing! Maybe you won't be so scared to die..." His voice sounded awfully criptic at the end.

"I won't be affected by your words jester. We have a mission to fulfill, let us be off."And with that he teleported.

"Fine, fine." Kefka said to himself. "Watch out Terra, Papa is coming to town!" He yelled, disappearing leaving only an echo of his trademark laugh.

"Good riddance." Sephiroth said as he dwelved deeper into the Rift. _"Don't die on me yet, Godslayer."_

* * *

><p>"Come at me bro!" Zack yelled as he prepared for battle with his wodden sword.<p>

Shin lunged at Zack, swinging his sword at his leg in order to make him lose his balance. Zack however, not only blocked but he also used the strength of the blow to spin in midair and land a spinning kick to the back of Shin's neck, knocking him face first into the ground.

"Well you do have skill and physical capabilities, but you lack experience." Terra observed.

"It's not like I can help it. Without memories I can't remember previous battles." Shin complained, feeling frustrated for being put down with such ease and having such a fragile looking girl correcting his flaws.

"That's no excuse, you'll still die if you fight someone like Sephiroth again. You're only alive because he focused on Terra." While Zack was a cheerful, happy go lucky guy, he knew that a teacher had to be rough some times. He owed this to his teacher, Angeal.

"How's the little training session going?" Locke asked, as he arrived on the scene.

"Well he's getting better, but he lacks life or death experience. Why are you here on the training grounds Locke?" Terra asked.

"Celes wants to wipe the floor with me. I'd say spar, but even if I win, she'll wipe the floor with me anyway, psychologically speaking."

"Well, I'm glad she was taken..." Zack muttered.

"Terra." Celes called as she arrived at the training grounds. "What about a magic crash course? I need to remember how to use it."

"Fine with me, but Shin.." She called. "Mind showing us that spellblade of yours?"

"Sure thing."

"...Did they just dump us?" Zack asked.

"Yes... yes they did. Just try to get used to it." Locke sighed as he answered.

The day passed as they continued to train, when the sun was setting on the horizon Sabin came to the grounds to call them all for dinner. Everything was going perfectly normal... for now.

* * *

><p>"Ramza, dude, this is sooooooo boring, can't we just go talk to them?" Luso begged, he wasn't one to wait for others.<p>

"Orders are orders Luso, just be patient." Ramza replied before feeling a presence behind him. Alarmed he jumped back and unsheathed his sword. Before him was the brown caped man.

"Just whose orders are you taking?" The man asked in his dry tone.

"How long have you been watching us?"

"Around 2 days."

"If you've been watching for so long, then you know we mean no harm." Aya said while pulling out her gun and putting it to the ground as a sign of peace.

"Correction, I THINK you mean no harm, but I don't easily trust people..."

"I won't go giving our information to just anyone, if you want it, come and take it." Ramza said, starting to lunge at the man. He stopped after hearing a familiar voice.

"Ramza! Bad news!" A blonde haired kid, just about Luso's age, yelled while heading in their direction. He had a peculiar strand of hair popping out and was wearing a blue sweater, brown shots and his trademark white scarf.

"Marche! Long time no see!" Luso said celebrating his return.

"No time Luso, we're in big trouble now!" Marche responded.

"What is it?" Ramza asked, his eyes never leaving the stranger.

"Mankins! A whole lot of them! The leader stayed behind slowing them down, we gotta warn the people in the city!"

"This will have to wait." Ramza said, sheathing his sword." I'll explain everything to you... If we're still alive after this."

"Fair enough, we'll call it truce... for now Ramza." The man warned.

"How do you know my name? Oh right you've been watching us.. Truce then..."

"Clyde, but don't forget Ramza, I still don't trust you." Clyde said as he disappeared from sight with a jump.

_"That makes two of us..."_ Ramza thought as he turned to his crew. "Everyone, we've been waiting for this, are you ready?"

"YEAH!" Everyone exclaimed in unison.

"Good, we have a world to save!"

Next chapter:

_"I shall be, imortal!"_

_"It's not him!"_

_"Rot in hell..."_


	6. An Endless Horde

**Author's note: **We're finally getting to the end of the introduction of the story, just one or two chapters to go. Yeah, it was a slow start but I'm trying not to rush this. That said, this chapter is basically a two in one since I basically merged two small chapters into this one. As always, reviews appreciated and have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Six**

** An Endless Horde**

* * *

><p>The group was having dinner at castle Figaro's living room. Everyone was having a blast, drinking and hearing about Zack's previous endeavors in finding a girlfriend, there was just one person who didn't share their joy.<p>

"Hey Terra, can I ask you something?" Celes asked.

"Sure, ask away." Terra answered, she was taken aback by Celes's dead serious expression.

"Privately, at the top of the castle." Celes whispered before standing up and leaving the room.

"I uh... have to use the bathroom." Terra said to not look suspicious, then she left the room and followed Celes to the top of the castle. When she arrived there she was greeted with the question she had been avoiding the whole day.

"Terra, you know you can't hide anything from me. You've been showing constraint in using magic and you've been eating enough for two people, is there something bothering you?"

Terra's heart skipped a beat when she heard that. She could see a rhetorical question like that from miles away.

_"Haha, pretty smart, remember me to give her more credit."_ Her esper side said rejoicing in the situation.

"The silence says it all... You're an half-esper again aren't you?"

Terra merely nodded at the statement.

"You know, telling your best friend could help."

"But I... I didn't want to worry you all again... This "thing" is my burden not yours." She was beginning to feel like a monster again. _"I can't even listen to my own advices... I'm pathetic."_ She thought.

"There you go again... You weren't like this when we defeated Kefka. You accepted that "thing" as you call it now. You were a confident woman not a whiny girl."

"You don't understand... I..." Terra started before being interrupted.

"Stop being afraid, if you are afraid of yourself then how can you expect others not to be? If you hate yourself, how can someone love you?" Celes had shifted to an uncommon, caring demeanor as she said that.

Terra began to sob again. "I don't want to fight again." She said between sobs. Celes reached out for her and put her hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay... we'll be there, no one wants to fight, but if you don't, who will?"

"Mama, is everything alright?" Katarin yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"That's right... If not for me I have to do it for them." She said whipping her tears.

"Right... no more crying, okay? I want the old Terra back." Celes asked before reverting to her normal cold expression.

"Right, let's go or they might catch on."

They ran back to the dinning all, this time with a smile stamped on both their faces.

_"Oh isn't this touching?"_ Terra's other side mocked.

_"Just shut up, I'm the one calling the shots."_

_"For now..."_

Terra didn't mind the threat, she had gotten used to them by now.

* * *

><p>"We're not getting in the easy way are we?" Marche lamented as he saw Ramza getting thrown out by both guards.<p>

"Yes, we are, just wait a bit." Aya said before overdriving into one guard.

"Our shift's up mate." Aya, in one of the guard's body said.

"Already? I could have sworn we were only here for half of it."

"Time sure flies huh?"

"Guess you're right Brad, well I'm going to have a drink, you coming?"

"Yeah, gonna wait for the replacements."

"Fine, see you in a minute." The guard said turning his back on Aya and entering the castle.

"Those guys sure are dumb." Luso said as he approached the door.

"Let us not linger, the manikins may be upon us sooner than we though." Ramza said as he entered the castle and headed towards the main building.

* * *

><p>Terra and Celes entered the dining room. Edgar had just passed out after he lost a drinking game with his brother; the mood hadn't gone down one bit.<p>

"C'mon Shin, ONE drink." Zack said waving a glass of wine in Shin's face.

"I don't want to end up like Edgar." Shin answered.

"Pfft, scary cat. Oh, the room just became hotter."

"That was... probably the worst pick up line I ever heard..." Terra answered at Zack's obviously drunken effort of a pick-up line.

"OH BURN! From Terra, no less." Edgar mumbled as he got back up.

"Sorry, didn't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am." Zack retorted as he jumped and head locked the king.

"...except for Edgar's, i can't even describe how bad those are." Terra finished. The dinner hall exploded in laughter.

"So you all better now?" Shin asked Terra in the midst of the ruckus.

"Huh?" Was all she could muster.

"Oh comon, everyone noticed that you were down... even me and Zack and we've only known you for a day or two."

"See? You have a lot ledges to grab on if you fall." Celes said as she patted Terra's back. "Now if you'll excuse me, my boyfriend is losing a fistfight with a moogle... I've got to go watch it."

"Do not mock Mog... the young moogle has a truly amazing strength." Cyan said as he put some ice on his bruised chin.

"Gaaaaaah." A voice echoed in the hall. It was Locke, being knocked away by Mog.

"K.O. Mog wins!" Relm announced. She seemed to be having fun as the anouncer.

"So Lady Luck hasn't abandoned me after all." Setzer said counting his ten thousand gil. "Keep it up Mog."

"Just what kind of example are you giving to the kids?" Terra asked before bursting in a laugh.

"We're old enough to be here Mama! The others are sleeping anyways. "Duane exclaimed with his normal, smug expression.

"Always the though guy, eh Duane?" Katarin said as she snatched the glass of wine from his hand. "But you might have to wait before trying this."

"Party pooper..." Duane muttered as the door opened.

"Sorry to interrupt, but if you value your lives you will listen to me." Ramza said, making his entrance.

"Who are you?" Zack asked, somehow shaking of his drunken state.

"Ramza Beoulve, I am like you, from another world. You may or may not believe me but it would be in your best interest to hear my tale, Zack Fair former SOLDIER 1st Class."

"Always straight to the point, Ramza." Aya said as she and the boys entered the room.

Zack stared at Ramza for about ten seconds before asking. "You may have learned that just from spying on me, how can we trust you?"

"You WILL trust us, either now or when you're getting mauled by the manikins on the way here." Luso said stepping in.

"Manikins?"

"There is no time for a full explanation so... think of them like copies of every great hero that was ever born, they are made of crystal because they are imperfect." Ramza tried to explain. "But most importantly, they are not human! Keep that in mind every time you face one. If you have mercy on them, they won't have it on you. They are just killing machines."

"And what do we have to do with it?" Shin asked trying to find the reason behind their arrival.

"Marche here told us there is an army of them coming, they shouldn't take more than an hour to get here." Ramza responded.

"Why should we trust you?" Celes asked." I don't give my trust easily."

"Trust us or die." Aya said coldly.

"I'll gamble on them... We haven't much to do have we? Even if they are lying, it's better than standing here doing nothing." Zack said.

"He does have a point there..." Terra said, agreeing. "If they ARE lying... we'll just let Celes have her way with them."

Everyone nodded in agreement to that.

"Good now that's settled, we should prepare for battle."

"And I know just how!" Edgar responded.

"The vault?" Sabin asked turning to his brother.

"The vault!" Edgar said fist pumping his brother. "Follow me."

As everyone was following Edgar towards the lower parts of the castle, Shin's curiosity grew.

"Not to sound stupid or anything, but what IS the vault?" Shin asked, turning to Terra.

"We stored our old equipment there. You know swords, armor and such." She replied.

_"Sunshine, you would be better off using those claws of ours." _Her esper side taunted.

_"Will you just shut up for a minute?" _Terra answered with newfound authority.

_"Sheesh, when did you get your spine back?"_

After a few minutes of walking they reached their destination. "The vault" was just Figaro's former treasure room, now adorned with legendary looking swords and armor.

"Well everyone. Get your weapons back." Edgar announced as he picked up a lance.

What really surprised Shin was the fact that Terra picked up the two biggest swords there. One had a seemingly destroyed, inconsistent edge and seemed surrounded by an ominous aura, the other one was what seemed to be perfection incarnate, golden adorned with silver feathers at the handle. Both of those swords were more than four feet long, he never imagined that Terra would have this kind of weapons of choice.

"Shin you don't have a weapon, do you?" Terra asked.

"Well... no."

"Then take this." She said as she threw the golden sword at him. "Take care of the Lightbringer for me."

_"God it's heavy!"_ He thought to himself, but he couldn't just say it, he had honour after all. "Thank you but what about you?"

"I'll be fine, I really feel better with just the Apocalypse." As she said that the sword dematerialized from her hand.

"Wait, where did it go?"

"I can just summon it when I need to, nothing much."

_"Yeah right..."_

"Hey don't I get one two?" Zack said butting in.

"You already have one..." Terra replied, pointing at the his claymore.

"But mine isn't shiny! I left my Buster Sword with Chocobo head." He whined, he seemed to be five years old.

"Chocobo what? Fine, just take Ragnarock over there. It's not like anyone is going to use it so you might as well."

"Sweet!" Zack exclaimed as he picked what seemed to be a darker, imperfect Lightbringer. "Hey did I get the cheap one?"

"Yes you did, now stop complaining."

"Hey are you guys done over there?" Celes asked, obviously impatient.

"We're coming." Terra said as they joined with the rest of the group.

"We should be heading for the walls around the town, they should be here any minute now." Ramza said.

"Okay. But if you're lying, you might want to start saying your prayers." Celes said, giving a dangerous look to the strange four.

Luso merely shrugged much to Celes irritation.

"Hey Marche... what about Adelle? She went with you two." Luso asked his companion, worried.

"She stayed back to help out." Marches answered with guilt on his face.

"Hope she's alright..." Luso said looking at the night sky.

* * *

><p>"You.. what are you trying to do with this?" A silver haired girl asked while gasping for air.<p>

"I shall become immortal!" The black skinned man shouted as he grabbed her by the neck. He was suddenly tackled by another man.

"Xande, you're fighting me. Run Adelle!" The man said as he restrained Xande.

"But… leader!"

"Just run, NOW!"

"Feel my wrath." Xande boomed as he started to rain down countless fireballs upon the area.

"Sorry..." Adelle ran as fast as she could to the city, trying to warn everyone that there weren't just Manikins coming.

"This will be interesting." Kefka mused as he saw Adelle escape. "Let's see if the kitten reaches my kitten. HAHAHAHAHA"

* * *

><p>While on top of the watchtower felt something weird in her pocket, she was sure she hadn't stored anything there so she checked it immediately. It was the same oval black stone from before.<p>

_"Why is this here?"_ She thought to herself.

"_Maybe it's important, Sunshine."_ Her esper side said, doing the mental equivalent of a smirk.

_"What do you know?"_

_"Me? Nothing! Do you really think I would keep things from you?"_

Terra could see this discussion wasn't going anywhere so she stored the black stone back in her pocket. Now wasn't the time or the place to solve riddles.

"Sir, we're seeing some suspect activity in the north. It would seem that an army is coming this way." An infantry man reported to Edgar.

"So you were right... Men protect the citizens. We're going to the front lines." Edgar announced.

"You ready for this?" Terra asked Shin, he was visibly nervous.

"Yeah... I'm fine." He assured. He couldn't be the luggage anymore, he was going to make sure of that.

"Back in my day a few thousand guys were nothing! Course I died but they were at least 100 times more than this. The worst part... I'm not even joking!" Zack joked trying to clear the somber mood.

"We should go now, if they get any closer we risk having them slip into the city." Ramza said unsheathing his sword. "Whatever the outcome, it was an honour to meet you all."

"Likewise." They all exclaimed in unison.

"Okay, party time! I call dibs on the first one." Zack said as he jumped of the tower and started running towards the mob. Mog and Edgar jumped afterwards, so high they were out of sight, they were dragoons after all. Locke and Celes just nodded to each other and jumped. Relm immediately jumped, forcing Strago to go after her.

"I'll bet you ten thousand gil we escape from this unharmed." Setzer said trying to get some confidence in Shin.

"Deal." He said putting up a straight face. _"No time for doubts."_

"Let's go kick some but " Sabin said, single handedly pushing the remaining men of the platform an jumping himself.

Everyone had jumped except for Terra, she looked back to the castle, thinking about the orphans.

"Mama..." A worried voice said. "Come back alive, okay?"

"Don't worry Katarin, see you later!" And with that she jumped of the tower, but instead of falling she started flying towards the Manikins, making a forceful landing on one of them, crushing him to bits.

"Hey, no fair! I called dibs." Zack complained as he cut through ten of them in one slash.

Shin was too worried to take Zack's comments so he just lunged at the first manikin he saw, unfortunately the shape of it triggered a flashback.

"No! Not now." But he still drifted into the memory.

* * *

><p>A blonde haired man with a mustache was being confronted with... a clown?<p>

"General Leo... Having fun with our toy? Oh right, she's already eighteen, maybe I should tell our men she's "legal" you know?" The clown said, with a disgusting smile on his face.

"I was just trying to get that infernal thing of her head. She's been an emotionless tool for five years now, don't you think she deserves a rest? Terra deserves the right to chose Kefka!" Leo responded.

"You sure talk big... for someone who just bows down and takes orders from the emperor like a dog."

Leo lowered his head in defeat, Kefka had a point there. _"I'm just as bad as him... I don't even have the courage to intervene..."_

"Now run along and go kill some stuff at Doma okie dokie?"

"I will, but one more thing Kefka, if I'm not wrong, if the slave crown ever cracked it would be easy to come off wouldn't it?"

"Anyone could take that thing off if it was cracked, the safety mechanism would be unoperational... wait, you didn't..."

Leo merely smiled as he closed the door to his room. "Then maybe it wasn't such a good idea to send her to Narshe now, was it?" He asked Kefka triumphantly.

"LEOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

><p><em>"Terra? What the heck did I just remember?"<em> Shin thought to himself.

"Be careful. Water breath!" Strago yelled, destroying the manikins that surrounded Shin.

"You can't pass out on us in the middle of the battle field." Relm said as she made some manikins attack the others. "Do you want to head back?"

"No, I'm fine now." Shin said picking up the Lightbringer. _"I'll ask Terra about this latter."_

After that, he started running towards the manikins.

"Let's see how much I improved!"

* * *

><p>Ramza was dispatching the Manikins with ease, in a few minutes he had hundreds of crystal shards scattered on the floor.<p>

"There are just weak battle pieces here." Aya pointed out. "They don't even resemble anyone, they just have their shape."

"True, but stay alert there might be some elite battle pieces somewhere." Ramza said as he dispatched two more.

"Well this one is a hard battle piece for sure." Luso said as he blocked the blow, swiping his feet at the Manikin's legs. It fell on his back allowing Marche to impale it, finishing it off.

"As long as they don't come in big numbers we're okay..." Marche said as he looked at the rest of the manikins. "Don't see any so we're okay for now."

* * *

><p>Shin was essentially running through the manikins, dodging and cutting them down in one swipe. He was however looking for someone to team up, a little cover would never harm anyone. Looking at the distance he saw someone, but not the way he wanted. It was Terra, but she was kneeling in front of a manikin that was about to strike the finishing blow. Sprinting he managed to block the blow with his sword but to his surprise the manikin dodged the counter attack.<p>

"Terra are you okay?" He said turning to Terra. There were tears in her eyes.

"I... can't do it, I can't hurt General Leo." She answered weakly.

The manikin did look a lot like General Leo. A black, crystalized General Leo, but it was much more developed than the other manikins.

"Terra, it's not him!"

"I know but..."

"You take care of the others I'll get this guy." He said before lunging at the Leo look alike. As their swords clashed he felt himself being pushed behind. _"This guy's power is in a completely different league from the other ones." _He thought, but he had no time to think, the manikin raised his sword up high as if he was preparing something.

"Shock!" It yelled in a horribly distorted voice. A golden shockwave was sent in all directions, destroying the earth and heading in Shins direction.

"Can't block spells with a normal sword... Let's see if this works." He concentrated one of the spells he had learned earlier today on the sword, it wasn't an offensive one but it had to work. "Spellblade: Shell!" As a green light enveloped the sword Shin used it to block the shockwave, the impact sent him flying but it was minor compared to what it could have been.

"Well, that's one more trick up my sleeve."

"I'll help..." Terra said, coming from behind.

"You don't have too, just try and hold the rest of the manikins back."

"What manikins?"

As Shin looked behind he saw what she meant. Where the weaker manikins were there were just crystal shards.

"Did you take them all out?" Shin asked baffled.

"Yes, why?"

"Nothing... you can help."

"Just put him in one place, okay? I want to end this quickly..." Terra said in a determined but saddened voice.

"Fine by me." He Shin said before lunging again at the manikin, along the way he started muttering "Spellblade:Blizzara".

"Let's have another strength contest." Shin yelled at the manikin as he swinged his swords towards his waist. The manikin blocked the obvious blow easily and started pushing Shin back again. "In the end, you have no brain after all, do ya?" He asked as ice started to spread through the manikin's body, freezing him in one place.

"Do it now! He won't be frozen for long!" He shouted turning to Terra, who already had her hands up, shining in a blue light.

"Way ahead of you. Graviga!" She yelled as she pushed her hands down, making a massive black orb fall down on top of the manikin, utterly crushing him.

"Good job!" Shin congratulated.

"...You too. Sorry about that, that manikin just brought back too many memories."

"Well, no problem we are alive aren't we?" Shin said as he put his hands behind his neck.

"Guess you're right." Terra said, giggling. "Let's go help the others clean up."

* * *

><p>Luso was having fun counting the ones he destroyed so he could show off to Marche at the end. However in the midst of the confusion he saw a very familiar silver haired girl heavily wounded.<p>

"Adelle!" He called as he cut down the manikin he was dealing with.

"Lu...so." She managed to say before collapsing.

"Adelle, are you okay?" Luso asked as he picked her up bridal style.

"You've got to warn... the others... Manikins aren't the only threat here... The leader stayed back... I had to run..." She managed to say before finally passing out.

"Oh god... I have to do something to warn them." Luso thought as he headed back to where he last saw Ramza.

* * *

><p>Shin and Terra were heading towards the place where Terra had felt Locke's energy. Little did they know about the tall man looking down on them.<p>

"Godslayer... Rot in hell!" Xande said, raising his hand and launching a giant ball of fire towards Terra.

Terra, feeling a killing intent, turned towards Xande but it was too late to dodge.

"Get down!"

Next chapter:

_"Hand over the crystal."_

_"Activate Omega."_

_"Feel the pain..."_


	7. Battle On Both Fronts: The Mad Mages

**Author's note:** I can say that writting Xande was a very tough challenge given that he only appeared for like ten minutes in FFIII, so I had to basically make his personality from the scratch because of that. Not that we'll be seeing a lot of him, so it doesn't matter that much but still... As always any constructive criticism is appreciated and have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Seven**

****Battle On Both Fronts: The Mad Mages****

* * *

><p>When Terra regained her awareness she was lying on the floor, not a scratch on her skin. The same however, couldn't be said about Shin, who was lying on top of her, unconscious, his flesh seared by the fireball.<p>

"Shin!" Terra desperately yelled while she lifted herself up. "Don't worry I'll help. Curaga!"The green light that followed returned Shin's flesh to its normal state but it didn't come without a cost. She felt a tremendous strain from using two high level spells in such a small period of time, but she had no time to pass out now.

"Impressive." An eerie voice resounded behind her. Terra looked up to see the dark skinned mage towering over them. "To completely nullify such injuries with just one spell, you are a truly terrifying creature, Terra Branford."

Creature. The one word that Terra couldn't stand, it reminded her that she was not, in fact, a human. But that raised even more questions. How did this mysterious man know about her "condition", and more importantly what did he want?

_"He really hit a nerve there, didn't he Sunshine? Gonna cry?"_ Her esper side began.

"Just who are you?" A voice came from Terra's arms, interrupting her inner monologue.

"Most impressive. Not only did you survive but you are also awake. What is your name?" Xande asked, a surprised tone mixed in all his smugness.

"Give me your name and I'll give you mine." Shin responded, getting up and grabbing the Lightbringer.

"Very well, I am Xande, disciple of Noah."

"I am Shin, for now, and I have no idea who I am."

"Interesting, mayhap you are the one Sephiroth was talking about?"

"Sephiroth? We have met, but he seemed to know who I am, did he tell you?"

"Child, I am your enemy, what makes you think I would share such information with you? Alas, I have no knowledge about your identity, nor do I give it any value, for it is about to be extinguished." Xande said, growing tired of the conversation. "I may however, spare your lives if you just do as I tell you. Hand over the crystal!" He said, turning to Terra.

"Crystal?" Terra asked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You can't expect me to fall for such an act. You have it with you, I can feel it." Xande said, growing impatient.

Terra's pouch began to shine in a white light. Opening it Terra saw that the light came from the same oval stone that seemed to be following her.

_"Told you it was important."_ Her esper side said, as if it knew about the situation.

Ignoring it Terra turned to Xande. "If you're with Sephiroth there's no way I'm giving this to you!" She said, summoning the Apocalypse to her hand.

"I expected no less…. Very well, come at me with all your might."

"You didn't have to say it!" Shin said as he ambushed Xande from behind. The swing of his sword however, was halted by an unseen barrier. Said barrier then exploded in a rain of green light, cutting through Shin's entire body. "Meh, just a flesh wound." Shin said as he landed, ready to get back into the fight.

_"If you need any help, just say it Sunshine."_

"_Don't want it, don't need it."_ Terra told herself. She swinged her gargantuan sword towards Xande, as if to provoke another barrier. As the sword clashed with the invisible force Terra smiled and her hand lit up with fire. "Fira!" The fireball went straight through the barrier and crashed into Xande's face, pushing him back.

"You witch!" Xande yelled while covering his burned face.

"For all that bragging I expected more than just a physical Reflect." Terra said, taunting the grueling mage.

"Impudent brat!" He yelled calling down a rain of thunder.

Terra easily dodged every hit and went back to the same strategy. But this time it was something completely different. Terra did manage to provoke the physical Reflect but when she launched her spell she saw it bounce back at her hitting her shoulder and throwing her to the ground.

"Physical and magical reflect at the same time?" Terra asked in dismay. That made him virtually invulnerable.

"It's not the same spell!" Shin yelled from a distance. "He just switches them too fast for your spell to get through."

That made her think. There was no way they could coordinate an attack so precise that it hit at the exact same time. Unless….

"Time to put your abilities as a teacher to the test." Terra shouted back at Shin.

"Fine by me." Shin responded shrugging. "At your mark." Shin put himself in a sprinting position.

"Go!" As Terra gave the signal both of them lunged at Xande, hands on their swords and muttering spell incantations.

"Such trivial matters." Xande spat as he raised his physical barrier yet again. However, this time when the swords clashed, he felt pain, not the cold steel of the swords, he instead felt his torso erupt in flames and his legs freeze in ice.

"Perfect as expected." Shin congratulated Terra raising his hand for a high five.

"I've had a good teacher." Terra answered, giving him the high five.

"You… What have you done?" Xande asked frustrated.

"Why don't you guess for yourself?" Shin said as he and Terra lunged at Xande again.

This time Xande put up a magical reflect, but to no avail. Instead of feeling fire and ice coursing through his body he felt a much simpler pain. Cold steel. Kneeling down and grasping for air as he bleed his anger grew, but it never clouded his judgment.

"You're getting good with the Spellblade Terra!" Shin said. He was sincerely surprised that she had that degree of control over spellblade after only a few hours of training.

"Just one more Shin." Terra shouted, prompting another lunge at Xande, one that was supposed to finish him off.

Xande however did not put any defensive barrier up, he just stood there.

"Did he give up?" Terra thought out loud.

Far from it, just before the blades reached his body, his fists flew in their direction, grabbing both their necks. The shock and raw power of the blow immobilized them as he threw them into the air.

Both of Xande's hands began smoldering in flames as he pointed them at Terra and Shin.

"Know your place, inferior beings! Double Black Magic: Flare!" Xande yelled. Two giant, combusting spheres flew out his hands and were about to hit them, but a black shadow put himself in between them and the fireballs.

"Right back at ya!" Zack yelled as he used the Ragnarock to absorb and re-launch the flares in Xande's direction.

Xande was so astonished he didn't have the reaction to dodge, as the spells collided with his body a piercing cry was heard.

* * *

><p>Ramza continued to plow through the manikins, but there was something wrong. Someone was watching him, his instincts had never lied to him.<p>

"Whoever you are, show yourself!" Ramza shouted in a commanding voice.

There were some sparks behind a rock. The rock then combusted into a million of tiny pieces that covered the man's figure.

"Ramza-boy! I heard so much about you! You're that guy that got screwed of his herohood!" The Kefka mocked.

"Wait... you're not supposed to know that!" Ramza said, alarmed. It should be impossible for anyone to know him besides his group.

"Hum? Why? Oh right, how did you meet with those two toddlers? Do you have something to hide from Uncle Kefka?"

Ramza felt that this conversation could only lead to disaster so he decided to cut it off. He lifted his sword up and with all his might he called down the light.

"Hallowed Bolt!" Ramza chanted, bringing down countless lightning bolts from the sky. They formed what seemed to be a sword, exploding in a blinding flash of light. However as the dust settled Ramza saw the clown still standing, his clothes only mildly burnished.

"You're good kid, but you're no Thunder God." Kefka said in an eerie voice. "But don't give it up! Come on! Show me what you've got!" He said, returning to his mocking tone.

_"Impossible... how can he know Orlandeu?"_ Ramza asked himself. "_Calm down, Ramza. This is how he wins, don't let him confuse you. Just take him down and then see what happens." _He told himself as he took a deep breath.

"Hey Ramza-boy. Not to sound rude or anything, but that woman might be trying to snipe me, can I kill her?" Kefka said as he turned to Aya, who was aiming at his head with a sniper rifle. "Miss I'll give a 10 second head start. Or not!" He joked as he threw a giant block of ice in Aya's direction. She managed to jump out of the way easily, but the block fragmented into tens of tiny pieces that scattered into her direction. Still in midair, could not do anything, she only managed to protect her vital points as the shards went through her.

"Oh c'mon..." Kefka started with a disappointed tone. "Don't tell me it's over already." Seeing Aya slowly getting up made a sadistic smile appear on his face. His hands lightened up in a red light and he yelled. "Run, run or you'll be well done!" As he started sending fireballs in Aya's direction. Unable to dodge she only closed her eyes. The fireballs however never reached her.

"A paladin never let's an ally get hurt!" Marche shouted, trying to distract himself from the pain.

"Uhhh a self-righteous brat! My favorite type to torture! Now let's..." Kefka began before he felt something go through his chest, narrowly missing his heart.

"You did this to Adelle didn't you? What have you done to our boss?" Luso shouted, his eyes filled with rage.

"You disgusting brat! I'll DESTROY YOU!" Kefka yelled, his mocking tone disappearing and giving birth to a much darker one. Six wings sprouted from his back, impaling Luso and sending him flying with such force that when he landed he made a hole in the sand, almost burried alive.

"Divine Ruination!" Ramza chanted in the direction of a distracted Kefka. The pillar of light seemed to have no effect on the jester, whose eyes seemed to be boiling with rage as he looked at his wound.

"I hate hate hate HATE HATE HATE every single one of you! Who do you think you are? I'll teach you to respect a GOD!" Kefka boomed, as his clothes began to tear apart. He stopped however at a very familiar sight. "Come to pay a visit, Celes? Oh, you shouldn't have!" Kefka said returning to his clown-like persona. A new toy had just arrived.

* * *

><p>Terra grabbed Shin in midair and landed safely on the sand next to Zack.<p>

"Thank you Zack. We would have died there if it weren't for you." She said.

"Don't sweat it. Just give me a date to compensate!" Zack said with a huge grin on his face. Seeing Terra's face become red he decided to that maybe he had gone to far. "It was a joke okay? Calm down."

"You..." A voice from the smoke said. "YOU INFERIOR BEINGS. HOW DARE YOU?" Xande boomed as sparks of pure magical power surrounded him. "I am done with you all. You shall die by my hand!"

"He sure is a though one." Shin said reading his sword.

"Just let the hero handle this!" Zack joked as he readied his.

"You two are insufferable." Terra joked summoning her sword.

Without another warning Xande teleported himself behind Zack, pulling him into a bearhug, cracking his ribs in mere seconds.

"Get off him!" Shin yelled as he punched Xande right in the face, to no avail. "You wanna play tough? I'll show you tough!" He shouted as he swinged his sword at him. The swing was useless, Xande didn't even flinch. Zack began to cough blood and gasping for air, his face turning purple. Terra on the other hand had been surrounded by monster summoned by Xande. Despairing, Shin started wailing at Xande hopping for a miracle. And it worked. His sword began to shine with the purest light he had seen and it erupted in a blinding tornado that sent Xande to the skies.

"What just happened?" Shin asked, his jaw almost hitting the floor.

"I should have told you... Whenever the Lightbringer hits an evil soul, it builds up power, when it reaches full capacity that power explodes into a super powerful Holy spell." Terra explained as she began to heal Zack.

"Such underhanded tricks will not make me fall!" Xande boomed, appearing in front of Shin, snapping his arm like a twig.

As he cried in pain Xande crushed his larynx, leaving him bloodied on the floor. Turning to Terra he shot a single flare in her direction, burning her stomach and sending her plummeting against a palm tree. He then stepped on Zack's head, knocking the SOLDIER out. He finally approached Terra and reached for her pouch, taking the crystal from it.

Opening what seemed to be a portal to the Rift he said. "Mission accomplished, the crystal is secured. Activate Omega!"

"What do you mean..." Terra asked. She was so bloodied that she could see only blood, but she still tried to stand up. To no avail unfortunately, she had broken her right leg in the last fall.

"Omega... The end, the destroyer of worlds, the ultimate weapon. Now that we have the crystal your world and everything in it is just an hollow shell to us, you may as well vanish." Xande said as he turned to the portal. "Goodbye, Terra Branford."

_"Sunshine, time to wake up! Just let me take over! It'll be all better!"_ Her esper side told her.

She had to agree, there was no way they would survive if she didn't. Her hair untied, her skin began to shine in a pink light , her teeth became fangs and her feet and arms claws.

"It is a bit too late for that, you filthy creature.." Xande said, disappearing and reappearing in front of her before her transformation was complete. He punched her in the ribs, completely crushing them and halting her transformation. "Feel the power of Meteor!" He boomed, raising his hands to the sky, chanting the ultimate black magic.

"Sorry, everyone…" Terra lamented, coughing blood and preparing herself for the inevitable.

* * *

><p>"Sephiroth, prepare Omega for activation, it is time for it to rain down destruction." A cloaked man said as he materialized in front of Sephiroth. "I trust you won't fail at such a simple task."<p>

"Do not worry." Sephiroth said as he turned his back at him. _"You will learn to be more specific..."_ Sephrioth thought to himself, grinning as he disappeared.

"...All is going according to how I planned it." The shadowy figure muttered.

"Sephiroth is sure to have some trick prepared." A man, clad in armor said, approaching the figure.

"I know Garland, and I already know what he is planning. For now we'll just let him think that he can outsmart us."

"As devilish as ever. I must say I enjoy the chaos you provoke."

"Don't we all Garland? Now take your assigned companions and leave, this world is only one of the many we have left." The mysterious figure said as he disappered into the the darkness.

_"But mark my words. I shall discover what is behind that cloak."_ Garland thought to himself before heading deeper into the Rift. During the walk he was joined by another man.

"Oh... you're here early, we still have to wait for the others."

"No matter, with this I shall prove to him that I am the superior one!" The brown haired man said, a smirk plastered on his face.

* * *

><p>Locke and Celes laid there on the sand, defeated, only Ramza still stood. Kefka danced around them, mocking the once proud heroes who defied him.<p>

"Now I just need to find my lovely kitten..." Kefka thought out loud, a lustful smile creeping onto his face.

"You will do no such thing. Judgement Blade!" The crystal blade that carried his last shread of strength merely crumbled before ever reaching the self-proclaimed god. Exhausted, Ramza fell onto the floor. "Leader... I'm sorry." He said, as he lost his consciousness.

"Oh, sorry I wasn't listening. May I be excused from the table?" Kefka asked the defeated heroes, none of them were still conscious, the silence was something that only Kefka could appreciate. "I'll take that as a yes. Wait up, kitty cat, Papa will be right there!" He said in the midst of a maniacal laughter before disappearing.

"No... Terra!" Celes said as she woke up, slowly pushing herself up.

"We... have to get there in time." Locke said. "Even if I have to crawl there!"

* * *

><p>"Now accept your fate!" Xande exclaimed. "Me-te..." He was interrupted when a katana pierced his lungs. Looking back he saw the man he thought to have killed before coming here. "You...how are you alive?"<p>

"Cockroaches are hard to kill." The red haired man spat in a dry, hateful tone. He was covered in blood, his clothes were burned and he had one eye closed.

"No... how can I be killed by these pathetic inferior beings..." Xande managed to say as the blood filled his lungs.

"Feel the pain..." The man said pulling his sword out of Xande's body, leaving a gushing wound in his place. "Of those inferior beings..." The man continued, cutting Xande in half in a single swipe of his katana."As you burn in hell!" He finished, sheathing his sword and looking down on the once all mighty mage, his torso separated from his legs.

"Damn you, Noah for giving me this curse..." Xande lamented, remembering his late teacher.

"It was you and your madness that made it a curse. A curse that ended the lives of many innocents. You only called the others inferior beings, because you knew you were the inferior one." The red haired man told the mage, no mercy left on his tired voice.

"I curse you and everyone who is important to you... I hope you receive a fate worse than death... Crono!" The Xande said as he gave his last breath, his mortality finally catching up with him.

"I already have one..." Crono lamented as he turned to Terra.

* * *

><p><span>Next chapter:<span>

_"Here kitty, kitty, kitty!"_

_"You are looking at the absolute end, the monster that surpasses even the gods, the ultimate terror. Omega!"_

_"What is that? The skies are..."_


	8. The Dark Colossus Destroys All

**Author's Note: **Yep, the introduction is finally over, after this chapter expect the unexpected, because I'm going to kick this story up a notch. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We have a chapter to read don't we? Have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Eight**

****The Dark Colossus Destroys All****

* * *

><p>Crono stared at Terra blankly, no emotion left on his face, it was like someone had already teared his heart from his chest. He knelt down and picked up the crystal from Xande's cold, dead hands before turning again to Terra.<p>

"Take this." Crono said as he threw a bottle of ether to Terra. "Heal yourself, I'll go get the other two so you can heal them too."

"Wait! Who're you? And why did you save us?" She asked the stranger.

"Crono." He answered. "And I didn't save you, yet."

"What do you mean?" Terra asked as she healed her ribs and leg.

"He called for Omega. We're all but safe…" Crono said, picking up Zack. "This one's fine for now, but we better get to the other one fast."

"Right!" Terra exclaimed as she remembered Shin's sorry state. When she arrived at his location she noticed he was still conscious, he just couldn't talk or breath with a crushed larynx. "You're the unluckiest guy I know." She joked as she healed Shin.

"It's not my fault. I'm just so strong they tend to try and get rid of me first." He joked back as he sit up and put his hand around his neck. "As good as new, thanks."

"Now for this one." Crono said before noticing the exhausted look on Terra's face. "This is the last one. Use it well." Crono said as he threw another bottle of ether towards Terra.

_"You wouldn't need any help if you just accepted me."_ The voice in Terra's head said in a matter of fact tone of "voice".

_"Maybe I would accept you if you just shut up!"_ She spat back at her.

_"Really, Sunshine?"_

"No!"

"_Ohhh. Meanie."_ It mocked before all of a sudden feeling one very familiar feeling. "_Hey Sunshine. I bet there is someone here to see you! And I don't think you'll be pleased!"_

Terra immediately scouted the area with her mind for any presence, feeling none. Thinking it had just put up a bluff she drank her ether and healed Zack, but then she remembered that she knew that there was someone in the world that she never succeeded in detecting, mainly because that someone wasn't human anymore, neither was he an esper, but that couldn't be, that man was….

"Here kitty,kitty,kitty… Come on to Papa!" A voice came from thin air.

"That voice… NO anything but that voice!" Terra yelled, summoning her sword and getting into a fighting position, the other guys doing the same.

"Oh such aggressiveness, we were once so close!" The voice said before materializing behind them into Terra's worse nightmare.

"Yo." Kefka greeted with an eerie calm.

"Bu-but you're DEAD!" Terra yelled at him.

"Correction, I WAS dead." He stated still with the same calm.

"You're the one behind that cult and the fire." Shin shouted, rushing towards the clown. The swing of his sword missed the target that reappeared behind Terra. "No that was just Sephy pulling the strings. They are so gullible I didn't even need to make an appearance." He said before walking slowly on Terra's direction. "Now give Papa a hug!"

"No, GET AWAY." Terra yelled as she threw a giant block of ice at Kefka, sending him flying a good 50 feet back.

"Huh, that's it? I give you a free shot and that's all you can do?" He said in a disappointed tone. "Look Omega's coming, you'll be dead in a short time, so just put everything you got here. You know, for old time's sake. C'mon, go all tiger on me girl!"

_"Can I kill him? Oh I've dreamt to tear his limbs apart again." _A bloodlustful Esper Terra asked_._

_"No, just go to sleep. It's exactly what he wants."_

_"You'll be sorry..."_

"What... no tiger? I guess I'll just kill you!" Kefka said, looking disappointed that he couldn't have "fun" with an Esper.

"You're really going to take that risk?" Crono asked as he waved Terra's crystal at Kefka. "I know that you want this and I'm not afraid to break it!"

"That insufferable buffoon was useless until the very end. Couldn't even put the crystal in a safe place..." Kefka said in tone as dark as the night. "Guess I'll just kill you before you break that." Kefka said as he snapped his fingers, making three triangles appear next to Crono, surrounding him.

"You're the one who's dying today." Crono said, easily dodging the triangles and dashing towards the mage. Kefka raised a magical barrier to block a frontal assault but as Crono approached it he disappeared, reappearing behind Kefka and thrusting his sword at him. This attack was cut short as Kefka's wings sprouted from his back, almost impaling, Crono who was forced to jump back to avoid them.

"So harsh!" Kefka mocked. "What do you have against me Crony?"

"It's because of people like you that Omega did what it did! I've lost everything to that monster!" Crono yelled, his eyes flaming with rage as he shot a lightning bolt at Kefka.

"Oh, not everything. What about those guys I left for dead ten minutes ago? Ramza was it?"

"You did what?" Crono shouted as he lunged at Kefka, only rage left in his heart. "I'll KILL YOU!" His katana flew towards Kefka's neck and it actually hit the target.

"Seriously? You think it's going to be as easy as stabbing me in the neck?" Kefka said as he pulled the sword out of his neck. "I'm a GOD. Show some respect!" Kefka boomed as he blasted Crono away with a giant fireball. However, being too distracted with Crono he didn't see the tiny fireball in the ground, creeping it's way to his feet. It exploded with surprising strength sending him flying into the air.

"Firaga!" Terra chanted, making Kefka combust in midair. While the jester was stunned by the explosion Shin jumped above him, driving his sword through his chest and adding a bit of thunder into the mixture.

"Now you're putting some feeling into it!" Kefka exclaimed with a twisted smile on his face. "Pity that time is up…"

As Kefka said that the skies shattered like they were made of glass and rifts opened everywhere, each of them leading to a seemingly never ending darkness. Near them, a crack bigger than the others formed, from it emerging a metal leg. As the crack grew larger another leg went through it. Moments later the main body appeared. A spherical silver body dominated by a spherical yellow "Eye" in the middle, on top of the body there was yet another sphere much smaller than the main body but it also possessed an yellow eye.

"Well, it's time to say my goodbye." Kefka said, disappearing from beneath Shin. "Try not to die okay?"

As the other two legs left the gate to the Rift Crono turned towards Terra and Shin yelling. "RUN NOW!"

Wasting no time Shin removed the Lightbringer from the ground where Kefka previously was started running. Terra picked up the still unconscious Zack and started flying away.

"Where to?" Shin asked.

"Far away from that thing!" Crono answered.

"Hostile life forms recognized, beginning extermination. Deploying Wave Cannon." The thing said in a robotic voice, sending multiple beams towards them. Each of those beams didn't create an explosion, but another crack to the Rift.

"If we fall in there were done for!" Crono warned.

"We must evacuate the city!" Terra said concerned.

"Multiple organisms detected. Surge Cannon deployed, annihilation." The creature said as its top eye turned into a canon. The laser that it fired obliterated the front of the castle town.

"NO! My children…" Terra cried. But miracles do happen, in the midst of the smoke two airships took off.

* * *

><p>Every civilian in town was tucked in the two airships. Setzer's unexplainable luck seemed to have kicked in when he decided to evacuate the city on a whim.<p>

"What the heck IS that thing?" Duane asked as he saw her mother being pursued by the mechanical monstrosity.

"You are looking at the absolute end, the monster that surpasses even the gods, the ultimate terror. Omega!" Ramza commented in a defeated tone of voice. "We're doomed…"

"We're not giving up now!" Celes told him as she grabbed him by his neck. "And you call yourself a hero?"

"Drive closer Setzer!" Relm shouted at Setzer that was commanding the faster of the airships, the newly improved Blackjack.

"Will do, cover us Relm."

"Don't worry." Relm said, putting her fake mustache on. "Time for some controlling!" She said from aboard the Falcon. Drawing the creature's portrait she hoped to gain control over it, thus giving Setzer an opening to rescue Terra and the others.

"Now dance!" Relm shouted as she completed her drawing. While the creature's legs did shake, the power was nowhere near enough for it to be control by it. It only served to mark Relm as a target.

"Two airships in sight, annihilating!" Omega said as it charged his laser, shifting his target.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on Relm!" Clyde said as he landed on the smaller pod, driving his ninja sword into its eye. Omega cringed in pain and stopped the assault.

"Now's my chance!" Setzer thought out loud as he launched the Blackjack towards Terra.

Seeing the ship come near Terra landed and turned to Shin a Crono.

"Grab on!" She said. Each of the complied by grabbing one of her shoulders as she started flying. However, before she could reach the Blackjack she began to loose altitude. "Can't… hold on… much longer…" She said, she was too tired to lift three adults and herself into the air.

A familiar wark filled the air.

"Stardust!" Terra exclaimed as the golden Chocobo appeared beside her.

"Crono get on!" Shin said as he jumped from Terra to the Chocobo.

Without the weight of two adults Terra managed to land safely on the Blackjack, followed by Shin and Crono. Clyde also landed on the Blackjack after a high jump.

"So we meet again." Shin said, turning to Clyde.

"So it seems…." He said.

"You know him?" Terra asked.

"You know him too." Strago said as he approached the man. "So you're not dead after all. Shadow."

"Shadow?" Terra asked baffled.

"No time for chit chat. We need to get away." Clyde said, seeing Omega's eye reconstructing itself.

"There's no place to run…" Crono began. "This world will be destroyed."

"Stop saying that! What good will does giving up do us? This is our world! We'll fight for it." Terra said boosting everyone's moral. Terra's hand was then enveloped by a blinding white light. When the light faded her crystal was in her hand.

"I'll delay him! You get the citizens out of here." She said as she jumped of the ship.

"Don't be an idiot Terra!" Shin yelled, trying to get his friend to listen to reason, but Terra was too stubborn for it.

"Hey, bucket-head. Over here!" Terra yelled. Omega turned to face her preparing his weapons. The crystal in her seemed to respond to Omega began to shine again.

"Crystal detected, risk rising. All weapons armed." Omega said as he fired the Surge Canon again. But to everyone's surprise, the light of the crystal absorbed it. This seemed to put doubts in the soulless identity.

"Abort mission. Initiating retreat. "The machine said as it broke the time-space continuum, escaping into the Rift. But their troubles were far from over. The cracks in the space and time continued to multiply even after Omega disappeared.

"What's happening?" Shin asked.

"Omega must have destroyed even the Rift that separated this world from another! We're going to enter a dimensional tempest!" Crono explained. "Everyone, grab on to something!"

"How can we? We're flying!"

"I won't let my babies go down!" Setzer exclaimed. "Locke, follow my lead!"

"Roger!" Locke responded from aboard the Falcon. "All civilians, get inside the airship! We're in for a rough ride."

The skies started to crack, and broke into millions of pieces revealing twisted images from other worlds. The ground was engulfed by a black vortex and it began to suck the airships in.

"We aren't going to escape the vortex! Everyone get inside!" Crono yelled. Locke and Relm joined the citizens aboard the Falcon.

"Terra get over here!" Shin shouted to Terra who was still of the ship.

"I can't! I'm being sucked in!" She desperately said.

Shin extended his hand to grab her but she was too far away.

"Jump! I'll hold your legs!" Crono said. Shin jumped and grabbed Terra's hand, but the sucking power was too much for Crono in his tired state and he began to be sucked in too.

"Stop! Hero time." A newly awakened Zack said as he grabbed Crono and pulled everyone to the deck. "Damn I'm good!"

"Get inside!" Setzer said.

Zack, Crono and Terra entered with Shin being the last, pushing Stardust in and closing the door.

"Let's hope that God likes us." He said as the airships fell into the vortex. The turbulence was so great that the collisions that happened inside knocked out everyone inside in a matter of seconds. Shin managed to last enough to see what seemed to be land, but he thought it to be an hallucination.

* * *

><p>A blonde haired woman rushed inside a castle while looking up to the sky. Entering the throne room she called a white haired man to her side.<p>

"I need to show you something!" The woman said alarmed. They went outside and looked at the heavens as a giant vortex occupied the once blue sky.

"What is that? The skies are..." The man asked confused.

* * *

><p>In a small village small green haired child was playing with a white haired man, a scarf covering his mouth.<p>

"What the heck is that?" The man asked, looking at the sky.

"I'll go get my mother!" The girl said as she ran towards the house.

"I guess this means that I'll get more opportunities to impress her!"

* * *

><p>"Sir, our satellites have gone insane." A scientist told a blonde haired man wearing a white tuxedo.<p>

"Find out what is blocking them." The man told him. "This companny can't fail the planet again."

"Yes, Mr. President."

* * *

><p>A man was standing in a church contemplating a giant sword, when suddenly he felt something and he looked to the skies.<p>

"Looks like… my mission isn't over yet." The man said, picking up the sword and walking outside.

"You're don't have to go alone." A raven haired woman told him. "Don't you want some help?"

"Not interested..." The man responded before seeing a red haired man approaching.

"Sorry to interrupt, but our president wants a word with you... again."

* * *

><p>"Everything is coming together." The mysterious figure said as he saw Omega retreating.<p>

"Sephiroth, your greed only furthered my plans. I will always be two steeps ahead of you."

He then turned away and looked at his darkneed crystal.

"Now I just have to take care of its counterpart."

* * *

><p>"We are all ready, I trust?" Garland asked the three figures. They all noded. "Good, let us depart!"<p>

"I'll be coming." Sephiroth said as he materialized beside a brown haired man.

"As you wish." Garland told him. "But I shall keep an eye out for you."

"Why is that?"

"You must be joking Sephiroth, you're almost as full of secrets as I was." The brown haired man mocked.

* * *

><p>"And so, the first turn finished, let us see how this game of fates plays out. Victory is at anyones grasp." A man, cloaked in black said, contemplating an endless horizon of darkness.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Next chapter:<span>

_"You're alive I see."_

_"I can see that you look human... but you're an Eidolion aren't you?"_

_"You REPLICA!"_


	9. Realities Clash

**Author's note:** Prepare yourselves because characters will rain down in the next chapters and so will the plot of course. This is the second part of the story, I'm not sure how many parts it will have but at least four. Either way, have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

******Part 1: New Bonds******

**Chapter Nine**

******Realities Clash******

* * *

><p>Shin awoke in the midst of a dark location, scouting it he found nothing but darkness ahead of him.<p>

"We meet again… Old friend." A cloaked figure said as he appeared from a dark portal.

"Who are you? And where am I?" Shin asked, he didn't feel hostility from the man but he didn't feel compassion either.

"Who am I? I trust that you will remember it… along with your name." The man mocked. "As to where are you, look down."

A light enveloped them both for brief moments. As the light died down Shin noticed that the floor had changed. It was no longer pure black, it was now an elaborate mosaic that had him as the center piece. To the right shadowy figure surrounded him, its shape was unrecognizable but it felt familiar. To the left, empty circles were drawn on the floor.

"We are in you, so to speak. Or the empty shell that you call yourself." The man continued as he removed his hood. His face was there but Shin couldn't see it, it was like a fog covered it.

"What do you mean "empty shell"? Does it have to do with who I am?"

"Bravo. What a wonderful conclusion. It's not who you are, but what you are NOT." The man said, a mocking tone appearing on his growled voice.

"Stop speaking in riddles!" Shin said as his vision started to fade.

"Alas, our time together is over." The man said as he shifted to a benevolent tone. "But remember this. Whoever you were in the past does not invalidate who you are now, understand?"

"I think I do…" Shin answered before clinging to his head.

"Good… Now march towards your destiny!"

Shin woke up in what seemed to be an infirmary. Besides him were two women and a man talking. One had long, green hair and was head locking the white haired man and calling him a pervert. The other blonde haired woman was looking at Terra, who was lying in another bed, with concern.

"You're alive I see." A turquoise haired girl said, startling Shin. "Miss Rosa, can you come over here?" The child called, getting the attention of everyone in the room.

"Oh, I didn't expect him to wake up so soon!" "Rosa" exclaimed surprised.

"Well, we might get some answers from him." The green haired woman commented as she released the headlock on the white haired man. "My name is Rydia, this pervert here is called Edward…"

"Hey! I think we all agreed not to call me by that name!" The man shouted before being thrown face-first into the floor.

"You lost that right when you groped my ass." The woman said, her caring demeanor changing to pure rage for a second. "That aside, this is Rosa." She said as she pointed to the blonde haired woman. "And this…" She picked up the girl. "Is my daughter, Cuore. Sorry she was so rude. Say hello Cuore."

"Hello." The girl said dryly.

"Nice to meet you." Shin replied hesitantly to the girl.

"What about you? What's your name." The girl asked.

_"Here we go again…"_ Shin thought to himself. "I don't know. But you can call me Shin." He responded, but to his surprise they were not fazed by the news.

"Amnesia would be understandable for such a huge crash…" Rosa muttered.

"What are you talking about? What crash?" Shin asked alarmed.

"Two days ago a giant vortex appeared in the sky, giving way to a giant storm. When I was coming to Baron with Edward and Cuore I saw two weird objects crashing." Rydia began.

"It turns out we found two airships crashed near Baron Lake. The outside of the airship was completely destroyed but we decided to check the inside of the airships." "Edward" continued.

"But when we tried to get in we were pushed away by a barrier, we eventually dispelled it with the help of Asura and found out that everyone inside was largely unhurt because of the barrier. Some broken bones and whatnot but no big deal." Rydia's face then darkened. "The problem is that this girl must have pushed her limits at creating those barriers… she's in critical condition."

"So Terra saved us… again." Shin felt horrible, ever since they met Terra had to be the one to mop up for everything he had done wrong.

"She's not in critical condition. Little Miss Sunshine is just not an early bird." A familiar voice came from Terra's direction. Looking at the bed the group could see Terra standing up and doing some stretching, but there was something different about her, her hair had changed to a green hue and she had a dangerous feeling to her.

"You… who are you?" Shin asked baffled.

"Me? I'm me, who else?" The girl said in a mocking tone. "Look Terra will be waking up soon but before I go can you do me a favor?" A big sadistic grin took over her face. "Tell her about this little meeting of ours okay?" And with that the girl closed her eyes, falling on the bed, her hair returning to Terra's normal blonde state.

"What the heck just happened?" Edward asked confused.

"Where… where am I?" Terra asked as she opened her eyes.

"You okay Terra?" Shin asked as he saw his friend struggling to sit up.

"Yeah, I'm just tired that's all. Did everyone make it?"

"Every single one. You've done well." Rosa congratulated in a very soothing voice.

"Thank goodness… Can I see them?"

"The meeting should be starting soon." Rydia urged.

"If it's not a problem, can you speak with my husband first? As the king he would like a word with all of you." Rosa calmly asked.

"Guess it's our obligation isn't it?" Shin thought out loud. "Well, lead the way."

"You have my thanks." Rosa said as she signaled them to follow.

* * *

><p>"Crono what happened? Where are we?" Ramza whispered, not wanting to alarm the man that had saved them.<p>

"I have a theory, but I'll tell you when we're at the meeting." Crono answered as he continued to follow the white haired man.

"You know I can hear you don't you?" The man said.

"I do." Crono replied dryly.

* * *

><p>As Shin and Terra walked the other group introduced themselves to Terra, Edward getting kicked between the legs for flirting with her.<p>

"Why do I have the feeling Edward and Edgar are going to be best friends?" Terra sighed as she helped the poor man up.

"I'm…. not…. Edward." The man weakly said while grabbing to his familly heirloom.

"Edward Geraldine of Eblan. Edge is just a nickname." Cuore stated mater of factly. "Just because you don't like the name it doesn't mean you aren't called that way."

"I thought you were on my side!" Edge said distraught.

"You groped my mother… three times…. In ten seconds."

"Point taken…"

"We're here." Rosa said as they arrived at a double-door. "Don't be scared, make yourselves at home." She said with a reassuring smile as she opened them.

The throne room was just that. A room with a throne, it didn't even try to impress. On one side stood Edgar and company and on the other side stood what seemed to be the royal guard and a blonde teen, no older than sixteen, wearing blue armor with a white and red scarf surrounding his neck.

"Ceodore, where is your father?" Rosa asked.

"I don't know Mom." Ceodore replied.

"He went to get that red haired guy." An old man with a giant white beard said as he came in the room, followed by Luso, Adelle and Marche. "These ones said that he would be just the man to explain this situation. "He then took a look at the newly arrived . "Name's Cid! Cid Pollendina!"

"Cid?" Celes asked herself. "Is it a coincidence?"

"Hey Terra, I have something to tell you... When you were sleeping you..." Shin began to say before seeing Rydia frenetically gesturing him to stop.

"Not now!" She mouthed without speaking.

"What were you saying Shin?" Terra asked, curious about Shin's sudden hesitation.

"You...huh... snore very loud!" He said randomly. _"Oh god... I must look retarded now."_ He lamented to himself.

"Is that right? Don't worry I'll see a medic about this." She inocently replied.

_"What the heck... it worked?"_ Shin thought himself. "Yeah, we've got to make sure you aren't sick."

"Hehe , you're a good friend." Terra said.

"Well, me and Terra need some girl-on-girl talk. You go do your stuff!" Rydia cheerfully exclaimed as she pulled Terra away.

_"I'll never understand women..."_

"Yo Shin!" Zack greeted while giving Shin a pat in the back so strong he almost fell face first into the ground. "Getting better!" He exclaimed, surprised that Shin didn't fall down. "That aside. Can you believe how HOT those two look?" Zack said as he pointed to Rydia and Rosa. "And get this… The green haired one is single!"

"Before you get your hopes up…." Edge said, walking into the conversation. "I've been trying for eighteen years, she's one tough catch. And on a side note, if you hit on her you better sleep with your eyes open."

"Relax dude!" Zack said, keeping his sunny mood. "I would never steal from a bro. I'll even try and pull some strings for you. Eighteen years is inspiring."

"Dude! Awesome." Edge said, hoping rekindling in his heart. "I'm Edge and you are?"

"Zack Fair. Brofist!" Zack said lifting his fist up. "Punch it." Edge punched it and Shin felt sorry for Rydia.

_"And so… perverts unite."_ Shin thought, sweat dropping. _"At least Edgar's not in this... yet."_

* * *

><p>At the girl's corner the conversation wasn't so cheery.<p>

"Terra… Can I ask you something important?" Rydia began with an worried look on her face.

"Well yes, but what's wrong?" Terra answered, having no clue what Rydia wanted.

"I can see that you look human... but you're an Eidolion aren't you?" Rydia asked.

"Eidolion?" Terra asked, becoming frightened. This conversation was turning in the worst direction possible.

"A summoned spirit." Rydia answered.

Terra froze at the statement, but she calmed down thinking that Rydia had no way to prove it.

"No, what makes you think that?" She lied.

"I've lived with Eidolions for ten years, both monsters and the ones that looked like humans." Rydia began. "I know how one feels, you can't trick my instincts."

Terra was backed against a corner. "If you know it already then I don't even have to admit it do I?" She answered in defeat. "But let me just get one thing straight. I'm only half Esper, my other half is human."

"You have parents of two different species? I've got to tell my parents this is possible!" Rydia exclaimed surprised, starting to summon her adoptive parents.

"But Rydia…" Terra began.

"Yeah?" Rydia asked, stopping her summoning spell in its tracks.

"Can you… keep this a secret? Not everyone knows about this…" Terra asked as she turned to Shin and Zack.

"I will, but I really think you should tell them. It's nothing to be ashamed off." Rydia had a look of tenderness in her face. "If the Feymarch accepted me, a human, and even made a fan-club about me, I don't think they'll have any problems accepting you."

"I wonder…" Terra muttered as she looked at a mirror, for a split second seeing herself with green hair. After recomposing from the shock she assumed it was just her imagination. "I must be more tired than I thought." She shrugged.

* * *

><p>In the midst of the bickering the double doors opened, from them entering a white haired man in a silver armor, a yellow and blue scarf in his neck. He was followed by Ramza, Crono and Aya, the later seemed way to exited for a woman her age.<p>

"Cecil, slow as ever I see." Cid joked at the recently arrived king.

"My apologies Cid." He said as he turned to the crowd. "Welcome to Baron strangers. Please feel right at home, we have much to discuss." Cecil announced before sitting on his throne.

"I take it you're expecting to know how we got here." Edgar said, stepping forward. "As a fellow king I know that you must be worried about the consequences this may bring for your people."

"You've read my mind. What is your name?" Cecil asked.

"Edgar Roni Figaro. But can I request that you let my people stay in your country until they heal?"

"I've got no qualms with that."

"Thank you, Cecil. Now if you may explain us what's happening Crono I would truly appreciate it." Edgar said, stepping back to the side of his brother.

"Smooth talking there bro!" Sabin whispered.

"All that training with women paid off." Edgar replied, fist pumping his brother.

"Well I warn you. I don't know exactly where we are. But I do know this, if the dimensional tempest took us here we are still in your world Terra." Crono said, much to everyone's amazement.

"World?" Cecil asked.

"We can't be." Terra said at the same time.

"Let me explain. This is definitely another world, however we must remember that the your world was engulfed in the dimensional storm. Normally when a dimensional storm occurs Omega has already destroyed that world, but this time the monster ran away. That means that your world fell through the same vortex we did. This world must have merged with yours, we just haven't seen the changes yet because we haven't explored it."

"That's physically impossible Crono." Aya began. "If two worlds joined together the gravity would become two times higher, but I don't see that happening."

"That may be right, but this is the Rift we're talking about. It's very possible that since both worlds joined, the crystals did their best to maintain balance and scale gravity back to it's normal state.

"That's just impossible Crono. You can't just alter reality." Aya responded in disbelief.

"Omega can, it was proved again and again. There are powers at work that far exceed any idea you might still have. The crystals are one of them. That's the only reason that would make Omega try and run away from them." Crono finished. Everything he said made sense now, except for the Cecil and the others.

"Can you explain this, slowly?" Cecil asked.

"Yes, it would be best." Crono replied.

* * *

><p>"Cloud Strife. It's been a while. A year since the Deepground incident if I'm not mistaken." A blonde haired man asked as the spiky haired man and the raven haired woman entered his office.<p>

"Save it Rufus. What do you want with us?" Cloud spat at the man.

"You still don't trust me? SHINRA has changed a lot since the days were we almost destroyed the planet." Rufus said in an apologizing tone.

"Rufus we all know you must have found something very important for you to call us here. Is it about the vortex? Or is it about those crystalline beings." The raven haired woman asked.

"Both Tifa. Can't you see? It's too much of a coincidence for them to have appeared at the same time. Our satellites have reported a change in our landscape. It became at least three times larger, at least three new continents sprouted, our planet has changed!" Rufus said hitting the table. " We have to find out what happened. We have found a medieval castle about 200 Kilometers from Gongaga, Cloud I want to lead the team I'm sending in."

"What. You have military again?" Cloud asked suspicious.

"No Cloud… I have SOLDIER!"

* * *

><p>"Quite the fantastic story." Cecil said as Crono stopped explaining what had happened.<p>

"But it's not such a great push after what we've seen in the last few days…" Rosa commented.

"True, but I must ask Crono. What about you? Even they seem to lack knowledge about you." Cecil asked the question that everyone had wanted to ask for a while.

"I guess I owe you guys an explanation." Crono began before a guard barged in the room.

"My lord, we have sighted some weird airships and some men ridding what seemed to be metal animals!" The man said while gasping for air.

"We must see this quickly!" Cecil said, rushing to the outer wall of the castle.

"This can't be what I'm thinking…" Zack muttered as he followed the crowd.

As they reached the outer wall Zack gasped.

"SHINRA helicopters? Motorcycles? And is that… Oh I would recognize that hair even from miles away. I think it's time for my dramatic reunion." Zack exclaimed, jumping off the outer wall and starting to run in their direction.

"Hey Zack, wait up!" Shin shouted as he jumped off the wall aswell.

"I'll help too!" Terra said, giving chase.

"Did they go mad?" Cecil asked.

"I don't care, this sounds like fun!" Edge said as he jumped off the wall.

"Edge stop! We can't risk them thinking that we're hostile!" Crono shouted to no avail.

"I'll go get the moron…" Rydia said as she jumped off the wall as well.

"Now what do we do?" Locke asked.

"Now we wait…" Crono answered.

Zack ran as fast as he could. He could barely contain himself. "Cloud's reaction will be priceless." And he was right… As the motorcycles approached he could see the Fenrir leading them, the black coated "Chocobo head" leading them, with both his Buster Sword and the First Tsurugi on his back. Stopping in his tracks Zack raised his hands and shouted. "Long time no see Cloud!".

Cloud's face was not one of happiness. It was one of disgust, much to Zack's surprise.

"Stand aside. You REPLICA!"

* * *

><p><span>Next chapter:<span>

_"Hey Chocobo head. Do you really think you can beat me?"_

_"The reason I'm here is…"_

_"Do you want to hear what this bird has to whisper?"_

**Post chapter note:** I'm using the Ceodore's retconned age in this chapter if you're wondering about how he got younger. Also I'm not sure about Cuore's hair color but it seemed turquoise in the CG, correct me if I'm wrong.


	10. Revelations: Crono's Burden

**Author's note:** Yet another chapter I had to cut in two parts, it was just too big. The next chapter is already pretty advanced so expect it shortly. I also noticed that I had anonymous reviews blocked, it's will be unlocked as long as they are not of bad taste, so review away. Anyway, have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Ten**

**Revelations: Crono's Burden**

* * *

><p>Zack never thought he would see the day that he would have to dodge a blow from the Buster Sword, in part because Angeal never used it in battle but that's not important right now. Never the less, life is full of surprises. Jumping to avoid the cleave, Zack landed on top of the Buster Sword and kicked his former student off his bike.<p>

"Hey Cloud, did you hit your head or something? It's me, THE Zack Fair. You know: handsome hero, your teacher and most importantly your bro!" Zack shouted, not believing that Cloud had just attacked him.

"You aren't anything! Zack is dead!" Cloud shouted as he picked up the First Tsurugi. "I won't let you disgrace my friend's name any longer."

"Zack! We'll help." Shin said as he, Terra, Edge and Rydia arrived at the location.

Then Zack started to smile. This was fun for him, he always wanted to spar with Cloud and a little risk couldn't hurt.

"Nah, I'll handle this!" Zack said, noticing the Buster Sword beside his foot. "Hey Chocobo head… Do you really think you can beat me?" Zack said picking up his old sword. "Don't get cocky just because you beat Sephiroth!" That said Zack lunged at his friend in hopes of getting a good fight.

"Everyone, stay your weapons. This fake is mine!" Cloud ordered the rest of the force. Still boiling with rage, Cloud jumped into the air, gaining a blue aura and quickly descended towards Zack, the tip of his sword covered in blue energy. The latter simply stopped in his tracks and prepared for impact, covering his face with the Buster Sword. The impact only made Zack back down a few inches, taking the chance Zack pushed Cloud away who didn't have any leverage because of being in the air. The false SOLDIER hit the floor hard, losing his grip of his sword. As Cloud crawled back to his sword a foot stepped on its blade and he found the Buster Sword's tip a few inches from his cheek.

"Put your heart into it Cloud!" Zack shouted, trying to take the doubts off Cloud's heart.

"Shut up!" Cloud growled as he made a dash for the Fenrir, taking the remaining five fusion blades from it. Putting the front blades on his waist and dual wielding the back blades he rushed towards Zack before being blocked by an orange flash.

"Cloud, stand down." The orange haired girl ordered as she caught her returning Shuriken. "Long time no see, Zack." The girl said turning to Zack.

"You don't really believe that's him do you?" Cloud asked, enraged.

"If he wasn't… why would he have spared you? He could have easily killed you." The girl responded with an aggressive tone.

"Cissnei! The years have done you good!" Zack exclaimed happily after seeing his old friend.

"Always the flirt, huh Zack." She replied, trying to hide her embarrassment. "I believe you owe us some explanation."

"Oh god… Two times in one day?" Edge lamented.

"YOU… I don't even have the words to describe what I think of you right now! You inconsiderate idiot! You rash child! Act like someone your age." Rydia yelled at Edge with all her might. "Don't you ever think about the consequences of your actions? What if they had deemed us hostile? Do you realize what kind of…" She stopped as she realized that everyone was staring at her. "I'll deal with you later." She said as she calmed down.

Shin coughed to get some attention.

"If you're no longer trying to kill us can you get your military out of here? You just might be getting a bad first impression." He sarcastically said.

Cissnei picked up a black device, touched the screen and put it against her ear.

"Cissnei here, Tseng call off the assault, I don't have the authority to send these SOLDIER home." She said, seemingly speaking towards nowhere.

"If you insist… Just let me know about what you find out there. That would really help your return to the Turks." A voice came from the apparatus leaving everyone but Zack and Cloud astonished.

"Roger. Cissnei off." She said as she touched the screen and put it back on her pocket.

"You got an Iphone? They totally spoil the Turks!" Zack said amazed.

"Oh c'mon Zack it's not like you could get one, with your "status" until now. Besides, Cloud got one today." She replied, the last part being in a playful tone.

"DAMN YOU RUFUS!" Zack yelled, shaking his fist towards the sky.

"Hey Zack. What's an Iphone?" Shin asked.

"It's a popular telephone." Zack replied, but he soon noticed that Shin continued full of doubts. "What you don't know what a phone IS?" Edge, Rydia, Terra and Shin just shook their heads.

"A telephone is a device that lets you communicate at distance with other people. It would take a while to explain its workings so I'll leave it to another time." Cissnei explained.

"No fun, are ya Ciss?" Zack pouted.

"Duty first Zack." She replied.

"Zack… Sorry about that…" Cloud apologized.

"Don't worry man. Give this bro a manly hug!" He said.

"Huh… no thanks." Cloud replied as he extended his hand. "Good to have you back."

"Good to be back!" Zack said as he shook his hand. "Now, who wants to get inside?"

"You can't just invite them Zack!" Terra complained. "It's not our castle."

"Cecil will be more than happy to talk with more people from other worlds." Rydia said.

"Other what?" Cloud asked.

"We'll get to that latter." Shin said.

"Well I'm coming. I need to report to SHINRA." Cissnei said.

"And we're coming too, aren't we Cloud?" Tifa said as she put her arm around his neck.

"You're going to make me go aren't you?" He answered in dismay.

"Damn straight!" A rugged, blonde haired man said as he approached the group. "The rest of the group will catch up eventually too." He said before turning to Shin and the others. "Name's Cid, Cid Highwind."

"Another Cid?" Terra asked surprised. "That makes what? Three?"

"Awesome!" Edge and Zack said in unison, fist pumping as they noticed that.

"Well for now let's get back." Rydia said as she glared at Edge. "I've got matters to take care of." She said, making Edge gulp.

As they went back to the castle Zack pated Edge's back.

"Sorry bro… can't help you. Rest in peace." He said, manly tears flowing down his face.

"Don't worry, I've been in this for eighteen years straight… I just might survive." Edge said, giving a dramatic farewell.

"Better hurry up before the shippers get the two of you." Cuore said as she floated above them.

"When did you get here? Are you here to laugh in my face again?" Edge asked.

"I was here to help you get away but since you insist…"

"Nonononono. Please help me!" Edge begged.

"Okay, I'll go talk with Mother, just don't continue to get on her bad side okay?"

"Ohhh so you already HAVE a helper!" Zack said.

"Kinda… depends if I play with her or not. Playing with her isn't always nice however… She plays tag…with Flare." Edge replied.

"Ouch…" Zack said imagining himself in such a situation.

"Aren't ninjas supposed to be fast?" Rydia growled from the distance.

"That's our cue!" Edge exclaimed as he and Zack sped forward in the direction of the castle.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to my castle." Cecil greeted. Cissnei and Tifa immediately bowed, with Cloud following quickly but Cid just stood there.<p>

"Hiya!" Cid replied.

"Cid!" Tifa whispered.

"Now there, there's no need for formalities. You can make yourselves at home. But I must ask, is your name really Cid?" Cecil asked.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"My name's also Cid!" Cid Pollendina said.

"Weird… There was a Sword Saint in my world called Thunder God Cid." Ramza divagated.

"No way! The head of our clan was also called Cid!" Luso said as Adelle nodded.

"Dude! Cid was my best friend's dad and a judge!" Marche continued.

"My adoptive grandfather is also called Cid…" Celes added.

"This is getting creepy…" Terra said.

"What a coincidence." Locke began. "Or is it?" He turned to the "camera" and there was a dramatic zoom-in. "Damn you Square!" He yelled as he shook his fist in midair, an echo followed.

"He's finally gone mad…" Edgar said baffled.

"What relationship did I get myself into?" Celes lamented, facepalming.

"On to business." Crono dryly said.

"You might want to give a quick recap to them before discussing this any further." Cecil suggested.

"Fine, I'll do it." Terra said.

She started to explain everything, from what Shin told her about how he woke up, the parade, their meeting, the attack on the city and…. She arrived at the taboo part for Cloud.

"After fighting for a bit he told me his name." Terra began.

"Terra don't!" Zack warned but it was too late.

"Sephiroth." Terra finished.

"Sephiroth? Where is he?" Cloud said, grabbing Terra's shoulders and shaking her. "Not him too, why can't he stay dead? Do you know where he is? Tell me!"

Zack had to restrain Cloud for him to stop.

"Get a hold of yourself man! Yes he's alive, no we don't know where he is, yes you'll probably have to fight him again. Now let the girl finish!" Zack said with an authority unseen until now.

"Sorry…" Cloud apologized.

"No problem… I know how you feel." Terra said, thinking about Kefka. "But most importantly, why is he so familiar? And how did my esper know his name? Why did he appear on my dreams? And why do I get the brotherly vibe from him?" She thought to herself. Knowing that she wouldn't be getting any answers yet she continued with the story until the present moment.

"That's… I'm mind blown…" Tifa managed to say, her mouth wide agape.

"Rufus will like to hear about this." Cissnei muttered.

Cid just shrugged. "Figures… We never get some rest do we?"

"Yeah…" Cloud said, agreeing.

"Now that everyone is on par with situation…" Crono began." "The reason I'm here is because I know what could have happened. You see… I'm from the future." He stated as he left everyone jaw droped.

"About ten years from now if we trust the Epoch. As I was saying in my world It had been three years since me and some companions embarked a quest through time to defeat the alien parasite Lavos and prevent the Apocalypse. After we succeeded everyone returned to their time and I married Marle, a girl that I had met on my journey." Crono's face darkened after this. "One day I went to visit my mother alone, since Marle was pregnant and didn't want to take risks with the baby. What I saw was indescribable. Omega, towering above my home town, everything set aflame. No one survived." He said as he took a deep breath as he drifted to a flashback.

* * *

><p>"Mother? Everyone? Lucca?" A younger Crono yelled. Omega stared at him, analyzing the young man.<p>

"No risk detected, moving on to Guardia Castle." The beast mechanically said.

"You! You did all of this!" Crono shouted as he drew the Dreamseeker. "This is for every innocent live you claimed today! Luminaire!" A giant sphere of green energy erupted from Crono, fazing Omega a driving it backwards.

"Analysis incorrect. Deploying Wave Canon." The creature announced.

Crono tried to block the beam but his blade was damaged by it and he was sent flying towards a house. He slowly got up just to notice that Omega was laying siege to the castle.

"No! Marle!" Crono shouted as he raced to the castle. He managed to pass unnoticed beneath Omega's legs and managed to arrive at Marle's room.

"Crono, what's happening?" A distressed blonde asked.

"I don't know Marle, but we've got to get to the Epoch!" Crono explained, out of breath.

They ran through the crumbling hallways of the castle, every soldier urging them to get away, they eventually reached the dock where they had stored the Epoch since Lavos's defeat.

"I'll help you get on." Crono said as he got in to the Epoch and started pulling Marle up. Unfortunately the walls crumbled at that time, revealing a horrifying yellow eye.

"Time travelling device located, annihilation, Surge canon!" The metal monstrosity said as it prepared its strongest weapon.

"There's not enough time…" Marle said in a saddened voice as she pushed Crono into the Epoch and pushed the activation button. "Live for me…" She said as the cockpit closed leaving a tearful Crono to witness the giant white light, passing out.

* * *

><p>I awoke in the place we used as a base in our last journey, the End of Time, the Epoch had stopped working and the gates of time were closed. Seeing no way out I started to look for survivors.<p>

* * *

><p>"Gaspar?" Crono called as he ran through the courtyard. Seeing that there was no response he opened the gate. "Spekkio?" He called but again hearing no response. He returned to main courtyard just to see a cloaked man that he quickly recognized. "Magus! You're alive!" He shouted in relief.<p>

"Not for very long… " Magus said, revealing the gaping hole in his stomach. "Gaspar tried to pull me from my time to escape that beast… But it was too late for all of us. Crono time… doesn't exist anymore, this is the only place that remains of this world, and it will soon be  
>consumed by the Void as well."<p>

"No that can't be true!" Crono desperately said.

"Alas it is… But I trust you Crono, you'll find a way out of this… and when you do tell me please… I still have to find my sister…" Magus said as life slipped of him.

"Magus!" Crono said as ran towards the man. Realizing he was dead Crono despaired. "What am I supposed to do?" he shouted.

"That is a question that is old man can provide an answer too." A cloaked figure said, appearing behind Crono.

"Who are you?" Crono asked.

"My name is of no consequence. I have outfitted the Epoch with a new function… To travel between worlds using the Rift as a bridge." The man explained as he pointed to the ship. "Take these with you." The man said as he threw some papers towards Crono. "In those papers is all the information that one who called himself The Great Will managed to write about the hero's in existence. Take it and ride the Epoch, this universe may be doomed, but we can stop Omega before he gain such destructive force!"

Thinking about Magus's words Crono grabbed the papers an nodded. "Your idea might just work, I will do this… for everyone."

"Good, just remember, never let revenge control you…" The man said as he disappeared into thin air.

* * *

><p>"And that's what happened." Crono finished, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Everyone I know is dead." Crono whipped the tears and continued. "I found my way to Ivalice and searched different time periods to find its greatest heroes. I was unable however to pin point the location of one since the reports didn't offer the necessary information for me to find Vaan. I then found Aya, whose world had just been attacked by Omega and rescued her. Only then did I finally arrived at this time period. Point Zero… this is where it all began." He finished, leaving the crowd speechless.<p>

"That's… horrible!" Terra said, overflowing with empathy. "So that's why you're always so serious."

"I don't need sympathy, I have accepted the facts." Crono said dryly.

"Well this was quite the story." Cecil said, trying to break the somber mood. "But I think we all need some rest don't we?"

Everyone nodded, some were physically tired other's emotionally tired because of the story.

"Well, we'll guide you to your quarters, a night's rest will surely help us sort ideas." Cecil said as he opened the double door.

"Follow me."

* * *

><p>Everyone started to follow Cecil and as such they did not notice the man that floated at the window.<p>

"Oh Terra, I almost feel sorry for you, that crystal has put a bull's-eye on your head. But I wonder… Do you want to hear what this bird as to whisper? Lost memories may be best left forgotten" The silver haired man chimed. "I think it's time to raise the curtain once again."

* * *

><p><span>Next chapter:<span>

_"Interesting, there seem to be traitors everywhere I look…"_

_"That guy can only be one of these two…"_

_"I shall not let you pass."_


	11. Fateful Night: The Dark Messenger

**Author's note: **It's been a month since I started writting this and I must say, it's been fun. To all the reviewed until now, thank you. I'd really appreciate feedback on how the story has been until now, but that aside, just relax and have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Eleven**

**Fateful Night: The Dark Messenger**

* * *

><p>Shin was in his room, unable to sleep. It was ironic really, the fact that he didn't get any flashbacks lately didn't make him as happy as he thought it would. They were the only thing that tied to his past and now they were gone.<p>

"I need some fresh air…" He mumbled as he lifted himself off his bed. He headed to the top of the tower.

* * *

><p>"You called?" A blonde haired man, dressed in an elegant yellow suit, asked, appearing behind the masked figure.<p>

"Ah, Emperor Mateus… I have a problem I wanted your advice on." The man said, turning to the Emperor. "What do you think of Kuja? Is he loyal?"

"Not at all, he tried to betray us once, Kefka had to delete his memory." Mateus replied.

"Interesting, there seem to be traitors everywhere I look…" The man mumbled. "And what about you? What reason do I have to trust you?"

"As long as you keep your end of the bargain, I have no feud to settle nor do I have an irrational longing for the light." Mateus slyly responded.

"Yes… Sephiroth's feud with Cloud may get out of hand sometime, but he is too useful for now." The man stood up. "Very well, you are excused. I have some matters that need to be dealt with."

"Of course…" Mateus replied as he disappeared into the Rift.

* * *

><p>Shin arrived at the balcony at the top of the tower just to find Terra siting at the edge, her shining hair untied at the moonlight.<p>

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked as she gestured him to sit. Shin sat beside her, feet dangling out of the balcony as he looked at the starry night sky.

"Yeah… too much has happened. Can you believe it's only been five days since I woke up and meet you guys?" He divagated. "Look at where we are now… In another world, talking with dead people and time-travelers. We've seen people from advanced worlds and people from medieval times, we've fought a God, and we escaped a monstrosity whose power we couldn't even understand."

Terra was relieved after listening to him. He had no real worries, he was only overwhelmed which was comprehensible, but the same could not be said about her.

"And you? Why are you here?" He asked.

"Me? Hum… same reason you are… yeah." She lied, she was too afraid to explain her situation to anybody, how she woke up every time after seeing horrible nightmares of gore and bloodshed, terrified that she could have done that. They were so realistic, and the worse is that it could all happen… she just needed to slip once.

"I doubt that…" He said, making Terra freeze. "I'm not really here because of what I said… I'm just afraid." He said, a bit of embarrassment creeping into his expression at the end.

That certainly relaxed Terra since he wasn't on to her, but it did pick her curiosity.

"Afraid of what?" She asked.

"Well until the crash I had like two flashbacks a day, now they're gone, I'm starting to think I'll never get my memory back…." Shin replied, lowering his head. "Besides, I've had a couple of memories with Cloud and he doesn't know me… I even had a memory of Zack dying be he assures me that only Cloud was there. They also don't recognize the old man and the guy with the lion pendant…. Just what the hell am I remembering?" He asked, despair plastered on his face as he ruffled his hair.

Whatever he was going through made Terra think. He was in such a bad position as she was once, perhaps even worse, at least she remembered her name and had some memories, the poor guy had none of those things.

"If it helps I'm also in a similar situation…" She said, catching Shin's attention. "I had dreams about Cloud, me and a boy but I did not know their names until… recently." She said, trying to conceal that it was her esper that reminded her of the names. "And Cloud doesn't seem to recognize me either…"

"Well…" Shin began. "At least you didn't have a weird man visiting you in your dreams."

_"Oh you don't know the first thing about visits in your dreams…"_ Terra thought to herself. "Do explain…"

"It happened when I was asleep after the crash, it went like this…"

* * *

><p>"Crono, why are you shuffling through the reports so late?" Ramza asked, seeing his roommate turning the pages of the giant pile of paper.<p>

"I don't get it…" Crono began. "Who IS Shin? There must be someone in these pages whose description fits him!" Crono stopped as he heard a knock on the door.

"Can I come in?" Aya asked as she opened it.

"Here for the same reason heh?" Ramza asked.

"What? Can't a girl be curious from time to time?" She replied happily.

"Okay then… Ramza, you'll take reports I,II and III. Aya, you'll get V,VIII and IX. I'll get X,XI,XII,XIII. We've already seen IV, VI and VII with our own eyes."

"Roger!" They said in unison.

"But what about XIV?" Ramza asked.

"I was reading it… no one matched." Crono replied.

* * *

><p>"Edward Geraldine of Eblan, come here!" Rydia ordered.<p>

"You'll never get me alive!" Edge shouted preparing to jump off the tower.

Rydia sighed. "I only want to talk…" She said, shifting to a melancholic tone.

"Really?" Edge asked baffled." Thank you Cuore!" He thought.

"Look Edge, Cuore looks at you like a father and I… you're my best friend, please stop being so rash. What if you had died out there? Cuore is cold enough as it is, if you died she would just close herself from the outside world." Rydia hadn't talked tenderly with Edge for years, mostly because Edge kept harassing her or other girls but that's not the point.

"Gee, if you look at it that way… I feel like a prick." Edge said. "I'm sorry…"

"Glad to hear." Rydia said smiling. "Now be more careful, okay?" She said as she walked away.

"Did… did I just score?" Edge asked himself still not believing that he had a heart to heart conversation with Rydia.

* * *

><p>"So…. How have you been dude?" Zack asked an almost sleeping Cloud.<p>

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, sitting up. "Can't you like see everything from… down there?"

"You're confusing me with Aerith buddy. I just hand around with her, she doesn't necessarily tell me everything." As Zack mentioned Aerith Cloud's face darkened. "Let it go dude, it's not your fault."

"It is my fault!" Cloud shouted, suddenly standing up. "I tried to kill her! And then I let Sephi…" He was interrupted when Zack stood up and punched him right in the face.

"For the last time. Stop. Being. Emo!" Zack said in a commanding voice. "Get over yourself, what's done is done. MOVE ON!"

A knock on the door stopped the discussion.

"Is there something wrong?" A woman's voice asked.

"No Tifa…" Zack said, still starting at Cloud. "Nothing's wrong." He said as he laid down on the bed and covered his head with his pillow.

"Thanks Zack… I needed that…" Cloud muttered as he got back to his bed.

"No prob bud."

* * *

><p>"So… what have you got?" Crono asked as he put the last paper down.<p>

" I've got just one…. The Red Mage of Light, Lloyd. Brown hair, 22 years old, can use both types of magic, 5.9 feet tall. It mostly fits, a haircut would explain the shorter hair and the different personality might come from the amnesia." Ramza explained.

"I've got nothing… "Crono said in defeat. "Ramza said he looks nothing like Balthier so I'm out of ideas."

"Well I got not one but TWO!" Aya exclaimed. "Bartz Klauser and Squall Leonhart. Now the problem is the following. They have the same height, we can't guide ourselves by the hair cut, both can use magic proficiently, his clothes were given to him by the orphans so they are a no go. Their personalities don't matter after amnesia they could have changed."

"So in other words… He can be either one." Ramza concluded.

"If these reports had pictures…" Crono sighed. "Well he can't be Squall though."

"Why?" Ramza asked.

"Do you see a scar on his forehead?" Crono said, pointing to a line on the piece of paper.

"Oh… missed that." Aya pouted.

"Be more careful…." Ramza sighed.

"So in other words…." Crono started. "That guy can only be one of these two…Lloyd or Bartz."

"We MUST be missing something here…" Ramza lamented.

"Guess we'll just have to wait till he gets more memories…" Aya suggested.

"Nothing else we CAN do, so we'll wait. For now, we rest." Crono said before going back to his bed.

"Yeah, goodnight." Aya replied, leaving the room.

"Goodnight." Ramza said as he enveloped himself in his sheets.

* * *

><p>"That's… weird." Terra said as Shin finished his story. "But at least it shows signs of improvement."<p>

"Yeah maybe…. But still." He replied before feeling a small hand on his shoulder.

"Look, even if you don't get your memory back, you can always be happy… It's only been five days and look at how many friends you've made." Terra said in a soothing voice. "You and Zack look like brothers, and honestly you're almost as good of a friend as Locke and Celes. If you DO get your memories back it'll be great, but if you don't we'll be there for you."

That brought a tear to Shin's eye but he repressed it. Time passed as the two just stared at the stars, Shin thinking about what Terra had just said and remembering about one important thing he wanted to ask her.

"Terra, who is Leo?" He asked as he broke the silence.

The question took her aback, but the she remembered he saw her in that sorry state, waiting for death at the hands of Leo's Manikin.

"He was one of Gestahl's four generals. Me, Celes, Kekfa and Leo. He was also the only one of us who couldn't use magic, since he refused magitek infusion like Celes and Kefka." She could see that he was going to ask about her so she quickly continued. "He was the kindest of them all… Until I got the Slave Crown he was the only one that treated me like a human, and not like "The Magitek Elite" that destroyed whole countries. After the revolution I and the Returners made, the Empire laid down their weapons and proposed us to go to Tamasa and befriend the espers. On the boat there Leo gave a lesson that I would never forget… It was in part because of that lesson that I survived after Kefka died." Terra said as her eyes welled up in tears.

"What was it?" Shin asked.

"If you don't anything else to grab on to... grab on to love." She replied.

"I'd like to have been able to meet such a person." Shin said as he looked at the night sky.

"You would have been…. But the Empire betrayed us and Kefka came to claim the espers as we befriended them… they all died. Leo couldn't stand it anymore and attacked Kefka. Kefka didn't have a chance in frontal combat so he created an illusion of Gestahl to confuse Leo and stabbed him from behind… Then he left us there, laughing at our powerlessness." She was on the brink of tears as she said that. "But the worst about it was that Leo, also confessed that he did nothing to free me of the slave crown, he just took orders, that made me so angry… I just didn't show it. I was angry at him when he died! The last memory I have with him was me hating his guts! Then he DIED for US, the people that destroyed his home!" Terra said, finally giving into the urges and bawling like a little girl.

Distressed at the sight Shin could only remember one thing that would cheer her up.

"Terra, let me tell you a memory I had of General Leo."

* * *

><p>"Terra WHAT?" Locke, Sabin and Edgar shouted.<p>

"You heard me…" Celes replied, annoyed by the over the top response.

"How long have you known this?" Edgar asked.

"Since the night when we got attacked by Omega. I just couldn't be alone with all of you until now."

"So, what are we supposed to do about it?" Sabin asked.

"Unfortunately nothing for now… but if she loses control..."

"Celes… I can't…" Locke replied.

"We HAVE to do it." Celes finished as she looked at the window, seeing Terra whipping her tears as she listened to Shin. "If she ever loses control, she's not Terra anymore… remember that." Celes finished as she walked back to her room, leaving the three men to reflect on the burden they had to carry.

* * *

><p>Clyde was in his room, staring at the ring his wife gave him before she died. He was overcome with guilt after leaving his daughter, but he couldn't have stayed with her, not after what he had done. The door started opening, making Clyde quickly grab his dagger. From it came Strago and Relm.<p>

"Shadow… I think it's time for you to make emends." Strago said as he pushed the dagger away.

"I already tried… but I'm standing right here, am I not?" He replied a tone of sadness was in his normally emotionless voice.

"Killing yourself won't make the past go away Clyde!" He yelled. "You could have ruined this girl's life!"

"Hey, grandpa… why are you calling that man the name of my father… didn't you say he was Shadow?" Relm innocently asked.

"Don't you get it Relm?" Strago started.

"Don't you dare old man!" Clyde said as he tried to restrain the old man.

"He IS your father!" Strago said as he grabbed Clyde's arm and exposed the ring. "This is your mother's ring isn't it?"

"But that doesn't make sense! Why would you abandon me, Father?" Relm yelled as she fell on her knees.

"Take responsibility… " Strago said as he left the room.

Clyde didn't know what to do. He didn't plan on being a father again, and now he had his daughter crying at his feet. There only one thing he could think of doing.

"Well Relm… let me tell you why I left you and your mother. It all began when I met a man that was called Baram…"

* * *

><p>Setzer was walking through the corridors, heading to the exit of the castle.<p>

"Where ya going?" Cid Highwind asked.

"Why do you ask?" He replied.

"Well Cid here… okay that sounded weird. Pollendina here told me you are an airship man. Were you going to visit them?"

"I was, why?" Setzer asked.

"It's not at the lake anymore." The other Cid said appearing from behind Setzer. "I brought them to the hangar. Need a hand?"

"Normally I would refuse… but you two do seem that you know your stuff and you did get my airships back here… fine. I'll give you a shot." He said as pulled a coin out of his pocket. "If its heads, you can help, if its tails you can't."

He launched the coin and grabbed it in midair, as he put it on the top of his backhand he could see Edgar's face on the coin.

"Guess you can come." Setzer said.

"Great! I'll get us to the hangar in not time!" Cid Pollendina said as he marched off.

* * *

><p>"Father, I'm worried…" Ceodore told his father.<p>

"I know… Kain was on a scouting mission wasn't he? If the world changed there's no telling what could happen…" Rosa said.

"Don't worry Ceodore, it's Kain we are talking about, he can handle anything that fate throws at him." Cecil assured.

"Guess we can't do anything but believe." Ceodore lamented as he looked out of the window.

* * *

><p>"So Leo is the reason I was freed?" Terra asked, her face full of dried tears.<p>

"Yes, if didn't crack your crown it would have stayed on you no matter what." Shin said.

"That… makes me happier. Maybe he didn't die full of regret after all… even though I hated him for no reason…" She said as a small smile crept up on her face. "Well this has been a wonderful conversation but I think we should get some rest." She said, getting up from the ledge of the tower.

"One more thing." Shin began, not sure how to bring this subject up. "Are you… hiding anything from us Terra?"

Terra became worried by the question but she assumed it didn't have any standing ground so she lied. "No, why do you ask?"

"You see, before you woke up you kinda… "woke up"." Shin said.

"Huh?" Terra replied, rightfully confused.

"Well you got out of the bed and started doing stretches. The only weird part was that your hair was completely green and you referred to yourself as "Little Miss Sunshine" or in the third person." Shin said, noticing Terra becoming totally pale. "And finally you told me to tell you about that "encounter"… Still saying you're not hiding anything?"

"So that's why the esper has been so calm… it must be tired…" She thought. "I… I…"

"Mama!" Familiar voices screamed from within the stairs. Before they knew the top of the tower was flooded by the orphans of Mobliz.

"I didn't see you in so long Mama." Jane screamed.

In the midst of the ruckus Shin began to go down the stairs, giving a small stare to Terra who replied with an apologetic look.

"Such drama! This piece is truly amazing! I must star in it!" The silver haired man exclaimed as he watched them from above. "The morning sun shall mark my entrance."

* * *

><p>After a surprisingly peaceful night's sleep Terra woke up in the orphans bedroom, she had dozed off as she read them a good night story. Grabbing her ribbon for her pocket she tied her hair into her trademark ponytail and woke the little toddlers up.<p>

"Time for breakfast everyone!" She announced happily. After sometime getting everyone ready for the meal she headed for the door.

"Why hello, my little bird." The silver haired man greeted as Terra opened the door.

* * *

><p>"I tire of this walk, can't we just teleport to our destination?" A brown haired man, dressed in a brown tunic and supporting round glasses asked.<p>

"That does make a good point." The other brown haired man, this one supporting a yellow armor replied.

"FOOLS!" Garland boomed, knocking them both down. "Do you know how noticeable a teleport from the Rift is? It would be like shouting our position to the enemy."

"Besides… we are close now." Sephiroth said as they closed in on a cave.

"The Cave of Eblan leads directly to the tower of Babil…" An armored man said.

"Pity you won't reach your destination…" A voice came from above, followed by a flash of light and a crashing sound.

Before the five stood a man in a light blue armor, a headpiece surrounding his long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and wings sprouting from his shoulders, in his hand a blue spear.

"Kain Highwind… I didn't expect to meet you here." Garland said as he summoned his blade. "Stand aside if you want to live."

"I shall not let you pass!" Kain said as he put himself in battle position.

"Very well, you leave me with no other choice… I Garland shall knock you DOWN!"

* * *

><p>"I'm glad you are all so eager to listen to me." The silver haired man said as he flipped his hair.<p>

"Oh cut the crap Kuja!" Crono spat. "You're lucky we haven't offed your head yet."

"Oh please, if I wanted to kill you why would I have let the girl go call all of you? I could have taken you out separately." Kuja flaunted. "Now… where do you want me to begin? The past or the present? Oh I'll just start by the past. Tell me, does the word Dissidia ring a bell?"

Crono gasped at the mention. "The reports do have a "Dissidia report" on the index but the pages seem to have been ripped out."

"You mean these pages?" Kuja replied as he summoned a large pile of paper. "It took quite a bit of effort to snatch these from Garland. I bet he hasn't even noticed yet, he was on an assignment, but I'll get to that latter. So do you want a small recap?"

"Yeah why not." Shin replied.

"Don't just trust him! He almost annihilated his entire dimension!" Crono shouted.

"He also saved his brother and his group from annihilation with his last bit of strength." Aya stated matter-of-factly. "I say we give him a chance."

"You are truly wise! Now let us begin, a tale of dreams, betrayal, love and friendship. The tale that was supposed to be the Final Fantasy! Dissidia!" Kuja announced as if he was in a theater.

"Oh great... another wierdo..." Zack thought to himself as flashbacks of Genesis reading and quoting "Loveless" filled his mind."This is going to be a loooong explanation." He thought rolling his eyes.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Dragon's gift, to me!"_

_"YOU killed Chaos."_

_"Gungnir is mine."_


	12. Pride of The Dragoon: Kain vs Garland

**Author's note:** Well another chapter rolls in… I don't really have much to say about this one, just try and find out who are the people with Garland. There's a not-so-subtle hint for people who know where to look. That said, have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Twelve**

**Pride of The Dragoon: Kain vs Garland**

* * *

><p>Kuja raised his hands and started his speech. "A long time ago there was a man named Cid. And yes you all know one, that's because it's an inside joke."<p>

"I KNEW IT!"

"Shut up Locke." Celes said as she slapped her boyfriend.

"As I was saying, the man was quite the genius scientist, he built his world's first airship and even constructed a flying fortress where his people could live. The people of the sky, the Lufenians. For that he was called as Cid of the Lufaine."

Kuja rejoiced as he felt all the attentions turned to him, he was born for this.

"However, all mighty kingdoms have mighty enemies. Onrac was a neighboring land that specialized on magic. Jealous of the Lufenians success they declared war against them, their mages and summoners versus the Lufenian machines. It was clear that Lufenia had the upper hand, no summon stood a chance versus a warmech on a one on one and Bahamut declared his neutrality before the war. The Lufenians very country was able to move and was a war behemoth on its own. To counter this Onrac did the one thing they shouldn't… no they COULDN'T have done, they started the two yearlong ritual to summon Omega. Appalled by this Lufenia ordered Cid to construct a being of pure discord so they could counter Omega."

"Is that really possible?" Shin asked.

"But of course, there are more than one powers that rival Omega's, but one of them is as erratic as they come, one that you will hear about in this story."

* * *

><p>"Dragon's gift, to me!" Kain chanted as he was shielded by the green light of protect and his movements enhanced by haste.<p>

"Giving your all, are you? You mongrels stand back, this one is mine." Garland said, lunging towards the dragoon.

"Simpleton…" The man with glasses said, adjusting his lens.

Not wasting any time Kain thrust forward, making Garland need to dodge the blow. As Garland was in midair Kain did a backflip, hitting the stalwart right in his face with his foot, sending him flying. Moments after Kain was already on top of Garland, spinning his lance in a circle, hitting his chest but not doing much more than a scratch on his armor. Not discouraged Kain stomped Garland, sending him crashing into the ground, using his magic he gave himself an impulse in midair to dash towards the fallen knight, but he was greeted with two giant vortexes of wind that forced him to retreat.

"Not half bad…" Garland said, honestly praising his opponent. In battle there were no enemies or allies for him, just the foe he was facing, the more formidable the better.

"Can't say the same about you!" Kain spat as he prepared his signature technique, the Jump. Crouching on one leg he began to channel all his might into his inferior limbs, propelling himself upwards until the point he was just a dot in the sky.

"A challenge is it? I accept it!" Garland shouted as he put his gargantuan sword above his head and prepared for impact.

"Bow Down!" Kain shouted as he descended his spear between his legs.

Sword and spear clashed, making a tempest of wind and dust in their wake.

* * *

><p>"After a month of research Cid finally created his weapon, a manikin infused with the memories of ten people, Chaos. At first it was like a baby, so Cid and his wife took care of it as such. They eventually grew fond of him… too fond. They looked at him like a son despite his monstrous appearance. Noticing this, the government did their best to shut down any kindness that there was in the child so they brought him to the lad and accelerated his growth just enough to be able to fight. They kidnaped Cid's wife and forced Chaos to fight if he valued his mother's life."<p>

"I…. I can identify with that… being a tool of war…" Terra lamented.

"And he fought. So well he fought that after one year there were no summoned creatures in the world, except of course IT! Omega was summoned, just as Onrac was at the brink of destruction. Chaos and Omega clashed, but not even pure chaos stands a chance against true, unrestrained destruction. Omega prevailed easily but he just stopped… It was like he had lost its reason to fight. Breaking through time and space it simply left that world, ignoring its summoners orders."

"Wait a minute… so that thing as a mind of its own?" Shin asked.

"No matter how feeble it is, yes it does." Kuja replied. "There'sno other explanation for its sudden change of heart."

* * *

><p>As the dust settled the figures of both men could be seen, Kain standing on top of Garland's sword but without being able to force Garland back one centimeter.<p>

"A draw was it?" The yellow armored man asked.

"No, look again…" The man with the glasses commented. Garland was forced down on one knee by the force being Kain's assault. "Kain won, Garland did "bow down"." He mocked.

Garland quickly detached another sword from his main one and sliced through the air, making Kain have to jump to a safe position in a nearby ledge.

"Finally… a worthy opponent! I was tired of sparing with manikins! Come Kain, let us enjoy this battle!" Garland boomed as his sword transformed into a grotesque axe. "Tremble!" He yelled as he hit the ground with his axe, causing a miniature earthquake that destroyed Kain's foothold.

"Just what matter of weapon is that?" Kain asked himself as he fell down.

"What happened to your vigor?" Garland shouted as he closed in on Kain and swung his weapon down. Having no foothold, Kain had no choice but to try and block it, but the power of the stalwart was too great and sent him plummeting towards the ground. Garland soon followed, trying to strike the finishing blow early.

"Naïve…." Kain muttered as he flipped in midair, landing on his powerful legs and propelled himself upwards again. "Engrave…" Kain said as he started spinning his lance, a pale light enveloping him.

"Garland has no way out." Sephiroth commented with a smirk.

The pure force behind Kain's jump not only knocked Garland's weapon away but it was enough to keep soaring upwards with Garland. As the jump reached its apex, Kain suddenly stopped spinning his lance." Dragon's Fang!" He shouted as he trusted his spear through Garland's armor.

* * *

><p>"Onrac didn't give up on the war however, even without summoning monster their mages where still formidable, and Lufenia's robots were destroyed by Omega. But Cid rebelled against the Lufenians and in a desperate move rescued his wife so that Chaos didn't have a reason to fight anymore. But the Lufenian's used his experiment Project "Cosmos", which was a manikin that was the perfect replica of his wife, even memory wise, to control Chaos. Enraged by this Cid and his wife desperately tried to save their "son". Unfortunately fate is a cruel mistress… as they made their escape Cid's wife was shot. In a fit of rage Chaos opened a portal into the Rift that suck it, Cid and Cosmos to another dimension. A world perfectly like the one they lived, but with no humans. A perfect world in Chaos's mind. There he found it. The one who even the Gods fear, the dragon of ruin… Godsbane Shinryu."<p>

"That doesn't make sense, we fought him in the true moon's subterranean." Cecil interrupted.

"You also fought Ultros." Kuja said, earning the confused look of Terra and her friends. "You fought fakes Cecil, that dragon that decimated more than twenty of your team and only left four people standing was just a mere shadow, not even that, it was a grain of sand in the beach of Shinryu's power."

"Impossible! Just what is that thing?" Cecil replied, not believing that such a power existed.

"He is that which follows Omega. Nobody knows why, nobody knows if he has any other plans. Like many gods he is a being wrapped in mystery but he is no god... But do not be fooled, he is as twisted as Omega as you will soon see."

* * *

><p>Garland coughed blood as the spear destroyed one of his lungs. Kain took no pity on the knight and kicked him off his lance, making him crash on the ground.<p>

"It seems that Kain…" The man in the brown cloak said as he put on his glasses." Knocked Garland down!" As he said that a distinct YEAAAAAAAAAAAAH filled the skies for unknown reasons. A twisted laugh came from the rubble that Garland created he rose from it, his chest bare and as black as night.

"Wonderful! You broke part of my armor! This battle is truly chaotic!" Garland said as he laughed maniacally and summoned his sword back to his hand. "Let us continue…" He said as his sword transformed in what seemed to be a lance, trying to take Kain down in his own territory.

"I pity you… So hopeless that you only find comfort in battle!" Kain retorted as he grabbed the weapon with his bare hands. "I don't even need weapons for an opponent so feeble."

"Spare me the morality lessons!" Garland shouted, transforming his weapon once again, this time into a whip-like form. "You've no escape!" He boomed as the weapon started to twist like a snake, water gushing out from it. Kain could not hold on and was thrown away by the waters. Garland quickly reverted his weapon to its lance form and charged with it. Kain however, used to midair did a graceful back flip and summoned his spear to his hand.

"Know my strength!" Kain commanded as he shot a beam from his lance, further destroying the stalwart's armors, this time his left arm. Taken aback by the blow Garland flinched to clinch to his now broken arm, but he had no time to rest as Kain was already upon him. "Impale!" Kain shouted as he repeatedly trusted his spear into Garland, making the stalwart cry in pain.

"Shouldn't we help?" The armored man asked.

"You cannot be serious, this show is stupendous." The yellow armored man replied.

"You are right!" Garland responded as he gasped for air. "I have not had such an exhilarating confrontation since I battled the Warrior!"

"Stop your blabbering. Your life ends here!" Kain shouted as prepared to put an end to the fight. "Lance of the covenant!"

* * *

><p>"Now where did I left off? Oh yes, Cid arrived at World B. After a few grueling months Shinryu arrived at the newly created world, curious about what it was. He found Cid and seemed to be compassionate as he offered a solution for their stranding. They needed to make Chaos fight, because as it destroyed its power over discord grew larger and someday it would be enough to break through the walls of space and time for them to return to World A. For that he asked for Cid's body in return of lending him his power. The power to summon warriors from other worlds, the power to be omniscient in that world and his own power of restarting time in that world. Cid foolishly accepted. Finally he proposed that Cosmos and Chaos both summoned their own set of warriors and battled in order to create even more discord. Chaos however refused to fight what was in his twisted mind his mother so Shinryu returned to World A and picked up Garland, a fallen knight from Cornelia who was trapped in a time loop where he became Chaos over and over again after absorbing the power of the Four Fiends. In a sense, Garland WAS Chaos, so he was able to convince the "God" as they called it to fight. And that's where we came in!" Kuja said as he opened his arms to a confused crowd.<p>

"What do you mean, "we"?" Cloud asked.

"Almost everyone in this room was, in a least one of the cycles, summoned without memory to that world to do battle. And was revived at the end of each cycle by Shinryu… but Shinryu did not only revive you, he sucked part of your essence so that he could grow stronger, that is why a battle that started with fifty warriors on each side ended on the thirteenth cycle with only ten warriors on each side. What's more… only Garland endured from the beginning as he was protected by Chaos, the rest faded away long before the end, making both Chaos and Cosmos have to summon new warriors by the time the twelfth cycle rolled in."

"How come we do not remember this then?" Edge asked, having difficulties to believe such a fantastic and unproved story.

"Oh but some of us DO!" He said as he looked at Terra, Cloud and Cecil. "The ones that participated in the last cycle must still hold on to some memories, do you not, my Phantasmal Girl?"

"I… I do… I remember Cloud, an armored boy and a blonde haired man without a shirt…" Terra replied.

"And what about you? Oh imaginary Soldier?"

"I remember Sephiroth… and also Cecil and Terra…" Cloud grunted.

"I remember you as well Cloud, but also a men with rose and a young man with a cheerful personality." Cecil continued.

"Very well, Delusionary Knight. As you see you still hold fragments of memory of that fight, memories so dear that even Shinryu couldn't erase. But I am truly disappointed you do not remember the most important part Terra…." Kuja mocked.

"Huh? What was that?"

"The reason why I am putting my neck on the line here is you. YOU killed Chaos, you ended that endless cycle! Not once but twice did you foil Kefka's schemes in the way, granted, I had to break his control over you but that doesn't deny that you have overcome more Gods than any "human"!" Kuja had an obvious tone of sarcasm in the last part of his speech. "Godslayer is a fitting name, Terra Branford."

Everyone in the room turned in amazement to Terra, except her old friends, they knew what kind of power she had.

"Why have you told us all of this? Why did we need to know it now?" Celes asked coldly.

"Because this was but the start of where we are now!"

* * *

><p>"Gungnir!" Kain chanted as he prepared to throw his spear at the broken knight.<p>

"Sorry, but…. Gungnir is mine. I can't let you tarnish its name." The man with glasses calmly said as he grabbed Kain's hand. "In my hand, the creator's sword that calls eternal sleep! Honor our pact and hear my command! Animate Earth!" The men chanted as he made the earth itself explode, heavily wounding Kain.

"You! Why did you stop our fight?" Garland shouted.

"We're running out of time here. I'm just taking the logical turn." He replied.

"RUMBLE!" Kain shouted from within the smoke, making giant blades sprout from the ground, impaling Garland and wounding everyone else. "If I fall here I'll take you all with me! Heavenward!" Kain shouted as he prepared for the biggest jump of his life. Putting all his might on his legs he raised himself to the skies, above the clouds and to the edge of space. There he saw not one but two moons but he did not have time to worry, this was his last stand. He descended with all his might, leaving a trail of light that was visible throughout the world.

"Kain?" Cecil muttered as he saw the trail of light.

_"So my time is up…."_ Kuja thought to himself.

"Dragon's grasp! With all my strength!" Kain shouted as he collided with Garland, breaking the earth and causing an earthquake of such force that it created a way towards the Underworld, making everyone in that platform fall into the abyss.

* * *

><p>The earthquake was felt even in the castle making Cecil worry about his best friend.<p>

"Listen up!" Kuja began with in a surprisingly serious tone. "The tower of Babil holds the most advanced CPU ever to be created, even superior to Omega's. "We" pretend to claim it as a way to control Omega fully, you must not let that happen, I'm putting all my hopes into you." Kuja said as he opened the door to the outside, a Silver Dragon resting there. "This pet of mine can take two persons, I'll leave the rest of the arrangements to you. I have to leave now." Kuja said as he threw the reports towards Crono. "You can keep those, I doubt that returning them will do me any good."

"Kuja… thank you. If you really did free my will, I can't thank you enough." Terra said.

"Spare me the pleasantries birdy, I only did it to get back at Kefka. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be off." Kuja replied stoically.

Where are you going?" Terra asked.

"You will thank me if you ever find out. Oh but one more thing , my little bird. If you see a man named Zidane, tell him I've done my part." Kuja said as he disappeared in a white light.

"Wait, Kuja! " Terra shouted. _"What did he mean?"_ She thought to herself.

"Okay, how do we decide who's going?" Shin asked.

"Well I'm going." Rydia began. "Bahamut can take me and someone else there. Want to come Cecil?" She asked, much to Edge's disappointment.

"Rydia, Cecil needs to stay with his people on this time of need. You can take someone not from Baron with you… Someone like…" Zack suggested.

"Fine I get it… Edge you better not pull anything perverted or I'm throwing you off!" She warned.

Edge fist pumped Zack before going to Rydia's side.

"I'm going… Sephiroth might be there…" Cloud said.

"If Chocobo head goes, I'm going!" Zack exclaimed.

"Guess that settles it. There's no more means of transportation." Cecil stated.

"Wark!" A familiar bird appeared before them.

"Stardust!" Terra exclaimed as she gave her Chocobo a hug. "You can fly already?" The Chocobo nodded excitedly as he cuddled Terra.

"Well someone can go with Terra… Everyone. Pick a card." Setzer said as he pulled a deck.

"Now shut up and wait." Setzer said as he grabbed an identical deck and turned to Terra. "Pick one. The one whose card matches will be going with you."

_"Please let it not be Edgar, please let it not be Edgar."_ Terra begged as she reluctantly retrieved the ace of hearts from Setzer's hand.

"Well Terra got the ace of hearts." Setzer said as he examined her card. "Show your cards." He told everyone.

Everyone showed his cards and much to Edgar's dismay he had the Ace of Spades. "So close!" He mumbled.

"It's not one of us…" Locke and Celes said at the same time, turning to Shin who was looking at his card.

"Danger must be my middle name…" He sighed as he looked at his ace of hearts.

"Cheer up bro! You're going with ME!" Zack said as he pulled him into a headlock. "With a hero like me in the group it's already over!"

"I wonder how I think of that guy as my mentor…" Cloud lamented as he saw Zack's behavior.

Between all of Zack's child-like behavior, Shin did see what he meant. He was going with his two best friends, so in there was something positive in this trip.

"I was hoping I could have gone, but you seem competent… Do not fail!" Crono said as he patted everyone on the back.

"I never fail!" Zack said as he jumped on the dragons back.

"Let us hope not…" Cecil said.

"Well, just wait a minute, I have to summon Bahamut." Rydia asked.

"Zack, take this communicator and report every two hours minimum. As much as I dislike your reports at least they don't consist of three words at most…" Cissnei said as she glared at Cloud, who merely shrugged.

"No problem! But you won't need any reports, this will be over quickly!" Zack boasted.

* * *

><p>"And where might you be going?" An elegantly dressed man with long black hair asked as he saw the cloaked man open a portal to the outside.<p>

"To meet an old friend..." He said, smirking from beneath the hood. "It's been a year since I've seen him..."

* * *

><p><span>Next chapter:<span>

_"A traitor till the very end is it?"_

_"Brother…."_

_"What ARE these things?"_

**Post-chapter note:** So, what did you think of the way I wrote this? Does change of plans between Kain and Kuja break the rhythm too much? Don't be afraid to say it.


	13. Kuja Stands Tall! A Necessary Sacrifice

**Author's note:** Nothing special to say this time, just have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Kuja Stands Tall! A Necessary Sacrifice**

* * *

><p>As Rydia completed her summoning chant a giant white light surrounded everyone in the courtyard. As the light dimmed down, a humanoid figure could be seen standing next to her.<p>

"It's been a long time, Rydia." The tall man, black haired in draconic armor said. The man that Rydia had just summoned seemed to be a normal, fit man in his mid-thirties.

"You look awesome on that new armor, Sir!" Edge said as he forcefully shook the man's hand.

"Oh yes… Edge. I have already said I hold no power over Rydia's decision, so please, stop embarrassing yourself…. But yes, I do like my new look." The man replied.

"Oh Hallowed…" Rydia started, but she was stopped when the man raised his hand.

"Rydia, please no formalities, just Bahamut." The God of summons replied, much to the shock of everyone not from that world. "The shock is natural, I can sense that you are not from my world, but rest assured, I am the King of Dragons."

"I don't know how it works in your worlds, but in this one, the high classed Eidolions have the ability to assume a human form, since Bahamut is the God of Eidolions it's only natural he can control his form." Rydia explained.

"That's not what surprises me…"Cloud began. "In my world the was a summoned monster called Bahamut, who was also the king of dragons."

"In mine too!" Terra added.

"There is no time for such petty squabbles. Why have you summoned me Rydia?" Bahamut asked.

"We need your help to get to the tower of Babil as fast as possible. The Falcon is with Luca, and we don't have time to go get the Lunar Whale…" Rydia said, embarrassed at reducing the God of Summons to a mere taxy service.

"And I trust that the reason is world threatening…" Bahamut replied, his expression not changing. "Very well!" The man said as a bright light covered His body, blinding everyone in sight.

"Sweet! Morphing time!" Edge exclaimed.

After the flash of light there was no man where Bahamut stood, just a majestic silver-scaled dragon. The Hallowed Father of all Eidolions opened his wings, engulfing all of the courtyard in his shade. "Come Rydia, I shall take you to your destination." He boomed, making His voice be heard for miles.

"Huh… about that…" Edge started.

"You may also come, childish ninja." Bahamut boomed a tone of mockery intertwined in His voice.

"That was just uncalled for…" Edge mumbled as he went through the laughing crowd and climbed to the dragon's back.

"Why can't He take more than two?" Shin asked, appalled by the sheer size of the dragon.

"He really dislikes to be ridden by anyone but Rydia, the fact that he allowed Edge to go is already a surprise." Cecil responded. "That said I believe you have a Chocobo to ride." Cecil continued, pointing in the direction of Terra and Stardust.

"We're all ready, get on you lazy bum!" Terra shouted from the distance.

Shin just sighed and got on the birds back. "You aren't going to go as fast as last time, aren't you?" He asked the bird.

"Fast? He was recovering from an illness when he brought you to Figaro. He'll be at least five times faster." Terra answered. Shin's face turned to one of dread.

"Please help me God…" He mumbled as he grabbed on to Terra's waist.

"There is no God!" Zack yelled in dread as the Silver Dragon took flight, almost throwing both SOLDIERs off with his take off speed.

"Follow that dragon!" Terra told her Chocobo.

Everything Shin saw from there on was a blur.

* * *

><p>"That one sure put up a fight." The glassed man said as he looked up to a giant tower.<p>

"Maybe, but we're here aren't we?" The yellow armored man retorted.

"We're one member short, and one of us isn't exactly here according to his own will." The man with the glasses said as he looked at the armored man.

"Still, we have arrived here." Sephiroth said as he looked up. "The Tower of Babil."

* * *

><p>Kain laid down bloodied on the ground, a giant crater around him and a critical state Garland, his body as black as the night.<p>

"Just… what matter of monster are you?" Kain asked as he saw Garland standing up.

"I… am Discord Incarnate!" Garland shouted as a portal to the Rift opened. "I've never enjoyed a fight so much, until we meet again… Kain Highwind." Garland said as he disappeared into the Rift.

"Kain? Is that you?" A familiar, annoying voice came from the outside of the crater. "Hey Sis, get over here!"

* * *

><p>"I lost…" Garland thought as he fell on his knees after arriving at Chaos's Shrine. "If they hadn't interfered I would be dead… This war will not be as easy as you think!" He thought as he envisioned the man in black.<p>

* * *

><p>"We might be in the Underworld, but the tower is connected to the surface, if we climb it we can reach the CPU." The armored man said.<p>

"Then let us be off." Sephiroth stated as he began to cross the bridge over the lava. As he was reaching the middle a ray of light illuminated the darkness and crashed against the bridge, completely destroying it. Sephiroth had to jump on the remnants of the bridge in order to not fall on the lava. As he reached land he looked up just to see a shining, white light descending.

"A traitor till the very end." Sephiroth spat.

"Traitor? Me? Who said that I was ever on your side? Not all traitors are as obvious as Golbez over there." Kuja flaunted as he looked at the former traitor, a mere shell of it at least. "That slave crown sure works wonders, doesn't it?"

"I only saw you once… but I knew that you weren't to be trusted." The man in the glasses said.

"Ah… such impotence, such arrogance from ones so weak. Tell me, did you reach the thirteenth cycle, or the twelfth for that matter? No, you weren't even summoned, I don't need to know your name."

"Is it a proof of weakness to be able to resist a god's calling?" The man replied.

"You didn't even exist at the time. If it weren't for us you would have been erased by that woman. You are in no position to be brag full."

"Divine Ruination!" The man in the yellow armor shouted.

"Well now, Delita… You were the first one to fall weren't you? To fall after only three cycles, what a disgrace… And Ramza beat you in all three wasn't it?" Kuja said as he easily dodged the pillars of light.

"You are one to talk, you died jealous of your brother!" Delita shouted.

"But I have accepted it now, tell me… have you?" Kuja asked making Delita scream in rage.

"You don't really think that I don't know what you are trying to do, do you?" Sephiroth smirked. "Do you really think you can hold us off long enough for them to arrive? You are no hero Kuja, why do you do this?"

"Do I really need a reason to help somebody?" Kuja said, reminiscing. "One a person once told me that, and I… I'm willing to die for his ideals!" Kuja shouted as he trance'd, his clothes ripping and leaving only a scrap between his legs. "You won't take another step towards the tower as long as I live!" Kuja yelled as he fired another beam of light.

* * *

><p>"God make it stop!" Edge yelled as he threw up from Bahamut into the sea.<p>

"See Rydia? This is why I don't carry humans. They cannot keep up." The dragon king said, not hiding his disdain for Edge's actions.

"You forgot I'm human too. And more importantly… we may not be able to keep up with you but…" Rydia said as she pointed her finger to the front. "You can't even keep up with a Chocobo." Rydia said as she pointed at Stardust. The Chocobo was going so fast that Bahamut and the Silver Dragon were about to lose eye contact with the bird.

"Don't let go of my hand!" Terra yelled as she grabbed Stardust's neck with one hand and Shin's hand with the other.

"Hey bird, stop showing off!" Shin yelled, but he only made it worse. The bird hit turbo after hearing that statement making even Terra have difficulties to grab on to it. "I'm sorry, please stop… please!" He begged.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Zack asked as he pocked Kuja's dragon.

"This isn't a race Zack…" Cloud remarked stoically.

"It IS a race… A race against time!" Zack proclaimed as he lifted himself up and pointed to the front, explorer style. Unfortunately he didn't account for the wind pressure and was pushed off the dragon, making Cloud have to grab hold to the dragon's paw and just barely catch him, making the both dangle on the dragon's paw.

"If we get out of this alive… Then God really does exist…" Rydia said as she looked at the situation of her "team".

"Rydia, may I ask you a favor?" The Hallowed Father started, embarrassed. "There is something grabbing my tail. Can you check what it is?"

Rydia immediately looked back and, much to her dread, she saw a familiar turquoise hair flowing with the wind.

"Cuore! What are you doing here?" Rydia asked her daughter.

"I couldn't even leave you and dad go alone." She answered, her cold tone gone having turned to a shy one.

"She called me dad… I could die of happiness!" Edge said as tears came pouring down his eyes.

"First…" Rydia said, kicking Edge where the sun doesn't shine. "He's not your dad, nor will he ever be. And second, we're going back right now!"

"Rydia if I may interrupt. We're here." Bahamut said as He approached the crater near the Cave of Eblan.

"Well it doesn't matter… Bahamut, take her back." Rydia said.

"I'll fly back here!" Cuore said in a tantrum. "Let me go Mother, please! Palom and Porom fought when they were five, you fought when you were seven!"

She had gotten Rydia there. Rydia had no argument against that since even though Cuore was only one year old she was body wise already ten years old, it would be hypocritical of Rydia to say she was too young to fight.

"Fine you can come, but try and stay back okay?" Rydia said, breaking to her daughter's will.

"I will, thank you!" Cuore said as she gave Rydia a hug and turning to Edge just to see him laid down, grabbing his family jewels. "I don't know how he's still after my mother…" She thought to herself as the Dragon King started to descend.

* * *

><p>"What a pathetic excuse for a spell!" Sephiroth spat as he deflected the beam with his wing.<p>

"Oh, getting serious Sephiroth?" Kuja mocked.

"No, I just want to end this quickly, and I'll admit that I have to actually try to beat your trance'd for." He answered.

"I'm so…. FLATTERED!" Kuja shouted as he created five spheres of light around Sephiroth, leaving him no way to escape. "Flare Star!" The spheres converged and combusted into a giant explosion. "All done?" Kuja asked before being electrocuted from behind.

"I'll erase you!" Golbez shouted as he shot electricity from his hands.

"To think they would break you so easily… GOLBEZ!" Kuja boomed as he caused an explosion on the spot, ridding himself of the shock and blasting Golbez away.

"Hallowed bolt!" Delita yelled at the distracted Kuja, shocking him.

"Cut!" Sephiroth started as he put himself in position for the Octaslash.

Hearing that Kuja jolted back in control of his body and bended it. "Just… GO AWAY!" Kuja shouted as he trusted his arms upwards, calling down thousands of green rays of light upon everyone there, making everything be masked in a wall of smoke. A battered Sephiroth lifted himself up from that smoke, but the only thing he saw was Kuja hovering above him. "Let us sing your requiem in unison!" Kuja yelled as he bombarded Sephiroth with energy bombs.

""Do you mind if I take this one?" The man with glasses asked as he began to cast a spell. "The sapphire light burns deep in hell. Witness their sins and call forth the day of judgment. Pale Flare!" Five white trails of fire appeared before the man and lunged at Kuja, who was chasing Sephiroth. Noticing the attack too late, Kuja was hit and enveloped in cauterizing flames as the fire exploded.

"Divine Ruination!" Delita shouted as he fired pillars of light at Kuja.

"Lauch!" Golbez said as three black orbs appeared at his side, they flew towards Kuja until there were mere centimeters away.

Kuja was then hit by Delita's attack, causing the Genome to experience excruciating pain as his body was purged by light. But it didn't end there.

"Activate!" Golbez commanded as the orbs fire beams of energy from three diferent directions, shocking Kuja. "Shudder!" The beams exploded, throwing the shocked man upwards.

As Kuja looked up he saw a black feather coming down. Already knowing his fate he instead asked himself if Zidane was doing well. "Mayhap we might be true brothers in another life…" Kuja thought as Sephiroth drew near.

"I'll take you to the promised land!" Sephiroth smirked as he drove his sword into Kuja's chest, crashing into the ground with him with such force that the earth beneath them cracked and rocks shot up from the floor.

"Brother…" Kuja managed to say as he tried to reach Sephiroth, but his strength disappeared and his hand fell into the ground, motionless. His body returned to normal as his consciousness slipped from him.

"This life form might be a good subject for my next experiments." The glassed man remarked as he saw Sephiroth towering above a bloodied Kuja. But at that moment a portal to the Rift opened, from the inside came the cloaked man.

"No, I have a much better use for him…" He said as he grabbed Kuja's battered body. "You continue your mission."

"As you wish…" The man replied as the cloaked man returned to the Rift. "That man can be surprising at times..."

"Be that as it may, we still need to get to the tower." Delita said as he looked at the broken bridge. A sudden flash blinded him and as the light faded he found himself in front of the towers entrance.

"Was that so hard?" The man with the glasses mocked as he went inside.

"It's time for you to make yourself useful… Golbez." Sephiroth said as he, Golbez and Delita entered the tower.

"Very well…." Golbez replied in a monotone voice.

* * *

><p>The Silver Dragon landed at the entrance to the cave of Eblan, finally allowing Cloud and Zack to stop dangling on his paw.<p>

"You sure took your time." Terra joked, putting her hands on her hips and bending forward.

"Not everyone can have a super-sonic Chocobo. And how did you even KNOW where to land?" Zack asked.

"Now that you mention it… Bahamut knew the way, our dragon did as well, but what about you?" Cloud asked.

"Huh? This is a cave immediately before a giant tower!" Terra said in a "you can't be serious tone". "You many giant towers that surpass the clouds can there BE?"

She did make a valid point.

"What about Rydia?" Shin asked ask tried to stand up. "Someday I'll get back at that bird…" he mumbled.

As if that was their cue The King of Dragons landed, from Him descending only Rydia.

"Did she throw him out?" Zack whispered to Cloud.

"Probably…." He answered.

"Edge, please don't make a fool out of yourself." A girl's voice came from the top of the dragon. Soon after Cuore appeared, holding Edge whose legs were still shaking.

"My groin hurts…" Edge said as he was slowly put down on the ground by Cuore.

"Rydia you didn't…" Zack said in horror.

"Yes I did, he deserved it."She answered.

"I didn't DO anything!" Edge shouted.

"You might want to shut up Edge." Bahamut advised as he saw Rydia reach for her whip.

"Sorry mam!" Edge said as he lifted himself up and concealed the pain.

"What about the girl?" Cloud asked.

"She followed me here. Don't worry she's more than capable to fight." Rydia answered as she petted Cuore who had gone back to her cold expression.

"She's a completely different person around strangers." Bahamut remarked. "Well, let us be off to the tower."

"You're coming?" Shin asked, not knowing how he would fit. A giant flash of light covered the area and answered his question. Bahamut had returned to human form.

"Let us be off." Bahamut said as he entered the cave.

* * *

><p>Just as Sephiroth and the others entered the elevator he started to crackle madly.<p>

"What is it now?" Delita asked annoyed.

"He's here… Cloud's here." He said calmly.

"I've been waiting to see who is that Cloud fellow." The man with the glasses said.

"Focus on the mission…" Golbez said in disdain.

"I will... for now." Sephiroth warned.

* * *

><p>"You really know your way around these caves Edge." Terra remarked as Edge seemed to need no map for these twisted hallways.<p>

"I trained here as a kid, and it was here that Eblan took refuge. And besides… a king must know his kingdom." Edge answered, much to Terra's surprise.

"You're just like the ninja version of Edgar!" She joked, noticing the similarities.

"Is that a compliment?" Edge asked.

"Trust me, it's not." Shin said as he saw an Inn. "What the?"

"I told you we took refuge here. We lived here for two months." Edge said.

"Let's have a look inside, shall we?" Zack said as he opened the door.

"Do not open the door!" Bahamut shouted as he felt a presence. But he was too late. As Zack opened the door two black figures with yellow stripes on their bodies came forth and attacked Zack.

"Magic!" Terra chanted as she combusted the beings with Firaga, but from where they came tens more appeared. "What ARE these things?" She asked as she summoned her sword.

"So the crack in dimensions has become this large…." Bahamut said, troubled. "These are Shades, incomplete humans. Take no pity on them." Bahamut explained as he cleaved through a group of them.

"Not much to work with, but it will have to do for now!" Shin said, still curious about the true nature of these beings.

* * *

><p>"This will keep them busy." The man in black said from the distance. "And most importantly… maybe my real nature won't be discovered so soon." He said as he looked at a lonely, black, being with antennas in the middle of the Shades, their identical eyes meeting for a second.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Not what I was hoping for, but maybe you can entertain me."_

_"To slay a god…"_

_"Impossible!"_


	14. Unbeatable? Edge and Rydia vs Sephiroth

**Author's note:** This one took a while. I lost all data of this chapter halfway into it so I had to work double time on it. Overall I'm pleased with the result, have a good read.

**PS:**I finally took sometime to build a profile, feel free to check it. I'll put more stuff into it when I get the time.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Unbeatable?**** Edge and Rydia vs Sephiroth**

* * *

><p>"This is getting annoying. Rydia, Inferno!" Edge called as he grabbed Rydia's hand.<p>

"Guess you're right." Rydia said as they started to spin, creating a vortex of fire that pulled all enemies in, incinerating them.

"You could have done this earlier…" Zack complained as he saw no Shade standing.

"And grab Edge's hand? No thanks!" Rydia said as she crossed her arms and turned away from the group.

"No time for squabbles, we've spent too much time here." Bahamut commented as He sheathed his claymore. "Edge how much till the tower?"

"Just a few minutes, it's just two sections away." He replied as he signaled everyone to follow.

"Bahamut, what are Shades?" Shin asked they walked through the dark halls.

"I cannot say. They seem to relate with manikins as they are not human, but I can almost feel a human inside… They are not monsters, but they are the enemy." He responded in a dark tone, he knew that this would affect the morale of the team.

"We've been killing human beings?" Shin asked startled.

"What's so surprising about that? You've all killed humans before, even you!" Bahamut let slip.

"How do you know that?" Terra asked seeing the flaw in Bahamut's argument. "You may know all of us, but how do you know Shin has killed humans before?"

"I cannot say." The King of dragons replied before being assaulted by Terra.

"Tell me!" She yelled in a very distorted voice as she grabbed Bahamut's neck.

"Terra, stop it!" Zack shouted as he and Shin tried to restrain her. She growled like a wild beast as she tried to free herself, her skin seemingly cracking into a shining new one.

"On your knees!" Bahamut boomed, a giant platinum aura covering him.

"Why should I?" "Terra" spat.

"You will bow down to your God!" Bahamut shouted as his cape turned into dragon wings and the cave trembled catching everyone's attention.

"I'm still not on your level, eh? Fine but I'll be back… And don't expect to get off without a fight next time." "Terra" spat as her eyes closed for a second, but as they reopened it was as if she was her old self again.

"Control yourself better next time woman." Bahamut said as he calmed down. "Next time, I may be forced to end your life." He said as he looked at the stunned crowd. "Why are you just standing there? We must press on."

"Bahamut was that…" Rydia asked as He passed by her side.

"That girl is either an angel or a demon." Bahamut stoically replied as to not give Terra's identity away.

"Thought so…" Rydia said as she looked at Terra. _"We can't hide these "situations" for long."_ She thought to herself.

"What happened?" A confused Terra asked.

"You…" Shin began as he looked at Zack, nodding. "You just blacked out and we had to hold you." Zack gave him a thumbs up for the perfect excuse.

"Right…" She said suspiciously.

"And we have arrived!" Edge shouted from the distance, cutting the conversation short.

The tower was not like Terra imagined it to be. It was composed of highly advanced technology, one that would even put the Magitek research facility to shame. The problem was that after climbing the stairs the found themselves in a dead end.

"How do we get in?" She asked as she looked at the wall.

"We'll NINJA IN!" Edge said as a cloud of smoke covered everybody. When the cloud dispersed they were inside the tower. "Don't ask me how I do this." Edge added.

"Now we have to come up with a plan." Rydia said as a beeping sound was heard.

"Zack! Cissnei here. What the heck did I say about communication?" The voice from the communicator yelled.

"Yeah yeah sorry mom." Zack mocked as he pulled the communicator off his pocket.

"Anyways, I'm here with Cecil, he says the tower extends downwards as long as it extends upwards. The most logical act is to split up."

"But besides Edge and Rydia nobody knows the way around this tower." Shin replied. "And I doubt Edge will stay in another team for long."

"I've got that covered. I'm transferring the map that Namingway, I mean Mapingway, made of the tower to Cloud's phone. I doesn't pinpoint the CPU but it's the best we can do."

"*Mumble* Iphone*Mumble*" Zack mumbled.

"Stop being a child Zack, this is serious!" Cissnei yelled.

"Fine, anything more?" He asked

"Communicate every ten minutes. And don't you dare to forget that. Cissnei out!" She said as the communicator went silent.

"Geez, talk about grumpy. But she has a point, let's make two teams of four." Zack said as he started to scout for possible teams. "Edge, Rydia, Bahamut and Cuore have the best teamwork so you'll be one. You'll go down."

"Who died and made you boss?" Edge asked.

"Your m…" Zack began before being punched in the head. "Can't a guy make a joke?" Zack complained before changing to a more serious tone. "If you are overwhelmed don't try and be heroes. Run."

"Gotcha!" Edge said as he jumped down a hole.

"For Bahamut's sake!" Rydia said as she jumped after him, followed by her daughter and Bahamut.

"Guess we're by ourselves now!" Zack exclaimed. "Onward! TO VICTORY!" He shouted, making everyone in the room facepalm.

* * *

><p>"Edge…" Rydia began as they were climbing down some stairways. "You're not the kind of guy to take orders. Why did you accept this?"<p>

"If we reached the tower in time, the enemy must be climbing it. It's more probable that they are down here." He replied.

"So you accepted to send the team with Cuore down?" Rydia complained.

"If that guy, Cloud, came down he might encounter him." Edge replied as his face turned dark.

"Ah yes, he did seem to be quite obsessed with someone called Sephiroth." Bahamut remarked.

"Exactly, if Sephiroth IS here he probably wouldn't be able to contain himself. His eyes when he mentioned him reminded me of my own…"Edge said touching his fire-red scarf." Against Rubicante." Edge finished as he remembered the man who he despised for so long, only to discover he was nothing more than a worthy adversary, a friend even after his death.

"So you can be sensitive huh?" Rydia commented, surprised that Edge had actually matured a bit.

* * *

><p>"We should split up." Sephiroth abruptly said.<p>

"You just want Cloud to yourself." Delita spat. "We're not here to settle feuds."

"Think for a moment, we are four, if we split up we have four times the chance to find the CPU."

"Do you really think we are that stupid?" The man in the glasses spat. "But you do pose an interesting argument. But I suggest I go with Golbez, he is not here on his own accord."

"Very well." Sephiroth replied. "I'll go on foot. You three may go towards the top."

"A splendid suggestion." The man replied as he teleported Delita, Golbez and Himself up.

"Now… will fate smile upon me?"

* * *

><p>"What?" Terra asked as she felt a jolt down her spine.<p>

"Something wrong?" Shin asked.

"Someone just teleported closer!" She exclaimed.

"We've got to move fast then!" Zack said.

"Can it be… Sephiroth?" Cloud asked himself.

"I don't know… we need to be alert!" Terra said as her vision blurred.

_"Sunshine, I'm baaaaaack!"_

* * *

><p>"Mom, I feel chilly!" Cuore complained.<p>

"But we should be in the Underworld, how can you be chilly?" Rydia asked.

"It's not the temperature Mom… it's something else."

"Be careful!" Bahamut shouted as he blocked a flash of steel that headed towards Cuore.

"Not what I was hoping for, but maybe you can entertain me." Sephiroth said as he backed away from Him. He quickly turned as he felt a killing intent right behind him just to find Edge's Masamune slicing his chest. "Impressive." He said as he teleported out of harm's way.

"Who are you?" Rydia asked.

"Silver hair… Long sword… Black coat. Damn our luck!" Edge shouted as he observed the man.

"Oh… you know me? I'm flattered." Sephiroth replied in a sly voice.

"Edge, who is this man?" Cuore asked as she put herself behind Rydia's back.

"Sephiroth…" Edge replied darkly. He had never felt like this before, he couldn't even conceive victory in his mind, it was as if the man in front of him was invincible.

"Now that we got the introductions out of the way… Entertain me!" Sephiroth said as he faked a lunge towards Rydia, just to disappear and ambush Edge from above.

"You can't ambush a ninja!" Edge shouted as the blade went through him. The real Edge reappeared a few meters away, preparing a technique. "Ninjutsu: Blitz!" Edge shouted as he drew a symbol with his hand, calling down thunder on the SOLDIER.

Sephiroth jumped out of the way easily. "A mirage? You never cease to amaze me." He said cockily.

"Firaga!" Cuore chanted, sending a massive ball of fire towards Sephiroth.

"Want to play? Firaga!" Sephiroth mocked as he shot a fireball twice as big as Cuore's but surprisingly, they canceled each other rather than one obliterating the other. "How?" Sephiroth asked baffled that a ten year old could match up to him.

"Thundaga!" Rydia chanted creating a giant thunderstorm inside the tower. As Sephiroth was busy dodging she prepared another assault. "Bio!" Having no necessary charge time Rydia bombarded Sephiroth with giant green blobs filled with poison. Backed into a corner Sephiroth had to resort to cutting the blobs with his sword, which obscured his vision.

"Flare!" Bahamut chanted, blasting Sephiroth through the wall and into another room.

"Did we get him?" Rydia asked.

"Dark... Firaga!" A voice shouted from the other room.

"Look out!" Edge warned as he pushed her out of the way, taking the dark fireball himself.

"You… pathetic humans DARE to hurt me?" Sephiroth shouted as his eyes burned with hatred. "Who shall I kill first? The girl, or the mother?"

"Edge wake up!" Rydia screamed, Edge's eyes were blank from the blast.

"Rydia give him this." Bahamut said as he handed an Elixir to her. "I'll hold him off." He said as he summoned his claymore and lunged at the SOLDIER.

"Pathetic human!" Sephiroth spat as he blocked Bahamut's swing with ease.

"Oh I am no human Sephiroth!" Bahamut said as he shot a miniature Flare from his mouth, impacting on Sephiroth's face and sending him tumbling through the ground.

"I have no business with you…" Sephiroth whispered before teleporting behind Cuore. "Say good night…"

"Good night! HOLY!" Cuore chanted as the room was filled by a giant light that seared the former hero. Having no way to escape Sephiroth sprouted his wing and shielded himself with it, therefore taking away his perception of the fight.

"Am I in heaven?" Edge asked as he looked up and saw Rydia caring.

"You will be if you don't get up and help!" She said, slapping him.

"Rydia, to me!" Bahamut shouted as he started to shine.

"What is he doing?" Edge asked.

Bahamut transformed into dragon form, tackling Sephiroth straight of the tower on the way. Rydia just jumped of the tower and landed on his back.

"I thought you felt strange…" Sephiroth began as he regained altitude. "What are you?"

"Bahamut, God of Summons." The god spat back.

"To slay a god…" Sephiroth mumbled as he flew towards the dragon. "You impudent...!" Sephiroth spat as he felt a presence behind him.

"You mad bro?" Edge mocked as he appeared behind him, trying to ambush him.

"Can you fly?" Sephiroth asked as he flinged his sword backwards, creating shockwaves that cut through Edge's entire body. "Not there!" Sephiroth said as he disappeared, reappearing behind Edge and slicing the ninja with his sword, sending him crashing towards the ground.

"Dad, be more careful!" Cuore said as he grabbed her father figure.

"5"

"Oh I see!" Edge exclaimed. "Cuore distract him! We're going defensive." Edge said as he jumped to the tower's wall and started running vertically.

"Comet!" Cuore chanted as she raised her wand, calling down a rain of magical stars onto the "angel".

"4"

"Annoying brat!" Sephiroth shouted as he created an energy field around himself. "Let me put you out of your misery!" Sephiroth said as his hand started to burn in a dark flame.

"Am I late to the party?" Edge joked as he grabbed Sephiroth's wing, making him plumet towards the ground.

"3"

"Won't you ever understand your loss?" Sephiroth spat, overpowering Edge with his wing.

"2"

"We can't understand our loss?" Edge mocked as fell and pointed upwards. "Look up dude!"

"1"

What Sephiroth saw made him feel fear for the first time in a long time. The giant platinum dragon was overflowing with energy as his charged up the massive Flare in his jaws. His wings spread open as He prepared what appeared to be Sephiroth's doom.

"Bahamut, Mega Flare!" Rydia ordered.

The dragon fired a blaze of such potency and magnificence that it lit the entire Underworld. It moved with such speed that Sephiroth only comprehended that Bahamut had fired it as it closed in on his face. The following blast shook the foundations of the world itself as it incinerated flesh and bone and left a crater on the ground bellow.

* * *

><p>"Did I just see what I think I just saw?" The brown haired brat exclaimed.<p>

"What is happening at the tower? Luca, full speed." The pink haired girl said.

"We're already at full speed!" The dark skinned woman replied.

"Then just keep the pace." Kain said as he tried to lift himself up. His whole body was damaged so much that he looked like a mummy in all those bandages.

"Please Lord Kain, stay down." The blonde haired woman asked.

"It appears I have no choice…"

* * *

><p>As the dust settled Cuore found her way into Bahamut's back, carrying Edge with her.<p>

"Now THAT'S what I call a blast!" Edge exclaimed as he petted the King.

"Do not push your luck." The dragon barked back.

"You're such a party po…" Edge was interrupted as a sword bolted of his chest.

"Impossible!" Bahamut shouted incredulous.

Behind Edge and on His back stood a burned Sephiroth, his wing almost featherless from the blast, nevertheless he was alive.

"That was… impressive." Sephiroth said as he gasped for air. "Never did I though you would pose a challenge. But it's over now." He said as he threw Edge overboard. "You'll never hit me with the same trick."

"What's impressive… is that you still think you can out-ninja a Ninja." Edge said as he pulled a chain that he managed to attach to the leg of the SOLDIER. "Count it down Bahamut!"

"What about you?" Rydia asked. Edge had no mobility in midair.

"DO IT!" Edge yelled as he pulled himself in the direction of Sephiroth. His hand shone in a pale light.

"Oh that's it… He must be mad to think this will work… But it's our only shot. Bahamut do it!"

"5"

"Why do you offer your life for theirs?" Sephiroth asked as he battled Edge in midair. With his wing burned he had no means to fly.

"4"

"My life? Are you sure?" Edge mocked, a smile creeping from behind his mask.

"3"

"I don't offer my life. I offer yours!" He said as he used Sephiroth's chest to jump higher.

"2"

"You really think you're going to be able to jump to safety?" Sephiroth asked, almost amused by such stupidity.

"Do you know what this is?" Edge asked as he revealed a glowing tissue.

"1"

"A Lunar Curtain?" Sephiroth asked. "You're planning to reflect your own attack? You're only saving me the trouble!"

"Really?"

"Bahamut… Fire!" Rydia said as the dragon king shot his grand blast downwards. "Prepare to dodge!" The dragon immediately flew towards the tower and reverted back to human form, as Rydia, Cuore and Him took refuge there."

As the blast reached Edge he used the item to create a protective veil around him.

"Five seconds till take off!" Edge yelled as Sephiroth realized his plan in horror. As the blast hit Edge, it was reflected backwards but the backlash of it sent Edge towards Sephiroth at an otherworldly speed. Such was the speed that the friction it caused made Edge erupt in flames.

"Take this! My ultimate band technique! Advent of the Phoenix!" Edge shouted as he cut through Sephiroth, bursting him ablaze.

"Cloud, you are safe… for now." Sephiroth said as he disappeared in a storm of black feathers.

Ignoring the incoming blast from the flare Rydia jumped off the tower.

"Edge can't survive that fall!" She yelled in desperation.

"Grab on." Bahamut said as He passed besides her. "Dodging this might be tricky…" He said, looking at His own blast. Twisting his body the best he could He managed to escape the blast with a minor scrape on His right wing. Not wasting anytime he adopted a diving position towards the ninja. As Edge was a mere twenty feet from the floor he felt a giant claw grabbing his leg, pulling him up. Sure it hurt a lot but at least he wasn't a pancake right now.

"Did we get him?" Edge asked, out of breath.

"No… he escaped into the Rift." Bahamut said. "But you did well Edge."

"Stop talking, we need to get to the tower!" Rydia shouted, pointing towards the blast that was just reaching the top of the Underworld.

The King propelled himself upwards, reaching the hole from which they had left and burst inside, transforming back to human.

"Everyone get down!" He shouted.

Rydia grabbed Cuore and both she and Edge served as human shields. As the Mega Flare collided with the ceiling a giant column of earth fell, causing tremors all over the world, and mostly the tower. As the tremors died down they observed the exterior. Where the Mega Flare had collided a giant gap towards the Over world had opened, Sunlight illuminated the dark depths for the first time.

"Don't worry Rydia, the dwarves will be thanking us sooner than you can say Lali-Ho." Edge joked.

* * *

><p>"Useless cur…" Delita barked as he felt Sephiroth presence fade. "I'll show him just how superior I am!" He mumbled as he heard a scream.<p>

"Get out of my head!" Terra yelled from the distance.

"My chance comes…"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"You… DARE call yourself a hero?"_

_"Revenge is never the answer!"_

_"Quite frankly, the mere existence of creatures as weak as yourself is an affront."_


	15. Definition of a Hero: Cloud vs Delita

**Author's note:** Took a while but here it is. Have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Definition of a Hero: Cloud vs Delita**

* * *

><p>"Terra what's wrong?" Shin asked while trying to stop Terra from ripping her hair off.<p>

"_Yes Sunshine, what's wrong?"_ The voice in Terra's head mocked. "_What happened to all that t__ough girl act you had going for you?"_

"You can stay in there and mock me as you like!" Terra screamed. "But you got near my friends!"

"_So what? Yeah I was a bit unfair when you were asleep, but I didn't hurt anyone that time, but at the cave I simply snatched the controlling position, didn't I? It was a fair game."_

"_The cave? So that's what happened…"_ She thought, calming down.

"_Look, I like to be free as much as you do, but we are both stuck in __the same body. The way I see it__ the strongest wins so you better be on your toes, girly."_ The voice said as it retreated to the inside of her mind.

Coming back to reality, Terra found herself laying against a wall, the three men watching her every move.

"Terra, we can't help you if you don't tell us what's going on!" Shin shouted. "This is getting out of hand here. First that "incident" at the infirmary, then you attack Bahamut and now you try to kill yourself?"

"I promise I will tell you after this is over…" She said as she pushed herself back up. "You're right, this is getting out of hand, but the CPU comes first."

"She's got a point there." Cloud began. "But if you get anymore of those "attacks" I'm going to have to ask you to stay behind."

"Fine…" Terra agreed. Little did Cloud know that if she had another "attack" asking her to stay back wouldn't end very well.

* * *

><p>"What do you desire?" Golbez asked the man in the glasses.<p>

"So you managed to maintain a bit of yourself in there." The man said, amused. "You are an impressive individual Golbez."

"I am not new to enslavement. I know that I cannot fight it, but as long as I play my part I can keep my emotions." Golbez responded.

"Very well. As a reward for entertaining me I will give you some enlightenment." The man said, adjusting his glasses. "A god… isn't as almighty as I thought. That said, I needed to find a way to get more power, power to bend reality to my will. Omega is just that, it towers above the four treasures with ease. With his power, I can rewrite history as I want it to be."

"So you desire power… But why?" Golbez asked intrigued. There were a lot of persons that desired power for no reason other than getting such power, like they were addicted to it. But this man seemed to be different.

"Why? For love, Golbez… for love." The man replied, leaving Golbez puzzled.

* * *

><p>"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand the map is over…" Zack said as they found their way to what seemed to be the top floor.<p>

"Zack! Come in Zack!"

"Oh god… I forgot!" Zack said as he reluctantly pulled out his communicator.

"Where are you now?" Cissnei asked.

"You're not going to kill me?" Zack asked relived

"You're always the same Zack, I've gotten used to it. Now where are you?"

"We're at the supposed top floor of this thing. What do we do now?"

"Look for anything suspicious, a trap door, a teleporter, anything."

"Well gee, that was insightful. Thanks a lot."

"You're welcome. Cissnei out." Cissnei said sarcastically as she cut the connection.

"Okay, time to bang our heads against walls until we find something!" Zack said in an equally sarcastic tone.

Suddenly Shin felt that familiar tingling feeling and all went dark.

* * *

><p>A man with a blue beard stood in the very same room as they did, he was contemplating…. a wall. He was approached by an elder in blue robes.<p>

"Kluya, I know that you trust humans but putting a teleporter here is too dangerous!" The elder said.

"Would you rather leave the CPU unguarded, Fusoya? As dangerous as the destination of this teleporter is, it will never be as dangerous as having the CPU fall into the wrong hands." Kluya replied.

"But having a security measure wouldn't hurt…" Fusoya replied, accepting Kluya's point of view.

"Fear not. The only way anyone can make this teleporter appear is to say the password." Kluya replied proudly.

"And what might that be?" Fusoya asked intrigued.

Kluya casted his gaze upon the wall again, putting his hand against the cold steel and from his lips came."Theodor." The wall shrieked but it did not budge. "Cecilia." The room lit up and as light shot from the door. "Cecil." Kluya finished as the wall disappeared, leaving an opening towards a blue circle on the ground.

* * *

><p>"I know where the CPU is!" Shin exclaimed, snapping from the trance.<p>

"Really? Care to share?" Delita joked as he opened the door.

"Is it in this room?" Cloud asked as he drew his main blade.

"Partially yes… why?" Shin replied.

"Good…" Cloud said as he tackled Delita out of the room.

"Out of my way!" Delita shouted as he struggled to reach his sword.

"Sorry… but after what you've done to Ramza, no thanks." Cloud replied as he fired a blast of fire, knocking Delita into a wall.

"How do you…. That machine!" Delita exclaimed as he remembered hearing talk from a machine that brought a spiky blonde haired man from another world. He hadn't believed it at the time, but it appeared that the man was standing in front of him.

* * *

><p>"Shin, we got to get to the CPU! Which wall do I need to break?" Zack asked as he pulled out his Buster Sword.<p>

"Calm down Zack! First, the CPU isn't in this room, second I know how to open the path." Shin said, making Zack sheath his massive sword.

"Those flashbacks are back I suppose…" Terra commented as Shin headed to the wall.

"I promise I'll tell you when this is over…" Shin sarcastically said.

"Oh c'mon you're not still sore are ya?" Zack asked, trying to light up the mood. He didn't like having stuff being hidden from him, but the last thing this team needed was internal conflicts.

"I suppose not…" Shin replied as he put his hand on the wall. "Theodor, Cecilia, Cecil." He said.

"Gone talking to a wall?" Zack asked confused.

After some time the wall began to tremble and created the show of lights Shin had seen in his memory, the wall disappeared, revealing the teleporter.

"Neat!" Zack exclaimed as he headed towards the teleporter. "What does this thingy do?"

"It's a teleporter Zack…" Terra commented. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Teleporter? HERE? But this is a medieval world! I mean MY world doesn't have teleporters!"

"Zack… look around." Terra replied.

"Ohhhh the technology…. Gotcha!" Zack exclaimed as he remembered the tower he was in.

"Now I don't know where the heck does this thing lead, so let's get in it together." Shin proposed.

"Okay." Zack and Terra said in unison.

"On my count. 3.2.1… Go!" Shin shouted as they jumped inside the blue circle, a blue light covering the room as they landed. After it faded nothing was left.

* * *

><p>"Interesting… I can't feel three of the presences." The man in the glasses said. "Is the CPU in a place outside the tower?" He asked turning to Golbez.<p>

"I do not know, but they must have found something inside the tower first." Golbez stoically replied.

"A teleporter maybe? Splendid I must investigate this further!"

* * *

><p>"How are you alive? Everyone who was with Ramza died on the blast." Delita asked.<p>

"Really? What about Ramza?" Cloud smirked. "Everyone survived Delita, they were just too tired of that rotten society. Many started anew, or so Ramza says, I went back to my home world. If the Zodiac brought me in, they could send me back."

"Thu…Thunder God Orlandeu is alive?" Delita gasped, even with all his might if the Thunder God ever found him it would be his demise.

"I think he is… the least of your worries!" Cloud said as he lunged towards Delita, grabbing one of the back blades to make a pincer attack with his main blade.

"The least of my worries?" Delita spat as he jumped off the attack. "I don't see any other thing to worry. Judgment Blade!"

"Weak…" Cloud said as he started to spin, giving birth to a tornado that broke the approaching ice and blew Delita away.

"Why you… I am the hero of Ivalice!" Delita screamed as he landed on one foot and lifted up his sword. "Northswain's Strike!" He chanted as a red crystal surrounded Cloud.

"You… DARE call yourself a hero?" Cloud shouted as he became enveloped in a blue aura. "What do you think a hero IS?"He shouted, breaking the crystal with an energy wave. "You're gone!" He yelled, bringing down his main blade and generating a blue shockwave from it.

"Divine Ruination!" Delita chanted, the shockwaves clashing and cancelling themselves. "Everyone in Ivalice loves me! They turn to me when they are in dire circumstances! They look up to ME! I made them happy! What makes you think I'm not a hero?"

"A hero… isn't always one cherished by the people." Cloud replied, memories of the "hero" that almost destroyed the planet flashing through his head. "Did you do it for them? Or for yourself?"

"Does it matter?" Delita replied."They are all the same! Dogs who need a leader! I just provided the dogs with a better life, now I am a master not a dog!"

"You did it all for glory!" Cloud said as he lunged Delita, sweeping one of his swords towards his legs and another towards his chest. Delita skillfully jumped above one and blocked the other but Cloud's strength isn't something you can mock, the impact sent Delita right through a wall, crashing into computer on the inside. "Did Ramza ask for glory? No! He threw it away!" Cloud shouted as he jumped on top of Delita, punching him in the face. "Did Zack do it for himself? NO! HE DIED FOR ME! Would you die for anyone?"

"Of course not! I'm more than them!" Delita spat, getting another face full of fist soon afterwards.

"Ramza would die for you…" Cloud said, grabbing Delita's neck and throwing him against the wall. "And worst of all. You killed, no worse, you USED your wife! Only to get the adoration of the crowd! You became what you despised the most!"

"Be quiet! You don't know me! They took Tietra from me… Just because she was a commoner! I couldn't make them pay as a commoner, I had to be more powerful than them, and what's more powerful than a king?" Delita yelled as he punched Cloud with such force that it sent him flying through midair. He then ran up and picked his Save the Queen.

"What's life after you had your revenge? A pathetic shell! Revenge is never the answer!" Cloud said, making a backflip in midair, landing on the wall sideways and summoning the main blade to his hand.

"Says the person whose only drive in life is revenge!" Delita yelled as he pounced towards Cloud, bringing down his sword on him. While Cloud blocked the blow, the wall didn't resist the punishment, shattering and making Cloud have to grasp a ledge to not fall off the tower. "You think I didn't read up on you? You can act all high and mighty but all you do can trace back to one thing, your hatred for Sephiroth." Delita spat as he stomped one of Cloud's feet.

"You're right but… I've never called myself a hero." Cloud responded, calling the back blade to him. In order to escape being impaled Delita was forced to jump back, giving Cloud enough room to jump back into the tower, once in there his main blade commenced to glow, all the other swords rising from his holster and fusing into one single sword reminiscent of the Buster Sword. "Complete Assembly! Fusion Blade!"

* * *

><p>"A hole?" Edge remarked as Bahamut flew upwards. "Bahamut get there!"<p>

"Edge!" A voice came from the distance. Looking back Edge saw the Falcon.

"What is happening here?" A pink haired girl asked as the Falcon managed to catch up.

"I'll explain after this, we have to get to that hole." Rydia explained.

* * *

><p>Inside the tower Cloud was overpowering Delita in a direct fight.<p>

"_I can't block that thing… he's too strong!"_Delita thought.

"Can't you try and speak with Ramza?" Cloud suddenly asked, stopping the assault.

"Shu-Shut up. I hate him!" Delita shouted, but his voice was not the smug and confident voice he had in the beginning, no it was a weak, tired voice.

"You can't ever atone for your sins but you can still turn back." Cloud continued.

"Getting soft are we Delita?" A voice came from behind them. "Pale Flare!" The tower was scorched by a white flame, blowing its top portion off. As the dust settled Golbez and the glassed man stood above a fallen Cloud and Delita.

"You… Why did you interfere?" Delita managed to say as he coughed blood.

"Because_…_" The man began as he adjusted his glasses, a maniacal stare coming from his seemingly perfect composure. "Quite frankly, the mere existence of creatures as weak as yourself is an affront. Now off to the Rift with you." He said, creating a portal beneath Delita.

"Damn you Va…" Delita shouted as he was swallowed by the Rift.

"You…" Cloud said as he slowly got up. "He was your comrade!"

"Him? Do not associate me with such scum! I am a GOD!" He boomed, causing gales to blow Cloud off the tower.

"Just another sadist with a god complex…" Edge sighed, landing on the tower. After him Bahamut landed, with Him coming Cloud, Rydia and Cuore and the Falcon, dropping Porom , the brown haired boy, the blonde girl and Kain.

"A little late for the party aren't we?" The man mocked.

"You listen here! You will NOT mock the Great Palom and his trusty sidekicks!" The brown haired young man shouted."Leonora, Particle Bomb!"

"Okay!" Leonora agreed as they fired a beam of fire and ice. The ensuing explosion blinded everyone at the top .

"Sheer impudence... Like children frolicking in a perilous swamp." The man said as he emerged from the smoke unscathed.

"H-how?" Palom stuttered, frightened of such immense power.

"Odin, come to me!" Rydia called, the former King of Baron coming to her aid, ridding his six-legged horse Selphnir. Instead of feeling any threat from one of the most powerful summoned creatures the man startled to crackle maniacally before bursting into a bone-chilling laugh.

"Odin? ODIN? The god of Midgar? Such irony!" The man said in the midst of his laughter, summoning a two edged weapon. "But there is something I must confess. I am truly in your debt for enabling me to achieve godhood and for this spear, Gungnir!"

"Rydia, RUN!" Odin said, his normally strong tone of voice shattered with fear. "This… being is no longer a man, you stand no chance of victory! My past memories are coming back, run please! I'll try and hold him off!"

"Hold me off? You think too highly of yourself lord Odin. I shall destroy you with one of the treasures that you so whole heartedly created thousands of years ago." The man said as he materialized a red orb in his hand. "Using the Dragon Orb may diminish his power, but this is a gift to an old friend. Drink deeply the power of the orb!" He chanted as the orb began to shine, a red fluid flowing from it and forming red snakes that fused together to create a giant crimson dragon that towered above the party. "Burn in the flames of the apocalypse!" The man shouted as the dragon came crashing down on the tower, heavily damaging the structure and taking out everyone on top of the tower in the process. As the dust settled only Golbez stood besides the man.

"Maybe that was a little harsh…" Golbez commented as he stared at his fallen former comrades.

"Golbez… you traitor!" Edge spat as he stood up.

"Trust me, you better sleep now…" Golbez replied as he punched Edge in the stomach, instantly knocking him out.

"Shall we? The tower won't hold after an assault from one of the Four Treasures." The glassed man replied.

"Very well." Golbez replied as he got on the teleporter. "Live!" He thought as he disappeared in a blue light.

"Can't allow you worms to follow…" The glassed man said as he left an energy ball at the feet of the transporter. "Goodbye." The ball exploded just after he was teleported to safety, leaving the party with no way to escape.

"Damn… we're too weak to climb off now, we are doomed to fall with the tower." Kain commented, giving up on the situation.

"Fear not, if my instincts are correct I know just where they are headed." Bahamut said as he rose with minor injuries. "He might be a God but so am I, I will stop him."

"Take us with you!" Rydia asked as she examined Edge.

"After that you still want to press on?" Bahamut asked in a deadly calm.

"I need to punch Golbez in the face!"Edge coughed.

"I can't let Zack die again!" Cloud exclaimed as he rose from the rubble.

"I've got to get my rematch!" Palom shouted.

"We have to take care of the brat…" Porom lamented as she put her hand in Leonora's shoulder.

"Turning back is useless now…" Kain said.

"I'll go where Mother goes!" Cuore cheered.

"Very well. Close your eyes, this might be rough." Bahamut said as he enveloped them all in his wings and began to shine, disappearing from sight moments later.

"So the pursuit continues…" A man in a black cloak said as he arrived at the top of the tower. "Maybe they will need my assistance…" He commented as he disappeared in a flash of light that soared towards the heavens.

* * *

><p><span>Next chapter:<span>

_"This is scientifically impossible!"_

_"Does this bring back memories Golbez?"_

_"Hello… old friend."_


	16. The Lunar Subterrane

**Author's note: **I don't really have much to say about this one. Just enjoy it.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**The Lunar Subterrane**

* * *

><p>Sephiroth and Delita slowly limped through the Rift towards the Shrine of Chaos when they heard the sound of clapping.<p>

"Very good… no excellent show, Sephy-boy, Delita-kun!" Kefka mocked as he appeared from the darkness. "Sephy, never saw you lose against people other than that emo kid so a little change is always good, and you Delita, that drama brought a tear into my eye!"

"Save it clown, why are you here?" Delita spat back.

"Oh, so you're mad that you've been beaten in your own game?" Kefka joked. "But I'm not here for fun and laughs, Sephiroth." Kefka said as his tone became deep and dark. "May I ask you why, oh why, did you cause Omega to destroy the links for more than one world?"

"I do not…" Sephiroth began.

"Don't play dumb with me, pretty boy. You were the one assigned to activate Omega. You ordered it to destroy the link between world seven and four so you got an early chance at Cloud didn't you?" Kefka continued. "Well we're not having any of it!"

"We?" Delita asked.

"Yes Delita, us." Mateus said from behind them. "We have permission from above to "put a leash" on you… both of you should you betray us again, or in Delita's case, if you reveal… "inadequate thoughts". I trust that you know of Golbez's "condition" already don't you?" He said while retrieving a crown-like object from his robes.

"So you would have me believe that you are "loyal to the cause"?" Sephiroth replied.

"It's only cheating if you're caught!" Kefka mused as he started to vanish."Now if you'll escuse me I have to see my kitty beat up somebody. Tah tah!"

"I trust this meeting was… enlightening." The Emperor spat as he disappeared into the nothingness, leaving Delita and Sephiroth to contemplate on their actions.

* * *

><p>"Dude… are we on the freaking moon?" Zack asked as he observed the white, rocky landscape. "There's no Earth in sight, but this sure does look like the moon!"<p>

"The moon?" Shin and Terra asked in unison.

"This doesn't make sense… why would the CPU be on the moon?" Shin reflected.

"Maybe we'll find something there." Terra commented as she pointed towards a giant crystal building. "It looks like a palace, maybe we'll find people there."

"Wait wait wait! How are we breathing? This is scientifically impossible!" Zack exclaimed as he realized that he was breathing in space.

"What do you mean?" Terra asked confused. Technology didn't reach that point in her world so she was oblivious to the lack of oxygen in space.

"You breathe Oxygen right?" Zack began.

"I do? Don't we breathe air?" Terra replied with no idea what oxygen was.

"God what did they teach you at school?" Zack asked before realizing how big was the hole he dug himself into.

"I couldn't GO to school you insensitive jerk!" Terra shouted, kicking Zack in the jewels, instantly flooring him.

"You kinda deserved that…" Shin told the floored SOLDIER.

"I'm losing my touch…"Zack lamented as he slowly got up. "What I was saying is that there is no "air" on the moon, so how are we breathing?" Just as Zack asked that familiar black figures appeared from the ground, stumbling their way towards them.

"Shades on the moon? What's next? Unicorns?" Shin sighed as he summoned the Lightbringer.

"Let's make a run for the palace! With the increased jumps from... wait a sec, why is the gravity the same?" Zack asked as he noticed his jumps weren't getting any higher.

"Gravi-what now? Isn't that a spell?" The others asked confused again.

"Oh for god's… just run!"

* * *

><p>"Interesting! Is this your moon Golbez?" The man with the glasses asked the half Lunarian.<p>

"Maybe… You can't tell the True Moon apart from the Red Moon…" Golbez replied as he remembered the creator's den.

"Keeping the CPU on the moon was a marvelous idea, I must congratulate whoever had it!" He joked. "Lead the way to the castle Golbez."

"Very well…" He stoically replied.

* * *

><p>Bahamut transformed His wings back into his cape as they arrived at an altar. The altar was inside a cave that was easily recognized by Rydia, Edge and Kain, the Lair of the Father.<p>

"Welcome back, Master Bahamut." Two children greeted from the bottom of the altar. "I see that you brought guests. Lady Rydia, how wonderful it is to see you after so many years."

"Pleasure's all mine." Rydia replied before turning to Bahamut. "Formalities aside, why are we _on the moon?"_

"_The moon? How are we breathing then? I'll ask latter."_Cloud asked himself before shaking off the question.

"A presence like that man's is not easy to lose. He is here on the moon, I do not doubt it." Bahamut replied as he started to go down the stairs. "We may have to warn Fusoya before chasing him though."

"So, we need to head for the Crystal Palace I presume." Kain asked.

"Correct, but we must proceed on foot. Even a God can become tired." Bahamut responded.

"You're kidding right? That thing is on the other side of the freaking moon!" Edge lamented.

"We have no time to waste then…" Cloud said as he started to run.

"It's a race!" Palom shouted as he started to chase Cloud.

"That guy reminds me so much of me…" Edge observed as everyone started to chase the SOLDIER and the brat.

* * *

><p>"These guys are unrelenting!" Zack exclaimed as he cut through some Shades. "We're almost there, but they're blocking the entrance!"he was right, the castle was mere instants away but there was a whole battalion just in front of the door.<p>

Shin however had just had a realization, they never seemed to get close to Terra. "Of course, the crystal! They must be afraid of it. Terra, we need to use this for our advantage."

"No problem! I've got an idea!" Zack exclaimed with an unseen grin.

"Okay, what do you have in…" She was interrupted when Zack grabbed her the hips. "Oh you wouldn't…"

"Human shield go!" Zack shouted as he ran towards the castle with Terra working as a shield, ram, thing. Shin followed him confused. The Shades surprisingly moved out of the way in fear enabling them to get inside the structure.

"Quick, close the door!" Zack said as he dropped Terra on the ground and closed the massive door with Shin's help, trapping the Shades outside. "Nice one!" Zack continued fist pumping Shin.

"Huh Zack… why did you pick up Terra?" Shin asked as he saw Terra getting up with her eyes burning.

"Well I figured that it would take too much time for Terra to get the crystal from her pouch so I speed things up a little… Plus she's got a great ass!" Zack replied before he felt a tiny but strong grip on the back of his neck. "I'm going to die aren't I?"

"Death would be too kind…"

"Greetings." A man said as he approached the trio, however no one paid attention to him since Terra was too busy beating Zack up, Zack was trying to survive and Shin was trying to stop the fight.

"Not in the face! Agh my face!"

"May I have your attention?"

"That isn't supposed to bend like that!"

"Are you listening to me?"

"Please… kill me."

"Miss that's enough." The man said as he touched Terra's shoulder. Terra stopped to look to the man and then looked at her hand, holding a bloodied Zack by the neck.

"This isn't what it looks like." She said sheepishly.

"I am sure it isn't…" The man replied sarcastically. "May I ask you what is your business here?"

"We're here to protect the CPU." Shin interrupted. "You must be Fusoya." He said as he saw his long white beard, the pale blue robe and the bald forehead.

"Ah you know my name. You must be a friend of Cecil's. Come." Fusoya responded as he signaled them to follow.

"What about him?" Shin asked pointing at Zack.

"Carry him." Terra replied.

Shin just sighed and picked up the bloody mess formerly known as Zack Fair. They arrived at a room with eight crystal positioned on top of altars forming an octagon.

"Now, has Cecil told you about this moon and its inhabitants?" Fusoya asked only to see them shake their heads. "Well then you must be very confused." He replied only to see them nodding. "Well I'll tell you all about it as we descend, would please get on this panel?"

Shin and Terra walked up to the crystal square that Fusoya was standing on, activating a white light that sucked them in. As they regained awareness they found themselves in the middle of a platform inside a cave.

"Welcome to the Lunar Subterrane. Now follow me, everything will be cleared up." Fusoya said as he started to walk.

* * *

><p>Outside de castle a blonde young man stood, scratching his cheek.<p>

"In what kind of mess did I get myself this time?" He wondered. "Well might as well search this thing huh?" He decided as the doors opened in front of him.

* * *

><p>"Why do I have to carry this guy around?" Shin asked.<p>

"Would you leave a weak little girl like me do your hard work?" Terra replied, picking up the pace to Fusoya's side.

"Weak my ass…" He mumbled as he caught up.

"This is the red moon, the home of the Lunarians. As you may have noticed this one is different from a normal moon. With the help of technology we have created a gravitational field around the moon similar to that of the Blue Planet where Cecil lives, the same gravitational field helped keep an atmosphere comprised solely of oxygen so that we and others may breathe." Fusoya explained as the scenery changed from a crystalline cave to a room with crystalline floor. Bellow them they could see a giant red sphere in the distance. "Can you be so kind as to drop the man here?" Fusoya asked as he approached a tile different from the others.

"Finally!" Shin exclaimed as he dropped Zack in the tile. The tile began to shine in a pale light and before they noticed every one of Zack's injuries was gone.

"Awwwww Yeeeeeeah! Zack Fair is back in business!" Zack yelled, jumping back up and starting to do squats. Terra coughed lightly making Zack go stiff. "Okay, I'm sorry! Happy now?"

"No, but the urge to kill you just disappeared."Terra replied, crossing her arms.

Zack simply shrugged. _"Women…"_ He thought, making sure he didn't say it out loud.

"Now if you care to follow me…" Fusoya said, descending some stairs. "This is the moon's core." He said as they passed through a room dangerously close to the center of the planet. They climbed some stairs and were amazed by what they saw. "And this… is my race." Fusoya said. In front of them there hundreds, no thousands of sleeping pods, each of one containing what seemed to be a human being. "Yes, the Lunarians are quite similar to humans… but then again you can't be surprised, you already saw Cecil."

"Cecil's a Lunarian?" They asked in shock.

"Why yes, half lunarian to be sure. Didn't he tell you?" Fusoya asked, becoming suspicious. Cecil had no shame on his heritage, why would he hide it?

"We've only known him for two days so we couldn't exactly chat." Shin replied.

"I see…" He replied as he started on their eyes. "I can see no evil in your eyes, come I'll trust you." The elder said as he headed for a door. Introducing the code "Kluya" into it the door opened to reveal a room with what seemed to be a portable computer in the center. "This is Kluya's pride, the most advanced computer to ever exist."

"But it's so small!" Terra exclaimed. She was used to the giant computers of the Magitek factory and the empire.

"Size had no importance in the matter, the CPU you seek is this computer right here. It controls every Lunarian construct ever created with the exception of the Giant of Babil." Fusoya said before he turned to them. "But I cannot let you take it."

"Why?" Terra asked.

"This moon is controlled by this computer. Without it the cryogenic sleep of the Lunarians would be no more, and soon the gravitational field of the moon would disappear, leaving us with no oxygen. It would be the end of us all!" He replied.

"Cryogenic sleep? These guys are five hundred steps ahead of us!" Zack exclaimed.

"What is cryogenic sleep?" Shin asked curiously.

"Cryogenic sleep freezes the body, allowing it to maintain its age and properties for any period of time in a sleep-like state. We decided that it would be best to activate cryogenic sleep until we found a planet that we could call home… that was thousands of years ago." Fusoya answered, his voice felt tired. "And I've been our race's sole guardian ever since."

"As much as your story touches us, I think you've misunderstood one thing." Shin asked, breaking an awkward silence. "We're not here to take the CPU, we're here to protect it."

"That takes a burden from my soul. But what are you protecting it from?" Fusoya asked.

"I wish we knew…" Terra replied.

"Hey can I ask you a question?" Zack said from the blue.

"Evidently."

"How did you know we were coming?"

"Ah that, I saw that the teleporter at the tower had been activated, so I headed up to see who came."

"If you can track teleports, can you see if the teleporter has been activated again?"

"It's a simple thing." Fusoya replied as he approached the computer. "No! This can't be."

"What's wrong?" Terra asked.

"The tower of Babil… is no more." Fusoya replied darkly.

"What!" Zack asked alarmed.

"In the archives I can see that the tower was thoroughly damaged by an outside force, and just before it fell two teleports, followed by the teleporters destruction, were recorded."

"So we don't have any way back?" Shin asked.

"That's the least of our worries." Zack said, his long gone serious tone returning. "If someone or something that could destroy the tower is here… we are in a very bad situation."

* * *

><p>"Does this bring back memories Golbez? Do not be embarrassed about it. We all have something precious." The man with the glasses said as he stood in front of the closed doors to the palace.<p>

"Yes… it does." Golbez replied stoically.

"Now… do you remember anything that might help us reach our objective?"

Golbez couldn't lie, he was under the crown's effects after all. Even f he didn't know where it was, he had a pretty good guess. "Fusoya never let me inside the room after the Lunarians cryogenic sleep room, we should start there. Let's head inside and down to the moon's core."

"Unfortunately, this door is barring the way." The man said with a lunatic grin. "Must I always be the one to do the dirty jobs? Come to me! Demon Sword "Levantine"!" He called as a giant black sword with a twisted edge appeared in his hand. "Begone!" He commanded as he brought the sword down upon the door which collapsed even before contact was made. "Such a puny obstacle for one of the Four Treasures, it crumbles at its mere presence!"

"_What IS this man? How can they hope to survive this?" _Golbez lamented as his hope began to wane.

* * *

><p>"The gate has been breached!" Fusoya exclaimed as the screen lit up.<p>

"Looks like we have to make a stand here huh?" Zack said. "Someone needs to stay here and defend… Shin you stay, you're not quite on par with us yet."

Shin grudgingly accepted because, well it was the truth.

"Hey Fu, can you port us up?"

"Unfortunately no." Fusoya replied.

"Guess we'll just do this the old fashioned way… running."

"Speak for yourself." Terra joked as she started to float.

"It's not the time for… ah screw it I'll race ya!" Zack shouted as he made a sprint for the exit.

Shin just leaned down on the wall feeling useless as he saw them disappear.

* * *

><p>Zack and Terra were about midway through the Subterrane when it started getting dark. Even darker than usual on those caves. Zack felt a chill on his spine but before he could react a dark voice whispered. <em>"<em>Hello… old friend." He felt a hand grab his shoulder and suddenly all went black.

"Zack!" Terra yelled as she saw her friend and the cloaked man disappear into the darkness.

"That human is the least of your concerns… so-called Godslayer." The man with glasses spat as he watched from the top of the stairs. "Golbez you may go, this subject intrigues me."

"Are you certain…?" Golbez began before noticing the change in the man's was one of pure madness. _"He's not even listening to me anymore… Please Terra, survive!"_ He wished as he teleported to the other side of the cave, leaving Terra to fend with the stranger.

"I won't let you!" Terra yelled before seeing the ground erupt in the form of a dark sword.

"You seem strained. I think you should rest for a while. Perhaps I can help show you how."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Kneel down before me!"_

_"It's been a while since I killed somebody!"_

_"Bow to me! Worship me! Honour my name!"_


	17. Those Who Stand Above The Gods

**Author's note:** This one came out pretty quickly don't you agree? Onto other businesses, I understand that I left this guy unnamed for long but rest assured I will reveal the name when the time is right. That may come sooner than expected though. Have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Seventeen**

** Those Who Stand Above The Gods**

* * *

><p>"Dark Savior!" The man shouted as the dark blades erupted from the ground, slashing Terra's legs. "You need to me more attentive. I would hate to see a woman so beautiful last so little time." He said with a sick smile creeping up his cheek.<p>

"_Sunshine, listen to me." _A familiar voice resounded from inside her mind.

"_Not now!" _Terra replied, trying to suppress her other side.

"Prismatic Missile!" The man chanted as he fired a rain of multicolored beams at Terra.

"What kind of magic is this?" Terra asked herself as she flew up and twisted herself in midair to avoid the missiles.

"You are beginning to disappoint me. Am I to believe that you too are constricted to the same, small notions of magic as all the other inferior minds?" He mocked as the missiles changed direction, flanking Terra and throwing her against the cave's wall. "Magic is to be molded, dominated, you have to RULE IT!" He boomed, the very cave starting to tremble at the sheer magnitude of his power.

"Flare!" Terra shouted as she fired giant fireball from her hand. The man just put his hand in front of his body and the Flare stopped in its tracks.

"I was once a fire Sorcerer. This kind of tricks won't work against me!" He spat, sending the fireball back at Terra who managed to reflect it but not without the impact sending her against the wall again.

"_We've got to change strategy!"_ Her esper side shouted from inside her mind.

"Shut up!" Terra replied as she jumped, her hand filling with a chilly wind.

"_You don't understand!"_ The voice warned her, distress was something unusual for this part of Terra but Terra thought it a façade.

"Blizzaga!" She chanted, unleashing the same rain of icicles that she did against Sephiroth, albeit the "icicles" we're giant, sharp chucks of ice now.

"How predictable! I'll show what a real spell is like! In my hand, the creator's sword that calls eternal sleep! Honour our pact and hear my command! Animate Earth!" A giant glyph appeared bellow him, fire floating above it. As his hand descend the fire touched the glyph and the earth itself exploded in an inferno of brimstone, the small cave they were in and sending Terra into the small passages of the Subterrane.

"_Will you just listen to me? This guys is unlike anything you faced before."_ The voice in her head told her. _"If you don't let me help you, you might as well roll over__ and play dead!"_

Terra cringed at the thought of teaming up with her wild side but she had no time to reflect as from the dust came a rain of arrows of light that forced her to take cover by jumping to the edge and grabbing on.

In his hand was a refined recurved bow with golden inscriptions and seemingly perfect craftsmanship. "The Sylvan Bow never misses…" He bragged as the arrows turned in midair to pursue Terra. Already expecting this, Terra lunged at him, determined to dodge at the last second. "You really are predictable…" He sighed as the arrows that didn't follow Terra erupted from the ground, cutting her body and two of them lodging on her shoulder, making her gasp in pain.

"_I'm not asking for you to let me in control… just listen to me a bit."_ The voice said, this time its plea not falling on deaf ears.

"Okay… what do you want me to do?" Terra grudgingly replied as she pulled the arrows out causing blood to gush out.

"_I don't know what this… THING is, but we need to scout him for weaknesses. Try an__d go physical on him."_

"_Okay, here goes nothing." _Terra thought as she summoned the Apocalypse and lunged straight at the man.

"Interesting. You are braver than I thought, I never thought a weak little girl would attack me directly. Well no matter… Come to me! Demon Sword "Levantine"!" He chanted as the black, twisted blade took the place of the perfect bow. The two blades clashed and he seemed to thrive in it. "Such irony. Someone as pure looking as you uses such a twisted blade. I guess you really are a beast of destruction." He mocked as he started to overpower Terra, who jumped back to break the physical contact.

"You… you know Kefka!" She replied, knowing that the only way he could have that notion of her would come from the clown.

"But of course, we are on the same "side"… well for the most part. He told me all about you in exchange for me showing him this sword and the rest of the Four Treasures."

"_Now there's something we can use!"_Terra's esper exclaimed. "Terra we need to make him show off his weapons, we can't afford a surprise attack."

_"Since where is there a "we"?"_ Terra thought to herself.

_"Ever since the part in that if you die I die."_ She mocked_. "Now blast him with everything you got!"_

_"Huh?"_

_"Don't "huh" me. Flare didn't work because he is a fire mage, shoot different elements at him. If my guess is right he must have something to boost his magic."_

"Well… here goes nothing. Sorrowful waters!" Terra chanted as she made three columns of water explode from beneath the man. "Darkness of gravity!"

"Childish tricks!" The man shouted as the sword disappeared from his hand and he disappeared from atop the water. However he didn't account for the Graviga and when he reappeared he found himself bellow the giant orb that came crashing down on him, breaking the floor and sending him to a deeper level of the subterrane.

_"Don't let __him get space to breathe!"_ The voice hammered in her head.

"I'm going!" Terra yelled back as she jumped down the hole into the area before the crystal floor. "This I bad… I'm leading him inside."

All of a sudden a mad cackle resounded throughout the cave, it was coming from beneath the rubble. The rubble exploded in a the shape of a red dragon, the man standing in the middle holding a red Orb, still laughing insanely. "MWHAHAHAHA! Kneel down before me!" He shouted in the midst of his laughter as the dragon lunged towards Terra.

"_Get the hell out of that thing's way!"_

"_Gee, that sure was helpful…"_ Terra replied while lifting off. Her flight speed however was no match for the dragon as it was quickly closing the gap between them. Seeing now way to avoid it for much longer, Terra landed where Dark Bahamut once stood and began channeling a spell. "With this power… Take this!" She shouted as she unleashed Meltdown upon the dragon, which surprisingly was destroyed by it. "Huh? I didn't expect that."

_"Neither did he for the looks of it..." _Her esper said as she spotted confusion on the man's face, even if it was for a fraction of a second.

"So it is true… the orb drain's its own power when used for destruction… I cannot hope to use it repeatedly until I discover how to control it…" The man mumbled as he casted the orb away. "No matter I'll deal with you personally!"

_"Sunshine, look out… he's serious."_

"On the contrary… you cannot comprehend what power I can wield if I were to want to kill you." The man replied to the unheard Esper.

"_Crap… he can hear me."_

"How?" Terra asked beginning to get scared.

"Do you fear me? You disappoint me! You are nothing like her!" The man shouted as a book materialized in front of him, its pages starting to fly in circles in the shape of a cross in front of him. ""Do you really think you can withstand my magic? The magic of a God?" He boomed creating a giant glyph in the air. "Harken the angel summons." He chanted as thunder came crashing down from the glyph. Terra dodged the first few but they were too many for her to dodge and she was struck down into the ground. "The true path shall guide you to find peace in annihilation! " Multiple orbs of light started spinning in circles around her and slowly closed in.

_"Sunshine, get up!"_ Her esper side desperately screamed just before the orbs enveloped her and brought her to the center of the glyph.

"Phantom Destruction!" The man shouted as he closed his book, creating a massive explosion that engulfed Terra destroyed a great deal of the cave.

* * *

><p>"What was that?" Shin asked himself as he felt the tremors.<p>

"Something you won't need to worry yourself… when I'm done with you." Fusoya said in a distorted voice.

"Out of the way!" Golbez shouted from the distance.

* * *

><p>The man slowly floated towards Terra, a look of disappointment plastered on his face. "After hearing Kefka's stories I thought so highly of you… But you are nothing more than a weak, filthy creature. To be so consumed by fear that you would neglect a part of your being… disgraceful."<p>

Terra slowly started to get up, much to the man's surprise. "You don't know me!" She said before coughing blood.

"It will be easier if you do not resist." He lamented as he raised his hand, ready to finish her off but he felt a sudden chill when he looked in her eyes. "That look…" He began before cackling madly. "I was wrong! You are EXACTLY like her! Always defying me, defying fate! Maybe you are not such a waste of my time… but there's only one way to tell it definitely. Show me your true form!"

"Never!" She replied before coughing blood again.

"_Sunshine I'm serious here! You. Are. Going. To. DIE!"_ The voice shouted. _"Please let me in control. I promise that I'll only __fight this guy, I won't hurt anyone else!"_

"You should listen to that side of you. But I don't mind, I like my women rebellious… It makes breaking them all the more fun!"

"No! I've seen all his tricks and weapons. I can win!" She replied.

"Oh have you? Unfortunately for you, the Monster Manifesto is not one of the Four Treasures… Prepare yourself, because I don't believe you can survive this as you are right now." He flaunted as he landed on the ground, sending his book away and revealing a giant two edged blade. "Awaken lord of the Four Treasures, sealed away since the origin of time!" The blade split in three dark copies and shredded Terra with multiple cuts and thrusts, sending her to the top of the room. After that, two giant lances impaled her, making her lose consciousness. The three shadow lances returned to the man's hand converging into a single one. "Taste Gungnir's might! Divine Assault: Spiritual Lancer!" He boomed as he threw Gungnir at the impaled Terra, causing a giant blast and shooting her outside of the Subterrane and into the moon's surface. "Such is the power of a god…"

Terra found herself in a black void together with her esper side. Her Esper looked obviously distressed, in a way even Terra couldn't distrust.

"Sunshine please… your body can't take those wounds… you're gonna die, no, WE'RE gonna die!" Her esper side pleaded, despair echoing in her voice.

"Promise me… You'll only hurt him." Terra said, accepting the fact that that man was out of her league.

"I promise!"

"Then…go." She said as she felt a surge of power covering her body.

The man looked up at the opening in ceiling and waited. He waited until he saw a shining light descending from it.

"You still live? That alone deserves praise!" The man said clapping. "And I must say I find your new form rather… appealing."

"You're a sick bastard you know that?" Esper Terra spat back a she landed. Her hair had broken free from her ponytail and now flew with the artificial wind. No clothes remained on her, her body shining in a pale pink light. Her hands and feet were purple, there were batches of fur in them and her fingernails had been transformed into yellow claws.

"So I've been told. But tell me, is that crime?" He asked in a joking tone. He appeared to be having some twisted kind of enjoyment on this fight.

"I don't know and I don't care because…" She began, cracking her knuckles. _"_It's been a while since I killed somebody!"

"You think you can kill me?" He said as a grim smile came appeared on his face and golden sand began falling down around him, enveloping them in a shining arena. "We shall see to that! It's time for you to see the real me!"

* * *

><p>"Who are you?" Zack asked as he desperately tried to cut the cloaked man, who merely dodged his blows.<p>

"Someone that Zack Fair knows…" The man replied with a mocking tone.

"You're not making any sense! I AM Zack Fair."

"Then you've already seen me… it's as simple as that. You even looked up to me." THe man replied, his shinning yellow eyes glinting as if he knew what effect that statement would have on Zack.

Zack froze at that statement. "The only people I looked up too were…." He comented as he saw his life flash before his eyes. "No... you can't be..."

* * *

><p>"Prismatic Missiles!" The man chanted, sending the same missiles he sent in the beggining of the fight. "Let's see how much you've improved."<p>

This time Terra was more than up to the challenge, not only did she manage to dodge the direction changing beams easily, she managed to curve her arm in an arc between the dodges, sending three spheres of white energy into the man who used the pages floating around him to defend himself.

"Good enough. I guess we really are similar!" The man mocked.

"What are you babbling about?" Esper Terra asked, beginning to lose her very short temper.

"We both stand above all that other scum. We both killed the god's that ruled us… and we both did it for love! You were just afraid to take on the burden of being a Goddess!"

"Look, if it were Terra who was here she would ask you all about your life's story and try to convince you to stop… but I'm too lazy for that, it's easier to just kill you!" She shouted. "And what good comes with being Goddess? Seriously I can't get why so many people are obsessed with it. Why do you want power over everything so badly?"

"Power over all is but a fleeting fancy… My only wish is to rule my goddess." He replied with a nostalgic, tired tone.

"You did this because you wanted to get in someone's pants?" She spat back. "What kind of lunatic are you?" She asked, finally losing her temper and lunging at him.

"You are only confused, allow me to enlighten you. You shall see that my path is righteous! I've only been denied from a love I earned." He replied, summoning Gungnir and trying to cleave Terra. Terra just grabbed the spear, much to his amazement. "With her hands?"

"I'm not a weak mage like you!" She shouted as she clawed his face, destroying his glasses and leaving a gashing wound on his right cheek. "You know what you sound like? A baby who couldn't get what he wanted and is throwing a tantrum now! The one you are no different from is Kefka!"

"You insolent little wretch! What do you know about what I am? I'll tell you what I am! I am transcendental being! Something that you're mind can't comprehend! I was NOT a makeshift god that relied on the powers of other makeshift gods like that jester! I WAS OMNIPOTENT, I WAS OMNISCIENT!" He boomed as he commanded the pages to push Terra away.

"And yet, from the looks of it, you lost… you really suck. No wonder that that girl that you loved didn't want you. "She mocked as she healed her wounds.

"I will not kill you… that would be too merciful. I'm going to break your mind until you serve under me!" He shouted as he drew his bow and shot arrows at Terra who just obliterated them with a giant fireball.

"Oh good…now I'm a substitute. I get it now. You can't handle the world now that your "love" is gone, so in your screwed up mind you have to replace her, and you turned to the person that fit her description the best? And they say I'M the monster… "She commented.

"How dare you!" The man shouted as he sent a three white tendrils of fire against Terra. "Pale Flare!" The blast only scraped the surface of her skin.

"Now you're just embarrassing yourself. Don't worry, I'll make it all end soon."She said as she sent a storm of white orbs against him, forcing him to enclose himself in pages. Taking advantage of his lack of vision she switched from her dispersed orbs into a concentrated flurry of fireballs into one place, burning a hole into his defense. "Oh perfect light…" The chanted as a giant, violet sphere enveloped him." I want to end this!" She commanded as she clasped her hands together, triggering an explosion that shook the foundations of the moon's core. After the smoke cleared however, the man still stood there, his cloak was damaged but not his crazed expression as he laughed maniacally.

"Just who are you?" She asked, surprised but not afraid. He continued laughing as he ascended in the air, leaving the Subterrane and floating high above the surface of the moon. After a few moments he broke out in a commanding voice.

"Pitiable wretch, you've overstepped your boundaries! My wishes will not be denied! Bow to me! Worship me! Honour my name! LEZARD VALETH!" He cried maniacally as he lifted his arms onto the heavens, three giant beams of light appearing in outer space and grabbing nearby asteroids, bringing them in the moons direction. "No mercy for the damned…" He began as the smaller meteorites assaulted Terra, who could hardly dodge them. "No escape from catastrophe! Meteor Swarm!" He shouted as he brought down a meteor roughly the size of a football field.

"I'm impressed… I can't afford to lose!" She exclaimed as her arms and claws began to spark with blue lightning. Bringing them together she shouted."Riot Blade!" Before sending thousands of energy blades that cut through the meteor, reducing the meteor to harmless little rocks and mortally injuring the sorcerer, who fell flat on the moon's soil."Maybe you'll see her on the other side… probably not, you're going straight to hell."She consoled as she knelt down the fallen God.

"Hell? Hell is no place for me… when I fall my soul will be destroyed. It's too dangerous for them to let me exist…" The man said, coughing blood. "But may I ask… what are you… why are there two minds in one body?"

"Do I look like I care?" Esper Terra replied. "I'm me, she's her and we're Terra, that's good enough for me, all need to know is that we're cursed to fight for this body."

"Hah… fair enough." Lezard replied as he coughed blood, his life slowly leaving his body.

"But you did put up quite a good fight there… you made Chaos look like a baby."

"I must say the same… to defeat even a homunculus is a feat… savor this victory... while you can!" He mocked as his last breath left him, his last words weighting on Terra's mind.

"What the heck is a homunculus?" She asked herself. "Well my job's done… Sunshine you take it from here." The esper said as Terra's body returned to her frail girl state.

"I… have to warn Shin about that man…" She said, exhausted by that fight. She started to fly downwards but her flight seemed to be about to end due to exhaustion.

"_In our state, we need t__o take it easy, let's go on foot, if you try to fly you'll probably squash yourself against the ground." _The voice advised.

"_So you DO have a good side."_ Terra joked as she slowly floated towards the nearest stairs.

"_Don't get used to it. That "outing" __just left me in a good mood_." She replied as she shut herself from Terra._ "But he was right… what are "we"? And are we cursed to be unable to coexist...?"_

* * *

><p>The cloaked man sighed as he saw the meteor get destroyed from the distance.<p>

"That man can't control his temper… Looks like I'm running out of time, I need to cut my loose ends." The man said as he turned to Zack, summoning a strange, silver blade. Dark creatures also began to sprout around them.

"Fighting seriously, heh? Finally! I'll tear your identity right from your mouth!"

* * *

><p>"Am I lost again?" The young man asked himself as he saw the crystal tiles from afar. "Now we're getting somewhere! Maybe I'll find people there... or probably more monsters, considering my luck." And as if to answer his call, two behemoths appeared. "What a drag…"<p>

* * *

><p>"Just on what side are you?" Shin asked as he dodged Fusoya's blasts.<p>

"That's not Fusoya who's shooting at you… "Golbez replied as he pointed towards a shadow behind Fusoya."It's that… thing."

"Golbez… why must you always be a thorn in my plans?"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"That was a satisfying experiment, to say the least."_

_"Another loose end…"_

_"Goodbye…"_


	18. Zeromus: Hatred Given Life

**Author's note:** This chapter is huge! It's almost three times as big as chapter one. (Granted that the first one was only 2 thousand words.) I might have gotten a bit carried away while writing it but I hope you enjoy it.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Zeromus: Hatred Given Life**

* * *

><p>Zack lunged at the man, swinging his Buster Sword at his chest. He didn't want to hit, he just wanted to get a feel of the man's strength.<p>

"Are you really being careful?" The man mocked as he blocked the blow easily. "That's so not you."

"You don't know me!" Zack shouted before realizing the irony. "Well apparently you know but you get the idea."

"You are more of a child than I remember you to be. At least you fought seriously!" The cloaked man responded as he pushed Zack back.

"_His __strength is enormous, I need to out maneuver him__..."_Zack thought before being interrupted by a dark, twisted creature that tried to claw his eyes out. SOLDIER as he was, Zack managed to dodge the creature and cut it in half, having it dissipate in darkness, but because he was so committed to killing the creature he didn't notice the man swinging his blade at him and got in the receiving end of a violent slash on the right shoulder. "Hey! Can't beat me without help?" He complained as he tried to reach for a Cure materia, only to be once again interrupted by two strange Shades.

"I don't need to know if I can beat you without help, I just need you dead!" The man shouted as he closed the distance between them with a jump, making a downward slash at his opponent.

"Been there, didn't like it." Zack replied as he erupted with a punch to the man's chin, sending him flying upward. "Eat heat!" He said as he sent a fireball from his Fira materia, the ball meeting its destination and sending the man flying away. "I've got to write that down!"

"Kill!" The man shouted as he pointed at Zack, dozens of Shades following his command.

"You really think I can't handle these Shades?"

"Shades?" The man asked in an amused tone. "I guess you can call them that."

"Huh?" Zack mumbled before having to divert his attention at the army of Shades. HE jumped right on the middle of it and delivered a round sweep upon the monsters, clearing an opening in the army, he then proceeded to run in a straight line, cleaving anything that moved. An armored shade tried a spinning kick on him, but he merely let himself fall and pushed himself up with his hands, impaling the Shade with his right foot.

"Can you keep up with this?" The man asked as he rested his blade on his hip and leaned forward.

"That stance! That's Odin's Zan…" Zack began before seeing a flash and cherry blossoms falling down.

* * *

><p>Lezard stood up from his chair inside his laboratory, smiling. He turned to the right just to see Kefka looking at the Philosopher's stone.<p>

"Do not touch that." He calmly said as he picked the stone up.

"You're awake! How did it go?" The clown asked excitedly. "From the looks of it she beat you!"

"Indeed. That was a satisfying experiment, to say the least." He replied. "Interesting creature, that girl."

"Oh you bet! But when can I see it? The fight I mean."

"I'm afraid that I won't be able to show you, the homunculus is dead, we would need to retrieve the corpse to be able to take his memories."

"Oh I'll go get it right now!" Kefka replied as he created a portal.

"Before you go… do you have any knowledge about a split personality inside Terra?" Lezard asked as he adjusted his glasses, catching Kefka off-guard.

"Back when she HAD a personality and was under my control she didn't. And while she showed a "wild side" I never saw any traces of a whole different persona inside her. But I can't say for sure, we didn't exactly spend a lot of time together when she was released." Kefka replied in a more serious tone. "Why do you ask?"

"I can't say for now… I have to investigate something further. But I do have another question Kefka. What is your relationship with Mateus. You can't escape my gaze even when I am in another body, so do tell, are you planning to betray me?"

"Me? Oh I'm insulted Lezy!" Kefka replied, reverting to his clown persona. "After all the trouble I went through to find your soul, this stone and recreate your lab, why would I betray you? Besides, we're fellow Gods aren't we?"

"I suppose you are right, so I take it you have some ulterior motive for your alliance with Mateus."

"Yeah well, it's not really an alliance, he's just easy to control that's all." Kefka said as he released his trademark cackle. "Well I'm off, I really want to see what that homunculus saw!" He said as he disappeared into the portal.

"As for me…" Lezard said as he grabbed the Empire's research on Terra. "Let's find out who this girl really is."

* * *

><p>"Zemus… I figured you were still alive. I never got back to the moon to check about you."Golbez replied to the shadowy being behind Fusoya. "What do you want this time?"<p>

"The very same. To give the Lunarians their deserved planet. And you have helped me greatly!" A bald, purple skinned man said as he materialized in front of them. Fusoya fell flat on the ground.

"Me? Do you think I believe you?" Shin spat back as he lunged towards. He was stopped when Golbez grabbed his shoulder firmly.

"Not every fight is resolved by fighting." Golbez said in a stern voice.

"You know that what you just said doesn't make any sense don't you?"

"Let us hear what he has to say, I doubt that he can do anything in his current state."

"You are very mistaken Golbez. My downfall last time we fought was the fact that I was alone, my ideals weren't shared by the Lunarians… but I understand them, they hadn't seen how savage humans can be…." Zemus said in a disgusted tone.

"You created that situation Zemus." Golbez replied while trying to keep his calm in front of the person he hated most in the world.

"Nevertheless… humans took part in it all to easily, such an inferior race is not worthy of coexisting with the Lunarians."

"That's not for you to decide!" Shin spat, trying to stay calm.

"Oh on the contrary… the power of decision is in my hands. Imagine what would happen if when the Lunarians woke up they found Fusoya drowned in a pool of his own blood, your broken bodies at his side. What would they think?" Zemus continued in a mocking tone.

"No conclusion could be reached. " Golbez answered.

"Exactly… and what if I… "helped" them reaching the right one? Would my ideals and my view of the human race continue as my own?"

"So it has come to this… Shin can you trust me?"

"As much as I would like to say no… you're really good at looking like a good guy. But why are you helping me?"

"My orders are to retrieve the CPU… that man is interfering with the mission, so he must be dispatched." Golbez replied slyly. "Now listen to me, all his plans are based on the situation that the Lunarians can only hear his side of the story, so that leaves us with only one choice, to free them now. We need to obtain that computer!"

"You overestimate yourself, puny half-breed!" Zemus boomed as his body dissipated and he became a giant disform black shadow. Only a demonic face could be distinguished from the monstrosity. "I'll crush you under my heel!"

"Go!" Golbez ordered as he shot lightning bolts from his hands. "I'll hold him off."

Even though the lightning didn't seem to have any effect on the monster Shin knew he had to reach the computer so he drew his sword and ran across the room as quickly as he could, trying to avoid being in Zemus range.

"Fool. Zero Gravity!" Zemus chanted, robbing the room of its gravity.

"_Can't say I expected that…"_Shin thought distraught. But he wouldn't give up, he was way too stubborn to give up, so he charged his hand with fire and started firing fireballs in the opposite direction. "Didn't expect that huh?" He taunted the man, if he was still a man.

"You insolent brat!" Zemus barked before feeling a hand plunging inside him. "Begone!" He shouted, sending Golbez flying against a wall. "Flare!" He chanted as he shot a giant fireball towards Shin. The fireball missed however, when Shin intensified the stream of fire propelling him, taking this chance to stick out his tongue at him. "You get to cocky for a human!" Zemus shouted as he turned towards the computer. "No matter, I'll just store the computer for safe keeping."

"He's going to eat that?" Shin asked confused.

"He's not a corporal entity, he'll just sent him to a pocket dimension inside him. Shin, stop him now!" Golbez shouted as he tried to detach himself from the wall he'd dig a hole into.

"Once again… you overestimate yourself." Zemus mocked as he teleported a mere feet away from the computer, his mouth opening to reveal a miniature black hole in it.

"No!" Shin shouted, it would take a miracle to stop him now, he was still at least twenty feet away from him. And a miracle did happen. A sphere of blue energy covered the object and it shot towards the entrance of the room, into the hands of a blonde haired man with a yellow jacket.

"Yoink!" He joked.

"Who dares?" Zemus shouted in disbelief.

"Enter the code: Sunlight…" Fusoya grumbled as he regained consciousness.

"Don't you dare!" Zemus boomed.

"Is that a dare? I'll take it!" The man said as he entered the code. "What does this button do?" He joked as he pressed Enter on the computer, causing all of the capsules to shine. The light covered the room where the Lunarians slept and when it dissipated all of the capsules emitted a clicking sound, white smoke coming from the breaches. Shortly after wards the Lunarians started opening their eyes and leaving the safety of their chambers, stretching for the first time in thousands of years.

"What have you done?" Zemus shouted, getting the attention of the thousands of Lunarians.

Whispers of confusion and fear began to take place as they witnessed that monstrosity standing above Fusoya, some of the older Lunarians appeared to get ready for combat, while others began to walk back.

"My friends, Zemus has crossed the point of no return, have no mercy!" Fusoya said as he teleported to their side, taking Shin and Golbez with them. Desperate at this change of the tide of battle Zemus did the only thing he could do, he tried to survive at all costs.

"I do not deserve to fall! Big Bang!" He canted, creating a giant nucleus of energy in front of him that grew bigger with each second that passed, much to the dismay of the Lunarians.

"He's gone mad! That'll destroy us all!" Fusoya shouted in terror.

Golbez merely nodded as he reflected. Finding no solution the only thing he could think of was to block the blast… with his body. Much to the surprise and despair of the ones in the room he threw himself into the energy ball without saying a word.

"Disappear!" Zemus said as the nucleus exploded, consuming him and Golbez in the explosion. The moon shook at the explosion and the very foundations of the Subterrane became heavily damaged. But in the midst of the smoke something stood, a blue energy ball surrounding the now chest bare Golbez, his armor disintegrated by the explosion.

"Geez, next time say something before trying to kill yourself!" The man in the jacket said as he dismissed the glow in his hands, Golbez safely landing on the ground. "One more second and he would be dead."

Shin and Fusoya ran towards their unlikely savior, Fusoya started to examine him for fatal wounds but there was something that caught Shin's eye. In his head was a charred circlet, cracked and seemingly useless but it was enough to ignite Shin's suspicions about Golbez.

"We need to leave!" One of the Lunarians said as he saw the rest of the Subterrane begin to cave in.

"Fusoya, get these guys to safety, I've got to check on my friends." Shin said before being stopped by Fusoya.

"Do not worry... would you please hand me the computer?" Fusoya said as he turned to the young man.

"Sure thing." He replied as he as he delivered the computer to the elder Lunarian.

"I did say that I couldn't teleport those two out of the Subterrane, but what I can do is to teleport every single living being outside." Fusoya said as he started to activate the emergency protocol.

"Why didn't you do this sooner?"Shin asked, somewhat annoyed by being deceived.

"That would imply that I would have to awaken my people, I wanted to hold that off as much as possible." Fusoya replied as he activated the emergency protocol, covering the room in light that soared upwards.

* * *

><p>"What's happening?" Terra asked as she began to be surrounded in light. Before she knew it, her whole body was engulfed in it and she felt herself being plunged towards an unknown fate.<p>

* * *

><p>"The palace is falling apart!" Edge exclaimed as he saw the palace from the distance. They had felt the tremors caused by Zemus and Lezard but they never thought that it could be this serious.<p>

"Never mind that… look!" Cloud said as he pointed towards a man standing above a familiar black haired one. "Zack!"

* * *

><p>"You are still weak… I would say even weaker than last we meet." The cloaked man said as he put his sword on Zack's neck.<p>

"Save it… you're just bluffing, you don't fight like anyone I know." Zack spat back, certain that this man was bluffing. His weapon was something Zack had never seen before and his fighting style was weird to say the least, it was like darkness followed his every swing.

"I have met "you" Zack Fair. That doesn't mean you are able to recognize me. But enough talk, any last words?" The man said as he lifted his weapon above his head. He was suddenly by an energy blast from somewhere unknown, causing him to wince in pain and look for the perpetrator. Seeing no one he decided to just finish Zack off before looking for it. That was before the found divided in and Titan appeared from it, punching the surprised man in the sternum, sending him backwards. Seeing Cloud and the other arrive the man cringed behind his hood and opened a portal into the Rift. "Another loose end…" The man said finally seeing the one that shot him before entering the Rift.

"I've done my job…" Another cloaked man thought from atop a nearby hill before he too disappearing.

"You alright Zack?" Cloud asked as he kneeled beside his friend.

"Do I look alright?" Zack answered, slowing sitting up.

"Don't worry, I'll heal you." Porom said as she started to chant healing spells.

"So what happened?" Rydia asked.

"Well that guy said he knew me and I was a "loose end" so he tried to attacked me." Zack hastily replied. If he didn't know what had just happened, there was no way he could give a competent explanation.

"Look what I found." Cuore said as she picked a strand of white, silvery hair.

"No… degenerated hair." Zack gasped as he saw the hair.

"We should take that for testing." Cloud suggested as he grabbed the hair. "If he said he knew you, then we might find a match."

"More importantly, where are the others?" Kain asked, looking at his surroundings.

"Oh crap, they're still inside!" Zack said as he pushed Porom's hand out of his way. "I'm fine now, but we have to get there!"

* * *

><p>"I can't see Terra! And where's Zack?" Shin yelled as he looked around. They were at the entrance of the crystal palace, Golbez was getting urgent treatment and the man with the jacket was just slacking off.<p>

"Calm down, the program is flawless." Fusoya reassured. "Every living being is here."

"That's right… living." The man with the jacket stressed before being punched right in the face by Shin.

"You talk too much for someone who appeared out of the blue! Who are you?" Shin asked in an unusually aggressive tone.

"I'm Layle, but don't put the blame on me, I didn't kill her."

"How do I know that? How do I know that you are not the second person that intruded here?"

"Well you could start by going to that light." Layle replied as he pointed towards a shining sphere that landed a few feet away, behind a hill.

Shin rushed there and he did see Terra, but his cheeks flared up. She was a little "exposed".

"Oh hey Shin! So what was this light all about?" She asked at a mumbling Shin. She had seemingly forgot to check if her clothes were back after the transformation.

"Terra …huh, I mean… huh your… you're naked!" He managed to say… a little too loud. So loud everyone in the area heard that scream.

"WHAT?" Terra yelled as he threw herself behind a nearby rock. He was right, she was wearing nothing expect her pale skin. "Don't you dare come here!" She shouted as she tried to figure out a solution to her predicament but she was stumped.

"What was that Shin?" Fusoya asked as he arrived to see what all the commotion was about.

"I don't suppose you have a spare robe do you?" Shin asked as he tried to hide his blush. _"Not that I'm opposed to__ getting a second look __… Oh what am I thinking? I've been spending too much time with Zack.__"_

"Us Lunarians always wear two robes because of the harsh temperatures on the moon, you may have mine." Fusoya said as he removed his top robe, revealing a… pink one? "This was the only one clean." He said in his defense.

"_You! What did you do? Why am I naked?"_Terra blared at her Esper, waking her up from her sleep.

"Well, excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me princess! You didn't ask for your clothes back did you?" The esper responded while giving the mental equivalent of a smirk.

"_Well now I am! Give them back now!"_

"_Sorry but you're not allowed to use magic, you would probably die from the effort."_

"_So be it! I'll probably die of shame if I keep this up!"_

"_Well you know what they say… life's a…"_

Terra was interrupted as a robe fell on her head followed by a familiar voice.

"Put this on, we'll be waiting in the other side of the hill."

"You better be!" She tried to be convincing but to no avail. She needed to work on her threatening skills.

* * *

><p>"Well how do I look?" Terra asked as she appeared from the hill, giving a small spin on the pale blue robe.<p>

"_Trick question…" _Shin thought immediately._ "If I say she looks good__ I'll never ear the end of it__, if __I __say she looks bad I'm dead…__ Ah screw it."_

"You look fine." He answered stoically in a tone similiar to Cloud's, instantly closing the conversation. _"Thank you Cloud!" _He thought. Cloud was the master of getting rid of unwanted attention.

"Not to disturb or anything but where is Zack? You mentioned a man before Terra arrived." Layle asked.

"Oh that's right… oh no Zack got taken away!" Terra shouted as she came to that realization.

"Calm down and…." Fusoya was interrupted by a stream of tremors coming from the palace that had begun to fall apart.

"We shall not disappear. We are eternal!" A deep, distorted voice came from it as a giant bug like monster emerged from it. Its disgusting brown body had its muscles showing in a deep crimson hue and he had no lower body. Most importantly it was growing to unbelievable extents.

"What is that thing?" Shin asked as he summoned drew the Lightbringer.

"We are hatred, we are Zeromus! Know suffering! Know death!" The thing that was once Zemus blurted. There was no rationality left in this beast of destruction, he was just what he claimed to be, hatred given life.

"He must have absorbed the crystals! No man can whistand that power!" Fusoya said as he watched the creature terrified.

"You have betrayed us! You must disappear! We will bring the world to nothingness!" The beast announced as he created a much larger nucleus for the Big Bang.

"We're dead." Layle said before being proven wrong when a Mega Flare hit Zeromus in what could be called its face. It didn't do noticeable damage but it at least distracted him.

"Sorry if we're late!" Edge yelled as he landed on top of the beast, trying to plunge the Masamune into it, to no avail. "Damn this guy's though! A lot tougher than last time."

"We cannot defeat him." Bahamut said as he landed near them. "But we can escape from him. Fusoya, my children are able to bring everyone in the area towards my lair, but I need to make sure of something." The God looked sideways towards the fallen Golbez. "Can we trust him?"

"We can." Shin replied as he picked the circlet around his brown hair. "Recognize this thing Terra?"

"A slave crown?" She gasped as a torrential flood of memories came to her.

"Thought so…"

"Very well then… I will call to them." Bahamut said as he reached to the minds of his children at the Lair of the Father.

"But we can't just leave it here! What if he reaches a populated planet?" Terra said. She wasn't capable of letting such a monster on the loose.

"The self destruct system…" Golbez muttered. "Activate the self destruct system."

"We can't destroy our moon!" A Lunarian cried with the support of many others.

"Our moon is lost! Do you want this monster to roam free? With the power of the crystals he may even be able to travel in outer space, we have to end this now!" Golbez shouted before starting to cough blood. His speech was not in vain as the Lunarians just nodded about their fate."Good… Fusoya, end this."

"Bahamut, how long will this take?" Fusoya asked just before he noticed that the background was different. "That was… quick."

"Now to escape this moon…" Bahamut continued as he called for His closest friend. "There it's done!" Bahamut said as he opened a portal at the top of the altar. "Everyone go through the portal." He commanded.

"It will take some time for all of us to go though." Kain stated matter of factly. He was right, there were at least ten thousand Lunarian's in the room and because of the size of the portal and how small the stairs were, the Lunarians were entering the portal at a slow pace. And to make it worse, the Hummingways also needed to be evacuated,

"So what?" Zack asked unworried. "It's not like we have anything to worry about..." That moment the ceiling collapsed, revealing a much bigger Zeromus. "I stand corrected."

"Everyone get moving!" Cloud shouted, making the Lunarians pick up their pace.

"Fusoya get the countdown started!"Golbez told the elder.

"I understand. We need to hold him off for three minutes." He said as he activated the count, causing every machine near the core to overload. "In three minutes the moon's core will collapse upon itself, creating a massive explosion."

"You heard the man! Three minutes!" Kain barked as he directed the crowd into the portal.

"What about that guy?" Shin asked as he saw Zeromus creating another Big Bang nucleus.

"I'll hold him in place. You guys blast him!" Layle said as his hands started to shine brightly, a blue light incapacitating the giant.

"Leave it to us!" Palom said confidently. "Black mages unite!" At his call Leonora and Rydia stood by his side. "That means you too!" He said as he pointed towards Fusoya and Terra.

"But I…" Terra began before getting an ether thrown to her face.

"Next time, just ask." Shin said, with a grin.

"Okay everyone ready?" Palom asked before Golbez got into the circle." Are you sure you can do this?" He asked the weakened man.

"I am." He replied, trying to hide his injuries.

"Okay everyone, on three! One! Two! THREE!"

"HexaMeteor!" They all shouted in unison, creating a monsoon of meteors on top of the monster, driving it back and making him crash onto a mountain.

"It's done." Palom said with a cocky grin as he whipped the dust from his hands. "You didn't even need to…" He was interrupted when a black shadow covered him. "N-no way!" He looked back to see an unscathed Zeromus, still preparing his Big Bang.

"_We're going to die here!"_Shin thought. He didn't want to die, there was so much that he hadn't done yet, he was too young to die, he wanted to know who he was, he wanted to protect his friends. "_I don't want to die!"_He shouted in his mind. His body flared up in response. He felt powerful… so powerful. The entirety of his body glowed with the same light that Terra's crystal did last time, something was giving him this power. But he had no time to think, he had only time to act.

"It's not that I don't want to die…" He said as he transferred all the light into the Lightbringer and started walking towards Zeromus, the baffled eyes of his companions focusing on him. He didn't know how he did it nor did he care. "It's just that I can't die here!" He shouted as he swung his sword in Zeromus direction.

Giant rays of light erupted from his sword, illumination the dark space around the moon and trespassing the monster, sending him crashing motionless on the floor, the rays were so powerful that they continued into space, never flickering. Shortly after Shin fell on the floor, exhausted.

* * *

><p>"Looks like someone's powers are waking up!" Kefka observed as he laughed on a nearby montain, Lezard's dead homunculus on his shoulder. "This going to be fuuuuuuuun!" He exclaimed before he disappeared into the Rift.<p>

* * *

><p>"What was that?" Zack asked his eyes almost left his sockets.<p>

"We'll find out latter, the Lunarians and the Hummingways are through!" Cloud said as he jumped signaling them to come through the portal.

"Okay boy… giddy up!" Zack joked as he pulled an unconscious Shin into a piggyback. "If I get yaoi fanfics about this, you're gonna wish I left you here."

Everyone managed to get through the portal easily, Golbez and Fusoya being the last to get near the portal. Golbez gazed upon the recovering monstrosity and his despair in destroying them. Zeromus lunged one last time at them in hopes of at least killing one person.

"Goodbye… Zemus." Golbez said as he, Fusoya and Bahamut traversed the portal, it closing a second afterwards.

As the timer ticked slowly the beast found itself alone on the moon. For the first time in his life what was left of Zemus felt… regret. The timer reached zero and the moons core collapsed as all the machinery on top of it exploded, but even the following explosion of the moon was unheard in the blackness of space. Everything Zemus tried to accomplish was reduced to a tiny flash in the vast sky.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

"_Let me introduce you..."_

"_I feel… at home."_

"_I've made my decision."_


	19. A Place to Call Home

**Author's note:** Sorry for taking so long with this one. I re-wrote it three or four times before I was satisfied. All in all I'm pleased with the results. Have a good read and remember, as always feedback is appreciated.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**A Place to Call Home**

* * *

><p>"Light… so much light..." Shin scoffed as he found himself lying in the same crest as before.<p>

"Welcome back…" The man greeted as he held out his hand. Shin grabbed it and slowly pushed himself up. Even though Shin didn't know him he felt some sort of connection with the man. Where they friends? "I see you used your power."

"Power?" Shin asked before remembering the light that enveloped him as he dealt a major blow to Zeromus. "You know something about that?"

"I do…" The man stepped out of the light, revealing what seemed to be his face, only older, and his brown hair had become a red hue. He had an imposing figure, it was almost like looking at a king straight in the face. "But so do you… do not worry, when it is time, you'll know who you are…"

* * *

><p>Shin woke up sweating on a bedroom. He tried to make sense of what he had heard but he realized that the man didn't want to give him clues so he tried to distract himself from the subject.<p>

Looking around he found himself in a big bedroom with lots of beds, all of them carved in wood. But what really surprised him was when he looked outside. There was no blue sky, no clouds, nothing. Just rocks… he was inside a cave.

"Seems like we have an early bird. It's only been… three freaking days!" Zack exclaimed sarcastically as he watched from the door. "Seriously this is the second time in a row. But I guess I owe you one, you really did save our hides back there."

"Don't mention it, I don't even know how I did it."

"Well you did, that's what matters."

"Right." Shin replied, nodding. Zack had a teacher like aura to him.

"Well, now that that's done, let me show you around!" Zack exclaimed as he grabbed Shin by the collar, pulling him outside.

"Wait, where are we?"

"The Feymarch!" Zack replied excitedly.

"What's the Feymarch?" Shin asked, Zack needed to be more specific. Unfortunately Zack had stopped listening a while ago so he just continued to drag him to an unknown location.

* * *

><p>Terra slowly got up from her bed, she didn't know how long she had been sleeping but she knew it was a long time. She was used to it, the first time she transformed she was bedridden for two weeks before Locke could get her father's magicite.<p>

"_So you're awake Sunny."_ Her esper observed. _"Ready for the big day?"_

"Big day?" Terra asked confused.

"_Don't tell me you forgot. You promised them you would tell them about your "condition" today." _Her esper said, expecting to torment Terra a bit more but she instead found the girl spacing out, completely aloft of the conversation_. "__Are you ignoring me or do you have something on your mind?"_

Terra quickly snapped from her trance and tried to put her ideas in order. "It's just… the air feels different here somehow… it's calming."

"_So you noticed huh?"_ The esper began_. "It's like we're in another world altogether__…__ Well now that you're awake, use those pretty legs of yours and go outside.__ We're not gonna… Hey don't you go spacing off on me again!"_

"Huh? Sorry didn't hear you…" Terra apologized. She had never felt like she was feeling now. Wherever she was, it had a familiar feeling to it.

"And then we got teleported out of the castle!" A familiar voice came from the outside. "And then… well…" The voice lowered its tone as if he had something to hide, curious Terra got off her bed and started and leaned her ear against the door to listen to the conversation. It was a bad move since she almost lost her eardrums at the following outburst.

"You saw her what? You lucky …" Zack's voice yelled from the other side, followed by tens of words that won't be listed here, Terra was surprised at the amount of insults he could come up instantly, she was amused even. But that was until she realized what they were talking about, blushing like crazy she slammed the door open and punched the nearest man to it, sending the innocent Cloud Strife off the edge of the wooden platform where the complex stood, much to the surprise and horror of Zack and Shin.

"It's always me…" Cloud lamented in a stoic voice as he crashed on a lower level, cracking the floor before breaking it and falling even one level lower. Zack and Shin just stared blankly at it before slowly looking at the perpetrator.

"He did it!" Zack exclaimed as he slowly backed away from Shin.

"He made me do it!" Shin threw back before realizing that, for once, Zack didn't do it. "You're not buying this are you?" He prepared for a similar onslaught to the one that Zack had received a few days ago but the situation was cut short as they were greeted by a heavily bandaged Kain Highwind.

"Not that I want to interrupt your "friendly banter" but I reckon that Zack forgot his purpose." He said as he turned to Zack who started scratching the back of his head.

"Oh right… get them to the lower chamber… You know I was about too but I think we may need to find Cloud again."

"No need, he must have crashed on the throne room already." Kain said as he inspected the place where Cloud had fallen. "Regardless, follow me, and refrain to kill each other on the way down." Kain said, glaring at Terra.

* * *

><p>As they were going down Terra started to have a look around her. It appeared that the underground city was built with wooden levels that held up the houses and the shops, connected by stairways. She also noticed that the Lunarians seemed to be exploring this new environment, but she also saw a great deal of monsters and Chocobo's running around, not attacking people.<p>

"Where are we?" She asked only to realize that she had lost sight of Kain and the others. Appearing to notice her distress, a chocobo approached her slowly.

"Miss, do you need something?" The bird asked, almost making Terra's heart burst from her chest. Noticing her surprise the chocobo started to laugh. "A newcomer, are you? You guys always react like that! Never saw a talking chocobo now did you?" Terra just nodded in disbelief, still recovering from the shock. "Well that aside what where you trying to find miss?"

"I... ham… the throne room, I guess." She replied, regaining her composure. "But may I ask where we are?"

"If you're headed for the throne room, you won't need an explanation from me." The chocobo responded as he pointed at a building with his wing. "See that building? That's the library, go there and find a ladder on each floor, once you get down two floors you'll be in the throne room."

"Thank you! Huh..." Terra replied as she pet the chocobo. "What's your name by the way?"

"Choby! And don't mention it, you just remind me so much of Rydia that I couldn't resist helping you. I hope we meet again!" The chocobo said, waving goodbye at Terra, who headed for the library.

* * *

><p>As she entered the library she found out that the librarian was a bomb, but that really didn't surprise her after seeing a talking Chocobo.<p>

"Hey Terra, what are you still doing here? I had to go all the way back up to get you!" Shin exclaimed, crossing his arms.

"Just be grateful that you didn't pay for talking to Zack about that situation." Terra spat back playfully as she glided down the ladder. Since Shin couldn't fly, he had to take the long way down and just go down the ladder normally.

Since she had some time to spare she started browsing through the books and she found some interesting titles like. "Odin, King or Lightning Rod?", "Gilgamesh's Gilgameshing Adventure" and "The Legend of the Eight Dragons: Crusader". That tipped her off. They were all books about summons, what place could hold so much information about espers? She was going to pick a book up before she noticed that Shin had finally gotten down the ladder. "About time!" She exclaimed as she put her hands on her hips.

"Cheater…" He mumbled as he looked at the other ladder. "Race ya!" He shouted as he jumped down the ladder.

"Now look who's cheating…" Terra replied playfully as she jumped down as well. The difference was that she had a way to break her fall and Shin… didn't, so while Terra safely landed beside's Rydia, Shin landed safely… on top of Cloud.

"The world hates me…" Cloud lamented as he lost consciousness.

"Cloud…. Nooooo! No group can hold itself together without an emo in it!" Zack yelled in a very over the top way, shaking Cloud.

"Everyone, can we please be serious for a second?" The most improbable voice of the bunch asked.

"Edge is being responsible? The end is nigh!" Palom exclaimed as he started running in circles before getting slapped by his twin sister.

"Don't you get it? Edge is trying to get a good impression… again." Porom muttered as she pointed towards the old man and the woman besides Bahamut.

"I'm normally not one to interrupt youngsters but now that Edge did it, I think this may be a good time to start a serious conversation." The old man suggested. He was wearing a simple dark blue robe that hid every part of his body from sight expect his face and his pronounced white beard.

"Honey, you didn't even introduce yourself! You're becoming rude." The purple haired woman interrupted. She was wearing a light violet gown and had a crown on her head.

"Oh don't worry." Rydia said as she put herself between them. "Let me introduce you, these are my parents. Leviathan and Asura, they are the rulers of the Feymarch."

"Your parents are Espers?" Shin asked baffled.

"We're her adoptive parents mind you. We adopted her after we discovered what had befallen her mother on the Mist Massacre." Asura explained calmly.

This conversation however only served to make Terra nervous. If they reacted like that to Rydia, how would they react when she explicitly told them that she wasn't human?

"So THAT'S why Edge's being so well mannered!" Zack exclaimed, breaking the tension.

"What do you mean? Edge was a rascal when he first came here but he has improved over the years. He's a golden boy now." Leviathan replied confused, Edge was obviously good at controlling people's minds.

"Off course Sir!" Edge nodded enthusiastically.

Asura just watched, trying to figure out how her husband had fallen for such tricks, she appreciated the amount of effort Edge was putting into this but really? Edge a golden boy?

"Hum Sir…" Cuore called as she pulled Leviathan's robes with an eerie grin. "Edge tries to grope my mother daily." Edge's face turned into one where a mix of emotions collided. He felt betrayal, disappointment, regret, sadness, frustration but most of all… fear, a lot of fear.

"He does WHAAAAAAAAAAT?" Leviathan yelled as he transformed into a giant sea serpent that occupied the entire room. "I'll make you die slowly!"

"SILENCE!" Bahamut boomed, moving for the first time since they got there. Dragons are by no means patient beings. "You may kill that man after my business here is done."

"I'll hold on to that…" Leviathan scoffed, still glaring at Edge as he reverted back to his human form.

"Now the reason we are here today is about the CPU." Fusoya explained as he stepped into the center of the room. "As you know, Kluya built this computer but he did not tell anyone about its workings. While us, the Lunarians are a very advanced people, we would appreciate some help in trying to discover more about this computer, and a place to keep it safe."

"I don't know about the lodging but SHINRA is the most advanced company I know, and Midgar is the closest thing we have to a safe city with all the new SOLDIERs that Rufus hired." Cloud suggested as he got back up. "I'm not saying that they can do anything about this computer but it's our best bet. I might even know a girl that can help…"

"That's perfect, you do not need to worry about my whole kind, Cecil once offered to give us shelter in Baron if we ever wanted to come to the planet. Only I and Golbez will join you." Fusoya replied.

"Then it is settled. All we need now is to go retrieve the Lunar Whale from Myssidia and use it to transport the Lunarians to Baron. Then we take one spare airship and head for Midgar." Golbez finished.

"We might want to give it a day Golbez." Porom interrupted. "Most of us are still injured and we might find some trouble in Midgar."

"Yeah, since the Feymarch's time is so messed up we can stay here for half a year and it'll only be one day outside!" Palom exclaimed, bragging about his knowledge.

"Huh?" The people not on par with the Feymarch asked.

"Well how can I explain? When I trained here for ten years and I left I found out that there had only been two weeks since I disappeared. This happens because time flows much faster here in the Feymarch." Rydia tried to explain.

"I still don't get why." Zack replied.

"This isn't your dimension, it's another one, so perhaps the laws of physics differ, but other than that not even us know the answer." Leviathan explained.

"So in other words… we can slack off as much as we want!" Zack shouted as he began to make his way toward the ladder.

"Wait." Bahamut ordered. "Are we finished with the meeting?"

"Yes, I think so. You may go. Remember, you leave tomorrow so make the most out of this day." Asura replied before being interrupted by Terra.

"Sorry but… can I take a little of your time? I'd like to say something now that we are all gathered." She

"No need to be so formal dear, go ahead." Asura replied with a calming smile.

"As you have seen lately I have had some disturbing… "behaviors" lately. Shin told about that time in the infirmary were I got up, green haired, in a different persona. Contrary to what you think I noticed that that same persona did something at the Cave to Babil and you finally saw me screaming at someone invisible at the Tower of Babil. There's a reason for all of this, one that I made Rydia and Celes hide from you." Everyone gulped and looked at Rydia who had a preoccupied look on her face, like a bomb was about to blow up. "I'm… not human."

The air in the room just went chilly. Some expressed their surprise and some tried to hide it, but no one except Bahamut and Rydia was not unfazed by the revelation. Layle however, seemed apathetic.

"Don't take this the wrong way but if you're not human, what are you?" Layle asked, feeling interested in the conversation for the first time.

"My father was an Esper, my mother was a human, I'm a hybrid. The world's first and last it seems…" She felt the gaze of everyone in the room, she didn't like it. She used to feel like a normal girl besides them, now she ruined it.

"Who's your father sweetheart?" Leviathan asked in a gentle voice, seeing as Terra was close to tears.

"Maduin…" Terra responded weakly. Leviathan shivered at the response.

"I am sorry child, but there is no Maduin currently living in the Feymarch, he must have…"

"I see… Now if you'll excuse me, I need some time alone." She said as she bolted out of the throne room.

"Before anyone tries to be a "good guy" and chase after her, I'd say she really does need some time alone, like us. We can't approach her if we make a big deal out of this." Zack explained, being remarkably sensitive… for once.

"I'll never understand women… Well I guess I'll explore this town a bit, this might be the opportunity of a lifetime. Anyone in?" Layle asked, putting his hands on the back of his neck.

"We're in!" Zack exclaimed, putting his arms around Shin and Cloud's necks, making Cloud wince in pain.

"Sorry but Cloud's going straight to the infirmary." Porom said as she grabbed Cloud's arm and dragged him to the ladder.

"Guess we're on our own then. Let's go!" Layle exclaimed as he started to climb the ladder, Shin and Zack following shortly after.

"What about Odin?" Rydia asked as she remembered the incident at the tower.

"He still hasn't awakened… I fear his memories might be too much for him to handle." Bahamut replied. "But this is not the time to be worried child, we all need rest."

"Except you!" Leviathan shouted as he morphed back into the sea serpent, staring at a terrified Edge.

"Medic?" Edge called desperatly, knowing what would happen to him.

* * *

><p>"So Layle… Where do you come from? Or better yet, how did you get here?" Zack asked as they wandered aimlessly through the town.<p>

"Well my world didn't exactly have a unified name so I can't tell, about how I got here…. Let's just say I slacked off." Layle said, scratching the blue crystal on his cheek.

"What's that?" Shin asked curiously.

"This? This is a crystal. I was born with it on my body, making me a "Crystal Bearer". Because of that I have telekinesis. That's why I know how that girl is feeling, it took a while for me to harden myself against those surprised looks, people treating me like I was a monster, Crystal Bearers looked at differently by the people. She looks like a sensitive person, she might have a bit more difficulties at not caring like I do." Layle replied, he apparently knew all about being discriminated but he turned out fine. That lit a hope on Zack and Shin's mind.

* * *

><p>The hours passed and they found themselves in the middle of the "night" if you could call it that. The artificial light that illuminated the Feymarch had dimmed, given the illusion of night. Seeing that they headed towards their sleeping rooms. As they passed the infirmary they saw Rydia saying goodbye to a very mangled Edge and leaving the building.<p>

"Have you guys seen Terra?" She asked with a worried expression.

"Sorry but can't say we did." Layle replied. "She really took it hard didn't she?"

"Why would she take it so hard?" Shin mumbled.

"For someone that almost got rid of being descriminated, your looks must have really killed her hopes." He said, a passive aggressive tone revealing itself on his voice.

"Did we really look that stunned?" Shin asked.

"You did worse. Even if it was for a second, you didn't think of her as a human back there, we can sense that in your eyes after so many of those looks." Layle finished, really hammering on the wound. "This is beyond a simple depression, we need to find her to make this right. I remember when Keiss had to beg me to continue to hang out with him."

"We might as well do that. If we split up we have four times the chance." Rydia comented before seeing a legion of Eidolions running towards her. "Oh god… my fan club found me, you try and find Terra, I'll see if I can lose them." She finished, running off.

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do. Zack get down to the lowest level of the city and start making your way up. I'll go to the second highest level and start making my way down. Shin, you stay on this level and look for her, the residential area is so big and so crowded you may have the worst job here. Remember, tact. If we screw this up she might have an emotional breakdown." Layle said. Shin and Zack just nodded as each of them bolted in different directions.

* * *

><p>Terra sat at a balcony, her knees clustered against her chest with her arms surrounding them while she looked at the city.<p>

"_You just ran off, you pathetic little coward…"_ Her esper said in a different tone, she was almost disgusted at Terra.

"What could I do? I can't take this again! After all I had to do to get people of my world to accept me I thought I had done my part, but now I have to face other worlds? I can't cope with the same discrimination again!"

"_Suit yourself. The mere thought that I am stuck in the body of such a coward sickens me! You're just going to stand there? If they won't accept you, punish them!"_

"Violence is never the answer!" She yelled towards her imaginary self, scaring two bomb children who were playing in the street.

"_Then find another one!"_ Her esper shouted, doing the mental equivalent of slamming the door on Terra's face.

She stared on the distance just to see Rydia escaping from her fanboys, each of them begging for a lock of hair, a date or even marriage. That brought a smile to her face. At least someone got lucky.

"They still love her even if she is from another species don't they?"

"Yes, I wish I… huh?" She turned her head to the side just to see Shin sitting there. "You… I mean how…"

"Choby told me. He sure is nice, letting you stay at his house and all. He even went looking for us to help you. He also took the part where I stood in shock at seeing a talking Chocobo pretty well." Shin replied calmly. _"Remember Shin, TACT!" _He told himself.

"Yeah I know, I reacted like that too." Terra said, giggling before going back to her depressed expression. "You know Shin… I think I'll stay behind…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I think I'm better off in the Feymarch…. I feel… at home." She explained slowly. "No one here looks at me differently, they accept me!"

"They also accepted Rydia!" Shin desperately replied, maybe he was too late after all.

"Yes they did, but if humans don't accept me, why should I live between them? And don't lie to me Shin, you are never going to look at me the same way again." She said, frustration and aggressiveness taking over her tone.

"Is that a bad thing?" Shin said as if he had a revelation.

"Of cou…" Terra began before being interrupted.

"Just let me finish. Imagine Choby, after he started talking I completely changed the way I looked at him, by was he disturbed by that? No he liked it. My point is, yes we were surprised, and yes we will never look at you the same way, but in what way is that bad?" He said, trying to not touch a nerve.

"I want to be normal! You won't ever look at me as a human like you again!" She shouted, getting up.

"But you aren't one… why do you try so hard to be?" Shin asked, earning him a slap.

"You don't know how this is like… I'm a THING!" She however saw that she misjudged the power behind that slap and her claws had come out, making Shin bleed profusely.

Shin however did his best not to react to that, any sign of pain or surprise would only cause grief, he expected such transformations after hearing that she was half esper. Without signal he just grabbed her now transformed hand and stated in a stern voice. "This isn't what define you… This is!" He touched the part of the chest where her heart is. Normally this would have been another slap, but both of them knew this was about more than perversion.

"I can't tell you if you should stay or not, but I can say this. If you try hard enough people will see you for who you are. Has anyone that ever knew you ever abandoned you after knowing the truth?" He asked.

"N-no…" Terra answered. It was true, nobody that saw her transformation and knew her turned against her. Celes and Locke even became her best friends.

"See? Now think about it. And get some sleep, you have plenty of time to decide in bed."

"Since when are you my dad?" Terra joked, lifting the pressure from the atmosphere.

"Glad to see you at least cleared you head out of emo crap. The last thing we needed was another Cloud!"

"Just tell Rydia and Porom I'll be on the room after I thank Choby." She said as she prepared to jump off the balcony. "And Shin… thanks."

"Anytime." He replied as he left the house.

* * *

><p>"That was so touching…" Zack, who was waiting at the bottom of the building, joked as he cleaned a fake tear. "The part with the heart was the best one."<p>

"Aw just shut up! How did you get here anyway?" Shin replied, annoyed.

"Same way you did."

"That chocobo really gets around…" Shin mumbled before yawning.

"Well time to get some sleep!" Zack exclaimed

"Yeah… you're right." Shin said as they headed for their temporary house.

* * *

><p>Terra was tucked under the sheets of the bed when Rydia and Porom got in the room.<p>

"Oh she's asleep already… I can't say I'm sorry…" Porom lamented.

"Yeah… we did give her a cold reaction… Hope we can still be friends after all that." Rydia continued.

"Yeah! I want her to be my auntie!" Cuore exclaimed in an unusual attack of childlessness.

"_So… what about it Sunshine?" _Her esper asked after cooling off.

_"I've made my decision." _She replied in her mind.

"_Good… just don't back down on it!" _It said, dissapearing again, but this time it was not disappointed.

* * *

><p>The morning arrived and everyone stood at the exit of the Feymarch, saying their goodbyes to the place that had welcomed them and treated them.<p>

"We shall never forget your kindness." Fusoya told Asura.

"Nonsense, you would have done the same for us." She replied, even if she was not sure of what she had said.

"Summon us when you can Rydia!" Ramuh, Ifrit, Titan and her other summons exclaimed. In unison. The Mist Dragon just gently caressed her with a warmth only a mother could give. The thought of staying was never so appealing, but she had family on the other side too. Mist needed her.

"Will do!" She replied, snapping back from her trance.

"Edge, I hope you learned your lesson." Leviathan exclaimed, he was visibly calmer than the day before. "I'll let this one slide because Cuore calls you Dad."

"Yes sir…" Edge replied in a apologetic tone.

"Rydia, be my eyes. Do not hesitate to call me!" Bahamut said as he stepped in the fray.

"Of course, it's an honour. Take care of Odin." She replied, never forgeting one of her Eidolions.

"She ain't coming heh?" Zack divagated as he looked around. The Lunarians had almost finished crossing the teleportation tile.

"Well, it is her choice, let us go." Kain replied stoically. Everyone took a deep breath and started crossing the tile.

"Who said that?" A familiar female voice asked. Terra descended on the group, supporting a blue vest, with lighter blue sleeves over a white leotard, a blue cape hanging from her shoulders, which were adorned by small silver wings, a blue skirt covered by multi colored straps covered her waist and a golden sash extend from it. She had white boots on and her hearings were blue with the shape of a water drop, her ribbon had the same form as before but it was colored in a different shade of blue, the last time she had wore that she had wore a Slave Crown instead of the ribbon but she didn't remember that.

"Whoaaaaa...!" The male part of the group swooned.

"Where did you keep that?" Rydia asked the floating girl.

"In the same place I keep my other clothes. I can materialize them at will. Don't remember when I got this set but it doesn't matter does it?" She exclaimed happily. This was a completely different Terra from before. She almost glowed with enthusiasm, the final weight on her conscious lifted.

"So you're coming, right?" Shin asked, it was obvious but everyone wanted to hear it.

"Well, duh!" She joked.

"What happened to that "I feel at home here", business?" He mocked.

"Well I realized something. Home is where the heart is… and my heart is with everyone who takes me as a friend, that's the place I call home. In a way, if I am with you guys or the others at the castle, I'm always home!" She finished happily.

"Good enough. That was some speech. " Layle said clapping. "But enough talk, let's go!"

"Terra wait!" A familiar chocobo's voice echoed. Choby landed at Terra's side. "I need to give you something." He handed her a feather. "That's sign of a contract with a Chocobo Eidolion, if you can, give me a call sometime!"

"Of course Choby! I'll even introduce you to my chocobo Stardust!"

"Thank you!" The bird chirped.

"Okay, let me say this again. Enough talk, let's go!" Layle exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Everyone exclaimed as they left the land of the Summons behind.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Cecil…"_

_"We're quite a crowd now, aren't we?"_

_"That is…"_


	20. Destination: Midgar!

**Author's note: **I'm really sorry for the huge delay, but I'm in exam season in University so this story obviously loses priority. I'll only be free next weak so it'll take a while for the next one to come out. Other than that, have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Part 2: The Ones Behind The Shadows**

**Chapter Twenty**

****Destination: Midgar!****

* * *

><p>After leaving the Feymarch, the group found themselves in a cavern. Taking the lead, Rydia and Edge guided the crowd of Lunarians and the others through the cavern.<p>

"Hey Golbez, how are we going to get all of these guys through the lava?" Edge asked, as he stopped dead in his tracks, realizing the major miscalculation they made.

"The Feymarch is surrounded by lava? That is something I was not aware of… Most troubling." Golbez replied as he assumed a thinking position.

"Zack… Zack are there?" Cissnei's voice resounded from Zack's pocket.

"That's our ticket out." Zack rejoiced as he picked up the communicator. "Zack here. How've you been?"

"He's alive!" She yelled from the other side of the line. "Where were you? We lost connection twelve hours ago! We thought you guys were goners after the Tower fell."

"Twelve hours? Oh right, Feymarch time." He muttered.

"What are you talking about Zack?"

"I'll explain latter, listen is Cecil there?"

"Yes, I'll put him on." Cissnei replied before a short silence.

"Yes?" Cecil's voice asked, freezing Golbez in his tracks.

"Cecil, could you go get the Lu-huh…" Zack began before realizing he had forgotten its name.

"The Lunar Whale." Golbez replied a bit too loudly.

"Who was that?" Cecil replied rapidly, recognizing his familiar voice.

"It was hum… Edge, he caught a cold." Zack answered, using the first excuse he could think off.

"Really?" Cecil asked distrustfully. "Very well, where do you wish for us to meet?"

"The cave that connects to the Feymarch."

"The Feymarch? How did you… Nevermind we have a bigger problem, the Lunar Whale can't fit the entrance to the Underworld."

"Oh you'd be surprised… check out the region formerly known as the tower of Babil, I bet you'll find a pretty big hole there." Edge replied.

"Is that Edge? Didn't he have a cold?"

"Porom healed him!" Zack spurted, he was getting out of ideas for excuses.

"That's… convenient. Either way, we already took the liberty to raise the Lunar Whale out of the ocean, we're midway to Babil, we should be there in one hour at the most." Cecil replied. He had given up on taking the information from Zack, he needed to go there to see if it was really "him" that had talked.

"One hour, gotcha! Well, see you then!" Zack responded as he turned off the communicator. "Okay guys, our lift will be out there in an hour!" He announced.

The Lunarians were overwhelmed by the news and started pleading for Edge and Rydia to pick up the pace. In less than twenty minutes the whole crowd had amassed on the small island surrounded by lava that was the entrance to the cave.

* * *

><p>"Man, it sure is hot in here." Shin complained as he let his body fall to the ground. "What I'd give for some water." As he said that a torrential downpour befell him, completely soaking him.<p>

"Watch out for what you wish for, it just may come true!" Terra joked in midst of her laughter. She had just made Shin the laughing stock of the entire crowd.

"She got you there!" Zack managed to say before exploding in a fit of laughter. "You just got served by a girl."

"I know your pain." Edge said. "But it's still funny as hell!"

"Edge stop being insensitive!" Rydia said but it was obvious that she was trying to hold in her laughter. Even Cloud got a smile from the situation.

"This group has become more united than it would appear." Kain commented as he watched the ruckus.

* * *

><p>Lezard was shuffling through the pages of the Empire's Magitek Research books in hopes of finding more about that girl. None of the books demonstrated any real conclusions about Terra and all of them focused on how to harness her powers, not comprehend them.<p>

"Useless, every single one of these books is nothing but a pile of blank paper!" He spat as he threw the book at the wall in frustration. "What were those incompetent fools doing for sixteen years?"

"Calm down Lezy! No need to throw a fit." Kefka mocked as he entered the laboratory. "Here, got you a present!" He joked as he threw the dead homunculus onto the floor.

"You took your time…" Lezard said, implying a question.

"Well you know me! Seeing big explosions is my thing!"Kefka replied as he lied down sideways in the air. "Now can I get a look at those memories?"

"Fair enough, I need to extract them for study so you can stand and watch." Lezard said as he lifted the body with his mind. "But what you're about to see is something that you must never speak about. Only two more people know about what I'm showing you."

"And I'm guessing you don't trust the rest… why would trust me?" Kefka asked slyly.

"Think of it as the payment for my debt." Lezard replied as he opened the door to the inside of his experiment room. This room was adorned by giant test tubes that held all kinds of his maniacal experiments. Some had mere rocks in them, some were filled with different kinds of magic and others were filled with a strange liquid where unspeakable monstrosities were being created.

"I must say… I like your style." Kefka commented as he glued his face on one of the tubes. However, the two tubes that were apart from everything else picked his interest the most. Upon seeing them he rushed to them and jumped up and down like a five year old. "Are these what I think they are?"

"I was hoping to keep it a secret for a while longer but yes, they are the homunculi I am preparing." Lezard answered. The test tubes had one body each, one of them seemed to belong to a female and one to a male but it was clear that the bodies were still work in progress. "They should be ready in two weeks time at most."

"Ohhh… and what about those souls we had to go so far to get?" Kefka asked as a dangerous spark lit in his eyes.

"Have no fear, they are here." He said as he lifted two crystals up. "Once the bodies are prepared, I shall inject the souls into them and create perfect replicas of their former bodies."

"And you are sure that these are going to come out right?"

"If we are to believe both my previews experiments I'd say yes."

"Both? Tell me more!" The clown asked. Lezard however just turned his back on him and headed towards another door.

"Everything at its time. Have you forgotten about the memories?" He asked as he entered the other room.

"Always talking formally…." Kefka muttered as he entered the room.

"I present to you my memory extraction device!" Lezard exclaimed madly as he pointed towards the bottom of the room adjusting his glasses to conceal the lunatic gleam in his eyes.

"That's some "thing" you have here!" Kefka replied as he unleashed a mad cackle.

* * *

><p>"What happened here?" Cecil asked himself as he watched the crumbled remains of the tower melting away in a pit of lava.<p>

"Hey is that… Cid open the door!" Celes shouted as she looked out of the window.

"Which Cid?" Cid Highwind joked before meeting Celes's icy gaze for the first time. "Right away mam!"

As the door opened Celes walked up to it, ignoring the air pressure and whistled. Moments later a giant golden bird made its way inside the airship, cuddling to Celes.

"Spoiled bird…" Celes mumbled in a fake tone of aggressiveness as she tried to get Stardust of her. "Don't worry, I'll take you to your mommy."

"So, can we go on?" Cid asked.

"Do as you please." She shot back, Cid cursed under his breath and did exactly what she said.

* * *

><p>"Royal Flush!" Zack exclaimed as he threw his cards to the ground.<p>

"Royal Straight Flush!" Terra shouted as she threw five cards on top of the others.

"You're cheating!" Zack complained as he threw his cards into the air.

"I agree there's no way you can win ten games in a row." Layle said.

"Nope, you just learn some things when you know Setzer for so long." She replied as she picked up all of the Gil she had just won.

"Now I can't even ask someone out for a date even if I wanted too…" Zack lamented as he looked at his empty wallet in dismay.

Suddenly a giant shadow covered the isle.

"About time…" Kain mumbled.

* * *

><p>"Dad look! There's a city's worth of people there!" Ceodore exclaimed as he looked out the window.<p>

"So that's why they wanted the Lunar Whale… but are these people who I think they are?" Cecil asked himself.

"Anyway, I'll just land if you don't mind, I need a smoke." Cid announced as he landed about one hundred meters from the crowd.

* * *

><p>The Lunarians rushed towards their former ship and waited anxiously for the hatch to open. As the hatch slowly opened their eyes lit with joy as they observed the half-lunarian king… being trampled by a giant bird that sped through the crowd. Sunshine jumped towards Terra, tackling her and crushing Shin underneath its body.<p>

"Oh I love you too Stardust!" Terra replied as the bird cuddled up to her.

"Terra!" Celes called as she and Locke traversed the sea of people to get to her. "I'm glad to see you're alright." She said in a stoic voice, trying to keep her cold reputation up.

"Me too… what's he doing here?" She asked as she saw Edgar trying sneak up behind her to give her a hug. "Not one more step!" She threatened, making Edgar jus back down and give her a handshake.

"He said he was going to try the "Edge approach", whatever that means." Locke said casually.

"I'm doomed!" Terra said as she realized that that meant she was going to have a stalker for, quite possibly the rest of her life.

"Don't worry, I'll control my brother!" Sabin exclaimed as he pinned Edgar to the ground.

"You're a bit late Sabin…" Celes stated, seeing as Edgar had already started to behave.

* * *

><p>"Cloud how've you been? I've been worried sick!" Tifa exclaimed as she observed every part of Cloud for injuries. "Just say if you're hurt, I'll take care of you."<p>

"You can "take care" of me all you like… if you know what I…" Zack began before being punched into the ship.

* * *

><p>"Kain, I'm glad to find you safe." Cecil told his best friend as he approached him after recovering from the trampling.<p>

"I feel the same, but you should see to more important matters now. Your people need you." Kain replied as he went into the ship.

"My people?" Cecil asked before being approached by Fusoya."Fusoya? Then all these people are…"

"Lunarians yes. But before I get into details I have a tremendous favor to ask…" Fusoya said as he sized Cecil's expression up. "You see Cecil, our moon was destroyed and…"

"Say no more, I'll grant you lodging in Baron." Cecil interrupted.

"I… don't know how to repay you."

"There's no need for that, now may I ask something myself?"

"No need." A voice said, making Cecil turn to see the tall, muscular brown haired man looking down on his brother. "Cecil…"

"Golbez… I'm glad to see you again." Cecil said as he stretched his hand out. The compliment was not reciprocated by his brother who started looking at his own feet.

"Cecil, I failed again… I got controlled again, I don't deserve compassion."

"Don't martyr yourself Golbez. If it weren't for you, none of the Lunarians would be here today, you saved us from Zemus." Fusoya said, trying to comfort him.

"Be that as it may, I am weak. I couldn't fight back, I could just twist their orders in order to help them." Golbez lamented before being confronted by Terra.

"Well that makes me feel so good about myself! I mean I can't even remember what happened when I had the Slave Crown, and you go around saying you're weak even after being able to fool it!" She pouted. She wasn't angry at him, but he needed to understand that blaming himself wouldn't help anyone, she had learned that the hard way.

"I feel somewhat outside the situation, tell everyone to get inside, you can tell us all about what happened when we are heading towards Baron." Cecil said as he walked towards the ship.

"He's too forgiving for his own good…" Golbez mumbled.

"There's no such thing as too forgiving." Terra replied before running off to tell everyone to get inside.

"So naïve…" Golbez mumbled again as he remembered a situation much unlike what Terra had said. "We are only in this situation because someone thought just like you."

* * *

><p>Layle had already sneaked into the airship, he was not one for crowds. Call him antisocial but he liked his own little space, a little space that was about to get disrupted by a familiar female voice.<p>

"LAYLE! I know you're here you lazy good for nothing!" The female voice echoed.

"How did you know that I was here?" Layle asked as he slowly got up from the corner.

"Oh I don't know, maybe I just watched you come in?" Aya replied sarcastically. "More importantly, where have you been?"

"Oh you know… here and there." Layle said, obviously trying to hide something.

"Oh, now I get it. Here's what you don't want to answer: Where is the Epoch?" She asked as she pulled out her gun and pointed it at his head.

"I… was asleep when the dimensional storm happened. I kinda lost it…" He said, he normally wasn't so nervous, heck he had never been so nervous, but he knew that Aya could lose it. Moments after he heard the gun click.

"You… lost the Epoch… because YOU FELL ASLEEP?" She yelled. "Wait until Crono hears about this! And to think that we were worried about you!"

"Look, it's not MY fault, I hadn't slept in three days!" Layle replied.

Aya suddenly shifted to a much darker tone of voice as she turned her back on Layle.

"You may have cost us our way home…" She said darkly as she slowly walked away, leaving Layle stumped at the realization.

* * *

><p>"Pretty advanced stuff you got here." Zack commented as he arrived on the bridge.<p>

"Zack!" Cissnei called from behind him. "I was worried…"

"Yeah, I get that a lot from girls!" Zack bragged before being interrupted.

"That I was going to lose my job! I had to tell Rufus that I had lost contact with his best SOLDIER for twelve hours, and no I'm not talking about you." She finished, causing disappointment to well up inside Zack.

"_I must be losing my touch…"_He thought. "Well anyway, tell Rufus we're paying him a visit. We just need to make a stop at Baron and we're off to Midgar."

"Good to hear." Cissnei said as she picked up her phone and started dialing Tseng's number. "And Zack, I'm glad you're okay. Just don't let this get over your…"

"So it's a date!" Zack exclaimed.

"You never change Zack…" She replied as she turned her back on him. "Consider yourself friendzoned."

"You don't mean that… right?" Zack lamented, looking down in defeat.

"Hey kid, stop mopping, I have a ship to pilot." Cid grumbled, kicking Zack to the side.

"Hey Cid, how can you pilot such a distinct airship?" Zack asked as he tried to get his mind off what had just happened.

"Because I'm Cid Freaking Highwing, now can it kid, I've got a ship to pilot." Cid responded as he started the engine.

* * *

><p>Most of the flight back to Baron was spent trying to explain the sequence of events that had happened to those who were not involved, not that there was time for much more in such a speedy flight, in a bit more than one hour Baron was sighted in the horizon. Being too big of a ship to land it in the dock, Cid had no choice but to do a landing in a nearby clearing. It took a while to get all the Lunarians out but once everyone was out of the airship Cecil stood on the exit hatch of the airship, just above the audience as if to use it as a make shift podium for a speech.<p>

"Attention please!" Cecil exclaimed. "I decided that we are best divided into two groups. One group will take care of the installation of the Lunarians here in Baron and will be lead by me, the other one will head for Midgar. Who would like to stay in each group?"

After a small fuss Kain stepped forward.

"I shall stay with you Cecil." He announced calmly.

"We'll stay too! You need someone to watch your back!" The Palom exclaimed, grabbing Porom and Leonora.

"Cecil… don't take this the wrong way but I'll be going." Edge said, much to everyone's surprise. "It's obvious that the old man can hold Eblan together and I'm not Baronian. I'm better off kicking evil's rear."

"Always doing as you please…" Rydia lamented."Fine I'll come and make sure you don't embarrass us."

"I'm coming too!" Cuore exclaimed.

"You're not going to oppose this?" Edge asked curious.

"Why? She'll only find a way around it." Rydia stated matter of factly.

"I'll be going too." Golbez stated.

"Oh no you're not!" Terra interrupted. "You're staying with your family, and that's final!" She demanded.

"For what reason?" Golbez asked.

"Well, a Lunarian ambassador is needed and Fusoya has to come with us with the CPU, so you're better off here. That and you need to clear your mind." Terra replied.

"I suppose you are right." Golbez said, nodding. A time with his family was something he had been yearning for.

"So it's decided uh?" Zack asked. "Well Cecil, where are we going?"

"You go ahead to the docks, Cid should know the way."Cecil replied.

"Damn straight! Follow me." Cid said as he signaled them to follow.

"Good luck, I'll be there as soon as I finish this." Cecil told the leaving group.

* * *

><p>They bypassed Baron city and headed straight to the castle. As they entered the castle Cid turned right with everyone following him, passing through the hidden wall to the airship docks. There stood repaired the Falcon and the Blackjack, each with some new touches, fitting to the enginers that had helped, the Blackjack had been reinforced with mythril and powered up by Highwind's superior technological knowledge.<p>

"Shouldn't we call Crono or something?" Zack commented.

"He should already be in the airship, I left a communicator here." Cissnei replied right before a familiar spiky haired man appeared on the edge of the Blackjack, making Layle cringe. "See"

"Terra what about…" Shin began.

"They're better off not seeing me. They might even try something crazy if they do." Terra replied, knowing that he was going to mention her kids.

"But… aren't we a bit too much for the airship?" Cloud asked.

"You have obviously never seen the Blackjack on the inside." Setzer said as he emerged from the inside of the ship. "If I can fit a casino and half of a town in here, I bet I can fit more or less twenty people here too."

"What are we waiting for? Let's get going!" Tifa exclaimed. "I have kids to take care off too, you know?"

"You have what? Cloud you lucky, lying.." Zack began.

"Denzel and Marlene…" Tifa said as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah… the orphans." Zack remembered.

"Orphans? Tell me more!" Terra said as she skimped towards Tifa.

"What is it with her and orphans?" Locke asked as he scratched his head. "Anyway, let's get going."

* * *

><p>They all climbed to into the blackjack, where they meet Setzer, Crono, Ramza, Marche, Adelle and Luso in the inside casino. Crono and Layle stared deeply into one another, although in Layle's case it was obviously an apologetic stare.<p>

"Crono… I bet Aya already told you about the Epoch… I just want to say that…" Layle started.

"Glad you're okay." Crono replied as put his hand on his shoulder.

"No need to kill yourself over it, everyone makes mistakes. And besides, I prefer the cocky Layle." Luso exclaimed.

"Thanks kiddo." Layle replied, his weight having been lifted.

"So, who here knows the way?" Setzer asked.

"Well I know, but I doubt you'll let me pilot ya airship, so I'll lead the way." Cid said.

"Okay, let's get ready for takeoff." Setzer said, heading towards the top deck, promptly being followed by everyone.

"Okay, let's put my baby on the air!" Setzer exclaimed as he activated the engines. After a moment of silence the propellers on the back of the ship slowly cranked up, propelling the ship through the opening in the castle and into the vast blue sky.

"Any idea how long this trip takes?" Edgar asked as they reached a stable altitude. Most of the ones who didn't go to the moon had spent the night looking for them so they needed to catch some sleep.

"Well, this ship here sure is well built for what I've seen, so I'd say an hour tops." Cid replied.

"Time for a quick nap then." Edgar said as he started to make his way downstairs.

"What's wrong Shin?" Terra asked as she saw her friend spacing out.

"Nothing to worry about. It's just… We're quite a crowd now aren't we?"" He commented as he looked at the passengers. Between Terra's world, Cloud's world, Cecil's world and Crono's team they made quite the crowd of misfits.

"How did you get in here? Terra, help!" Edgar's voice resounded from bellow deck.

Leaving Setzer and Cid behind, everyone quickly went downstairs into the casino just to see Edgar being pulled into the machine room. Quickly jumping in the machine room they encounter nothing inside but the engine and machinery.

"He can't have disappeared!" Edge exclaimed.

"Let's split up. If he's here, they can't hide from this many people." Tifa suggested.

Shortly after splitting up Layle noticed a muffled sound coming from behind the engine.

"Jackpot." He said as he tried to lift Edge and his captor from behind the engine. "What the…?" He exclaimed surprised. "There's more than ten people there, I can't lift that many."

"Ten people?" Edge asked before jumping on top of the engine. "Terra, you've got visitors."

As the rest gathered around the engine they understood what Edge meant by that. Sitting above a tied up and muffled Edgar were the orphans of Mobliz throwing puppy eyes at Terra.

"Are all kids these days ninjas? First Cuore and now this…" Rydia lamented.

"I just want to say that I am proud of all of you." Edge congratulated as he shacked Duane's hand.

"Looks like your plan backfire Terra, if you had tried and say goodbye to the kids you would have noticed they were missing." Shin comented.

"I guess you're right… I'll ask Setzer to turn around." She replied as she turned around. She couldn't however leave the room as she was tackled by a mob of pleading orphans begging to let them go with her.

"I promise we'll stay at the airship!" Katarine pleaded.

"The airship isn't exactly a "safe place"!" Terra retorted, her motherly instinct was kicking in.

"But it's boring at the castle!" Duane said childishly.

"Say, what if we drop them in Seventh Heaven? I was going to make a stop there so I could check on Denzel and Marlene, and I'm sure they would love some company." Tifa suggested.

"Yeah! We'll be good kids!" Ana said.

"Fine, you win, just stay out of trouble okay?" Terra said as she cracked to the demands, leading to a loud cheer from the mob of kids.

"Now tell us what happened Mama!" One of the kids exclaimed, quickly being supported by the others.

"Okay, let's just get you to a comfy place." Terra replied, switching to caring mother mode.

"Our little girl became such a good mother…" Locke blurted, sniffing.

"I have something to discuss alone with Terra, if I catch anyone spying… well I don't know what I would do." Celes stated coldly as she chased Terra.

"I'm going to the deck…" Shin stated, scared.

"Good idea…" Locke replied as he and mostly everyone stayed the farthest away as they could from the room where Terra had entered.

* * *

><p>"Terra, how are you doing?" Celes asked as she entered the room.<p>

"Huh? What's that about? I'm fine!" Terra exclaimed, sitting down on a chair, making the kids make a circle around her.

"I mean on the inside." Celes replied.

"Oh that… Really well! After I told everyone about it I felt so much better." She said, much to Celes's amazement.

"You… told everyone about your condition?" She asked, dumbstruck.

"Yeah… and you know what? They're fine with that. I even ran away after telling them, but they ended up pulling me back in." Terra responded. "It was hard but it was worth it."

"Are you planning to tell the ones who weren't there?"

"Layle should be telling Crono right now, Golbez should be informing Cecil and Cloud should be explaining it to his friends, we just need to tell Locke."

"About that…" Celes began, a bit ashamed. "I already told Locke and the Figaro's about it."

"That saves us the trouble!" Terra said, once again surprising Celes. "Well Celes, would you like to hear the story with them?"

"Thanks but I'll pass…" She said as she left the room. "She's grown a lot…"

* * *

><p>"So she told you huh?" Crono replied.<p>

"You knew?" Layle replied.

"I just needed to read the reports… something I doubt you did." Crono replied, crossing his arms.

"Oh c'mon, I'm not a nerd." Layle shrugged, making the group sigh.

* * *

><p>Afterwards the flight went uneventfully, save for a small surprise of Cid and Tifa and Setzer's indignation of being kept from the information. After one hour had passed Shin found Zack looking into the distance at the edge of the ship.<p>

"What's up?" Shin asked, breaking Zack's concentration.

"Oh nothing much… just that the last time I headed to Midgar I died at the entrance… It makes me remember how I failed my promise and all…" Zack replied.

"You didn't fail… I did it for you." Cloud interrupted as he walked up. "I'm your living legacy aren't I?"

"A little too much, you unknowingly pimp bastard. I didn't mean for you take my girlfriend as well." Zack replied as he head locked his former student. "But yeah, I'll just pay her a visit when we get there."

"Pay her a visit? Isn't she?" Shin began.

"Dead yeah but that's not important right now. Look." Zack said as he pointed into the distance.

"That's… Midgar?" Shin asked.

"Yeah." Cloud replied.

"Not exactly what I expected."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"I've come to visit."_

_"Welcome to SHINRA."_

_"System activated."_


	21. The Fallen Paradise

**Author's Note: **Well, after the exams, the vacation and two weeks of procrastination, this story is finally continuing. I'll try to go back to the weekly updates so don't worry about this, it was a one time delay. As always, have a good read.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**The Fallen Paradise**

* * *

><p>After hearing from Cloud that Midgar was the capital of his world, and hearing the stories that Zack told, time and time again, the last thing that crossed Shin's mind was that Midgar would be a giant pile of rubble, but that was just what it was. Surrounded by a barren wasteland was what was a ruined city. Considering the size of the ruins and the number of fallen buildings, there was no doubt that this city was once a metropolis, but now it was just a sad sight to behold.<p>

"Midgar, the glorified pile of rubble!" Zack exclaimed, jumping to the edge of the ship. "Certainly not as bad as it was after Meteorfall, but it could use _some_improvements."

"The city was a complete wreck, we spent more than half a year just securing perimeter for the Shinrabuilding and we're still trying to close the Mako leaks." Cloud commented. "But the progress is there, the leaks are minimal now, plants started to grow in the outskirts after the Deepground incident and we've completed the first building in the city. Someday we'll get there." He finished, crossing his arms. Shin didn't know what to make of his expression, it seemed nostalgic, but hopeful, well as far as Cloud's expressions go. A normal person would see no expression on his face whatsoever.

"But I don't get it." Shin began as he reached a realization. "Weren't you supposed to live in Midgar?" He asked. No way they could live in that wreck.

"We don't exactly live there, we built a city after the destruction of Midgar in its outskirts. We called it…" Cloud sighed as he knew what was coming. "Edge…" Suddenly, and frankly, as expected, Edge landed near them.

"I didn't know I had inter-dimensional fame!" Edge joked. "But joking aside, are we there yet?"

"God you are just like a little kid… Behave like the middle aged man you are!" Rydia scoffed as emerged from the casino.

"And get a depression? No way!" Edge replied playfully.

"We'll be in Edge in no time, prepare for landing!" Cid shouted, making himself be heard in all of the ship.

"Let's get everyone together at the waiting room." Shin suggested, getting a nod from everyone around him. They headed towards the casino just to find Edgar getting stripped out of all his money… by the orphans.

"You bluff too much mister!" Katarin mocked as she gathered all the chips.

"And you really shouldn't try to always get a 21 in blackjack, I think you bust 90% of your games." Duane commented.

"Just… just take the money and leave…" Edgar replied as he threw a bag of gil onto the table.

"What are you going to do with it?" Terra asked her children.

"Dunno… maybe build a cradle for Leo!" Duane replied excitedly.

"He's already one year old Duane, it's a waste to do it now!" Katarin replied.

"Don't see you coming up with ideas…" Duane mumbled.

"What about just saving it? I might have an idea, but it'll take a while to accomplish." Katarin suggested, putting the bag in her pocket.

"Fine…" Duane caved in.

"Since you're done here, let's get to the waiting room, we're almost there." Shin said.

"It was a little hard to not hear that yell, so we're already good to go." Layle replied as he headed towards the waiting room.

"Well, get moving then! We're landing now!" Cid shouted from the deck.

"How did he hear… never mind, let's go." Layle scoffed.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes, the waiting room was overflowing with kids and the other passangers of the airship.<p>

"Everyone…" Cissnei began before noticing she wasn't getting any attention. Climbing on top of the blackjack table she shouted from the top of her lungs: "Can I get a minute of your attention?" Instantly stopping the blabbering. "Good. I've just spoken with Tseng, the president is currently on a meeting, he'll receive us in a couple of hours."

"Can't Rufus get his priorities straight? What's he doing on that meeting?" Zack complained.

"He's meeting with a diplomat that Cecil sent in his place, some Edward Chris von Muir." She replied. "I think it's important." She finished sarcastically.

"Fine…" Zack agreed. "What do we do until then?"

"Anything you want to do, just don't exit Edge and keep the communicators I'll give all of you that don't have telephones. Oh and Cloud…" She said turning to him. "The person we need is off-duty, do persuade her please. Also Fenrir is lodged in your garage."

"Fine… Seventh Heaven it is." Cloud mumbled.

As Cissnei had finished distributing the communicators to everyone in the room, the top door opened.

"Hey… are we late?" Locke asked as he emerged from the stairs with Celes.

"Locke… what were you doing?" Edgar asked with a devious smile on his face.

"Wha… huh… re-relaxing… yeah that's it! Relaxing!" Locke blurted, his face as crimson as Celes.

"Sure you were…" Edgar joked.

Soon after a large thud was heard as the airship became grounded.

"That landing was terrible!" Setzer was heard shouting from the outer deck.

"It's your own damned fault for having such an old fashioned junk!" Cid yelled.

"That's it! The only way you're ever touching the steering wheel again is over my cold, dead body!"

"Like I need that! I'll get my Shera and be off!"

"Oh really…?"

* * *

><p>"Let's just leave them at that…" Cissnei suggested as she headed to the exit.<p>

Everyone nodded and followed her quickly.

Edge was by no means a glamorous city. Built after Meteorfall by the people of Midgar that wanted to run away from the mako leaks and the devastation it was a small, hastily built city in the middle of a harsh environment. To make it worse, any plans of further development had been halted because of Midgar's reconstruction.

"It's not much, but it's our home for now." Tifa commented.

"It's not so bad… you should see Mobliz." Duane replied before being smacked in the head by Katarin. "It's the truth!"

"Anyway, I'm going to the Seventh Heaven. Anyone who wants to come, feel free, the rest just hold on to those communicators." Tifa informed.

"We'll just take a walk around the city." Locke said as he grabbed Celes hand and pulled her out of the group.

"May I rest in your home?" Fusoya asked.

"Feel free." Tifa responded. "So you're all coming heh?" She asked as she saw everyone still standing there.

"I want to see the kids!" Terra chirped.

"I'm going with Terra." Edgar said.

"I'm going to protect several unsuspecting women from a certain person." Sabin said.

"Not like we have a lot to do… No offense, but I… Oh for Pete's sake…. where's Luso?" Layle asked as he looked around, not finding any of the younger members. "Scratch that, we'll be looking for the brats." He said as he ran off.

"Call us when you're done." Tifa said before signaling the rest of the crew to follow her.

"You stay here and be a good chocobo." Terra asked, petting Stardust in the head.

* * *

><p>They arrived shortly after that at a small building in the middle of a busy street. Double doors at the entrance had a "Closed" sign on them. The party was not unnoticed, especially Tifa.<p>

"Tifa! You're opening the restaurant again?" A passerby asked.

"Not yet, but I will as soon as I can." She answered.

"Alright! Take care." The man said as he strolled down the street.

"Pretty popular…" Cloud spat.

"Oh Cloud… finally getting jealous?" Zack mocked.

"Let's just go in…" Cloud spat as he opened the doors, only to be greeted by a tied up man in a red cloak.

"Vincent! What happened to you?" Tifa asked before ripping the ropes apart with her bare hands, freeing the black haired man.

"Nothing serious… just a bunch of kids being kids." Vincent replied as he adjusted his golden gauntlet. "You should really pick better babysitters."

"What do you mean? Denzel would never… Yuffie!" Tifa shouted from the top of her lungs, almost making the house shake.

"Sup!" A raven haired girl asked as she suddenly appeared behind Tifa.

"Don't sup me! What have you been doing all this time?" Tifa asked with a dangerous look on her face.

"Nothing.. just having some girl time." Yuffie answered casually.

"Girl...? Denzel!" Tifa yelled before getting interrupted by Yuffie.

"He's fine… Marlene begged me to let him go." Yuffie said before lowering her tone. "Those two are awfully close, if you get what I mean."

"What I don't get Yuffie, is what the only one that I trusted in this house was doing while this happened." Tifa spat.

"She's on it too." Vincent replied.

"What?"

"It's true…." A orange haired girl said as she descended from the upper floor. She looked no more than twelve years old but her eyes were as cold as ice, much like Cloud's. "You all told me to try new things… that's what I did."

"Yuffie you poisoned Shelke with your idiocy!" Tifa shouted, trying to grab Yuffie, who escaped by disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Heh, snails." Yuffie mocked from the roof of the building in front of the Seventh Heaven before feeling a hand on her shoulder.

"Sorry kid, hail to the king!" Edge said, increasing the pressure on her shoulder. "Now do you want to go down, or will I have to drag you down?"

"Fine…"Yuffie said, resigning to her fate.

Taking her attention off Yuffie for one second Tifa ran upstairs into Denzel's room, only to find the young boy watching television with a young girl leaning on his shoulder. The boy had slightly curved brown hair and what seemed to be brand new clothes. A violet sweatshirt and blue jeans. The younger girl had a darker shade of brown in her hair that was tied up with a pink ribbon in a single, large braided pony tail. She was wearing brand new clothing as well, you could almost smell it from the pink dress she was wearing.

"Denzel! You're alright!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Quiet Tifa… Marlene's asleep." Denzel whispered.

"Yuffie didn't mess with you, did she?" She asked.

"No… She even took us shopping." The boy answered.

"Look, can you wake her up gently?" I'd like to say hello before I go." Cloud asked.

"Where are you going Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"I'll tell you in a bit." He answered.

"Anything for you Cloud." Denzel responded. "Hey Marlene… Cloud and Tifa are here." He ushered on her ear, making her slowly open her eyes.

"Cloud… Tifa?" She asked as she turned to Tifa, jumping into her arms. "I missed you!"

"I missed you too honey." Tifa answered.

"So Cloud, what happened out there? Tell me all about it!" Denzel exclaimed excitedly before noticing the rest of the crew. "Cloud, who are they?"

"Friends…" Cloud replied. "I'll tell you about it later."

"But that guy… Spiky black hair… it can't be." Denzel stuttered.

"Zack Fair, in the flesh! I'm famous I see!" Zack bragged as he flexed.

"But that's impossible you're…" Denzel began.

"You WERE dead. That's the correct way to say it. Long story." Zack replied.

"If he's alive, the that means…!" Marlene exclaimed.

"It does not!" Cloud blurted in a burst of anger, scaring everyone in the room and outside of it. "I'm sorry… I need to go." Cloud said as he left the room quietly, everyone still staring at him.

"I'll go too." Zack announced. Cloud did give him a glare but Zack just retorted. "I broke a promise too." In a calm, completely serious and somewhat depressed expression, the opposite of his demeanor.

Cloud nodded and headed toward the garage, followed by his best friend.

"Hey Cloud! What about the persuasion?" Cissnei yelled. After hearing no response and the sound of a engine started she ran to the garage just to see Cloud ride away on the Fenrir.

"He'll never get over it…" Tifa lamented, quickly regaining her composure because of the kids.

"Guess I'll do it myself." Cissnei commented, turning to Shelke. "We need you at Shinra today."

"I'm on vacation for the first time since you hired me, nothing will take me off this place." Shelke stated.

"Nothing? What about this?" Cissnei asked, pulling a piece of paper from her pocket and giving it to Shelke.

"Is this what I think it is?" Shelke asked in disbelief.

"Yes, a blank check. It's the first time Rufus ever passed one of those. Do what you can about this job and it's yours, you can even fail for all I care." Cissnei answered.

"Please Shelke…" Tifa pleaded.

"I just to get this clear, I'm not doing this for the money." Shelke replied as she tried to give Cissnei her check back.

"Keep it, you guys deserve it, saving the world and all." Cissnei replied as her phone started to ring. "Cissnei here."

"Report at Shinra HQ in an hour, the meeting is ending." Tseng's voice informed before ending the call abruptly

"Well that was quick… Well you heard the man, I'll call the others, you guys just get ready." Cissnei said, leaving the building.

"Tifa, you're going away again?" Marlene asked saddened.

"Don't worry Marlene, I'll be home in time for dinner!" Tifa reassured. "And you can get to know some new friends!" She exclaimed as she pointed to the orphans, the majority of them were hiding behind Terra's legs.

"Don't be shy… they are like you." Terra said.

"My name is Marlene, and this is Denzel! What's your name?" Marlene asked as she grabbed a the hand of one of the orphans.

"M-Maria." The orphan that Shin saved answered. She had no visible scars left, much to Shin's relief.

"Nice to meet you!" Marlene exclaimed.

"We've got it from here…" Duane said. "You go do your stuff Mama."

"Right, I'll be right back!" Terra said.

"Well, now where too?" Edge asked.

"Let's go get Cloud and Zack." Shin suggested.

"I don't think that would be a good idea... Cloud doesn't take it kindly when you interrupt him." Tifa sighed.

"But what's he doing?" Shin asked.

"Nothing…. That's just it, he's doing nothing." She said, leaving the others to think about what was Cloud doing.

* * *

><p>"I've come to visit…" Cloud mumbled as he knelt down besides the pool of water inside the ruined church. The building had certainly seen better days, almost no ceiling remained and it was a miracle it was still standing after all those years.<p>

"Cloud… I thought you were over this." Zack commented. "You seemed fine after we left you two years ago.

Cloud remained silent as he watched his reflection on the water, as if expecting someone to come out.

"Cloud, what's the problem?" Zack asked, approaching him.

"You're the problem!" Cloud shouted, drawing his First Tsurugi and pointing him at his supposedly best friend.

"Cloud! What the hell?" Zack asked dumfounded.

"Why are you alive? Why isn't Aerith alive?" Cloud shouted, swinging his sword downwards at Zack, who merely dodged by jumping back. The impact that the sword caused when it hit the floor made petals fall.

"Cloud, I'm not going to fight you… not here." Zack replied as calmly as he could before needing to dodge another swing of Cloud's sword. "Just stop it Cloud! What do you hope to gain from this?"

"Nothing!" Cloud spat.

"Why do I have to put up with this crap…?" Zack lamented. "Cloud, you seem like a smart guy, so answer me this: If Aerith was gone, what would happen to the Lifestream?" He asked, getting no response from the enraged SOLDIER. "Stop being in denial Cloud! You know what would happen, Sephiroth could just waltz in and corrupt it again. It's not that she can't come back, it's just that it would selfish of her to come back, it would be putting herself in front of the world, and you know her…."

"So you're telling me that… Aerith can't come back because Sephiroth exists?" Cloud said, a mix of fury and despair in his voice.

"Cloud, stop it. Going on another solo quest to destroy Sephiroth isn't going to cut it now." Zack replied, trying to cut off Cloud's line of thought.

"What do I care? Whether I win or lose I…" Cloud started to say, being interrupted by a straight punch across the face by Zack.

"Why don't you spit on her grave while you're at it?" Zack shouted angrily. "Do you really think that dying is the best way to solve this? This is the last time I try to reason with you Cloud, you're a lost cause." Zack continued, his voice getting calmer but still retaining its edge. "I'm just going to warn you this one time… I made a promise to keep you safe, and if that means that I have to break your legs in order to stop you… then I'll do it. Now you can stay here and mope, I'm going to SHINRA." He finished, leaving Cloud to himself in the ruined church.

* * *

><p>"So, any ideas how to get to the city?" Yuffie asked. "I'm NOT about to run there!"<p>

"Tsk, and you call yourself a ninja…. Back in my day…" Edge began.

"Can it, old man!"Yuffie retorted.

"Old man? Oh I'll show you the old man!"

"Kids… stop it!" Rydia shouted.

"Kids…" Edge and Yuffie mumbled before going silent.

"What about Setzer?" Terra suggested.

"He can't, Cissnei is using the airship to find the others, apparently Locke and Celes don't have communicators, because they arrived too late at the meeting." Tifa explained.

"The chocobo stable is has branched recently, what about we go to Edge's stable?" Vincent suggested.

"I can't really put a finger on how can every world have such different flora and fauna but have the exact same species with just minor differences." Terra pondered as she followed Tifa towards the stable.

"Just don't tell Locke that, those conspiracy theories are getting annoying." Edgar replied.

* * *

><p>"Oh miss Tifa! What a wonderful surprise, are you here to check on your chocobos?" The chocobo stable's owner asked.<p>

"Your chocobos?" Shin asked.

"Yeah… Cloud was quite the breeder. The chocobos felt safe with him." She replied.

"Well, he had good camouflage!" Edge exclaimed.

"Alright old man!" Yuffie exclaimed, highfiving him.

"Okay Albert, I'm here to rent some chocobos. Now let's see… Me and Shelke can share one, Edge, Yuffie, Vincent, Rydia and Cuore can also share one, Edgar, Sabin, Fusoya, Shin and Terra…. That's ten chocobos." Tifa explained.

"I'm sorry, but we only have eight chocobos as the moment, their popularity has increased dramatically." The owner informed. Suddenly a familiar wark was heard from inside the stables, rushing in they found some chocobos swooning while others warked in envy as a Golden bird stood in the middle of the stable.

"Is that… a Golden Chocobo?" The owner asked, dumbfounded.

"Bad chocobo!" Terra exclaimed, jumping and waking Stardust on the head, earning an apologizing wark from the bird. "But I guess I'll let you off this time. You did come in a good time." She replied, energy returning to the bird.

"How much for the eight chocobos?" Tifa asked.

"They're yours Tifa, I would never charge you. My business evolved because of you." The owner replied.

"As good as that sounds… here's eight thousand gil, it's only half their price for a day, but it's all I have with me right now." Tifa responded, giving a bag of coins to the owner. "Well, now we're set!"

"Wait, wait, wait! There's nine chocobos and twelve of us, and to my understanding normal chocobos can't take two adults. So, who rides Stardust with Terra?" Shin asked, soon wanting to have not as all of their eyes turned to him. "No! No, nein, nao,non, insert negative response here! I'm not ridding that crazed bird!"

"I don't know what's wrong with Stardust, but I'll ask a friend." Terra said, pulling out a feather from her pocket. A blue aura surrounded her as a bright flash covered the stable. As the flash dimmed Choby stood in the middle of the stable.

"Hello everyone!" The bird greeted, shocking almost all of the room.

"Oh right… forgot to tell them about talking Chocobos. Anyways, Choby can you let Shin ride you? It won't be for long." Terra asked.

"Sure thing! Huh… can you stop staring at me?" Choby said, feeling the pressure of a thousand eyes on him.

"We'll explain on the way." Terra said, jumping to ride Stardust. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p>"Hey, kid, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Choby suddenly asked in the partway to Midgar.<p>

"Kid?" Shin replied offended.

"Don't be offended, I am old enough to be your grandfather though." The chocobo informed, taking Shin aback. "Now, can you see her? She's beautiful!" It said with dreamy eyes.

"_What the heck is this guy looking at?"_ Shin asked himself before looking in the direction the bird was looking. The bird was staring directly at Terra, flying on Stardust's back in the vanguard of the group. _"Well, I guess I can't blame him…"_He mused before shaking off the thought. _"I have to get my mind out of the gutter for one second! Is a chocobo hitting on Terra?"_

"Hey, Choby, who are you looking at?" Shin asked, trying to be sure of what he thought so he would not make a fool out of himself.

"Can't you see that golden beauty?" The chocobo swooned.

"_This bird is crazy!"_Shin thought, alarmed. "Hey, I don't think you…" He began.

"And those dreamy feathers…." Choby continued, completely breaking Shin's line of thought.

"Feathers?" Shin exclaimed confused.

"Yeah feathers! Terra's chocobo is beautiful!"

"Hum, not to be rude or anything, but this is sounding REALLY wrong, if you know what I mean. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but what if he doesn't "swing that way"?" Shin asked, trying not to sound alarmed by the situation.

"You seriously didn't notice that Stardust is a female?" Choby asked in a "you can't be serious" look.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" Shin yelled, alarming everyone in a ten mille vicinity. Most of the others stopped dead in their tracks whereas Terra, being so far away, turned back and landed on the middle of the group.

"What was that noise?" Terra asked.

"Nothing… just the sound of my pride as a man shattering." Shin explained, almost trying to hide his face from everyone. He remembered all the times he clung to that wretched bird, almost crying like a girl, begging it to slow down, and now he know that the "he" was a "she".

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but we have twenty minutes to be in the SHINRA building, we should hurry up." Tifa pressured, after spending so many years with Cloud she had grown tired of getting late.

"Let's just go…" Shin mumbled, signaling them to go.

When the other Chocobos where at a safe distance Choby turned his head back and slyly asked. "If you didn't know stardust was a female… who were you thing about?"

"Shut up and drive… run… whatever…"

* * *

><p>After a long run they finally arrived at the former metropolis. The level of destruction was even more breathtaking when viewed from the inside. The fallen reactor's destroyed any trace of organization around them and, while the city was almost void of Mako leaks, an intoxicating stench filled the air.<p>

"This is awful, it's hard to believe this is ever going to be habitable again…" Terra lamented. "No life at all…"

"That's not exactly true!" Zack exclaimed from the top of a pile of rubble, jumping into Stardust's back, causing the Chocobo to deliver a revenge peck. "Calm down boy!" Zack shouted, unaware of its true gender. "As I was saying, you can clearly see some weed growing!"

"How reassuring…" Terra replied.

"Actually Terra, it is. For years Midgar and the area around it was nothing but a barren wasteland, the fact that you can see plants inside the city wall is a huge improvement." Tifa said.

After seeing them so happy with so little, Terra finally understood how serious was the situation they were in. It was as bad as or worse than the one her world had to face, and all of this because of one man's madness… It was so similar it pained her to think about it.

"But Zack, where's Cloud?" Tifa asked, seeing as Zack had come alone.

"Long story short, he'll be here… probably… in an undetermined amount of time…" Zack said, scratching the back of his head. "But we don't want to be late do we?" He asked, trying to change the subject as fast as he could.

"Fine, but don't think you're getting off the hook."

* * *

><p>After a few minutes of walking they arrived at the newly rebuilt Shinra HQ. It was rather strange to see such a giant building in the middle of a completely wrecked city, but they had to start somewhere.<p>

"Well, you guys can go now." Tifa said as she patted her Chocobo. It and the other seven warked and ran off into the distance, returning to their stable.

"My job here's done, see you guys!" Choby exclaimed, disappearing in a bright white flash of light.

"What about Stardust?" Terra asked.

"Oh Stardust can stay, it's not like Rufus can order us around." Tifa replied as she opened the double doors to the inside of the building.

"You guys where sooooo slow!" Luso whined as he saw them arriving.

"Says the guy who thought it would be a good idea to play Hide N Seek with us." Aya replied harshly. "And that goes for the two of you as well!" She continued, this time turning to Locke and Celes.

"We're the last ones here eh? Guess it's only natural, they flew here." Edgar commented.

As he finished saying that, a person's coughing was heard from the top of the stairs.

"First of all, welcome to Shinra. My name is Tseng, and I'm the leader of the Turks. I believe you know Cissnei, and these are Reno, Rude and Elena." The man with the black ponytail said, pointing to a red, spiky haired man, a bald tall one and a short blonde haired woman, all of them wearing the exact same uniform as Cissnei. "The president will call you shortly, meanwhile you can ask anything to my associate, I'll call you when the president is ready." Tseng explained, entering the elevator and leaving the rest of the Turks behind.

"That Tseng… he can't loosen up for one second." Zack joked. "Well, I guess we're stuck with the rejects."

"Tifa… no hard feelings huh?" Rude asked softly.

"As if! You tried to kill me how many times already?" Tifa spat back, shattering Rude's heart.

"The very thought of leaving you guys alone with Rude and Reno scares me… but unfortunately I have to take Shelke to the computer room. So please, try to behave." Cissnei pleaded. "Now Shelke, come with me."

Shelke followed Cissnei through the other elevator, leaving the group behind with the Turks trio.

"So… where's Grumpy?" Reno asked casually.

"Oh right… Zack, time to cough up." Tifa ordered.

"Fine you see…" Zack began.

* * *

><p>Stopping at the 41st floor, the two gingers left the elevator to findthemselves in a room with a giant computer.<p>

"The technology is hard to reproduce with our resources so pardon me if it's a bit underdeveloped, but do you think you can SND with this?"Cissnei asked, turning to see that Shelke was no longer there and was instead already inspecting the machine.

"A bit archaic, but it should work fine, do you have my suit?" She replied.

"Of course." Cissnei answered, pointing at a tiny room. "The suit is there, you can change there as well."

"Never thought I'd have to do this again…" Shelke lamented as she changed into her blue, body tight sit with silver stripes, a platinum breastplate protecting a part of her chest.

"Oh and Shelke, I'm sorry but we still haven't found your sisters capsule…" Cissnei said with a pang of guilt in her chest.

"Figured as much, she probably returned to the planet already." Shelke stoically replied, leaving the chamber and approaching the computer.

"Sometimes I'd like to be that rational." Cissnei commented. "You can inspect the machine while they are at the meeting if you like."

"Better be safe than sorry."

"System activated." The metallic voice announced.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in the middle of Zack's explanation Reno's telephone rang. Reaching for it Reno heard just what he was expecting.<p>

"Hey guys, not to interrupt or anything, but the prez's waiting."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"You've got to be kidding me."_

_"A crystal, so close by?"_

_"No doubt about it."_


	22. Bartz Klauser

**Author's note: **The reason I took so long in writting this is because this and the next two or three chapters will really impact the rest of the story to some degree. Now that I have gotten that out of my chest, enjoy this one, I'll try to be faster on the next.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

**Bartz Klauser**

* * *

><p>"Welcome!" Rufus Shinra greeted smugly, even after changing his ways his attitude stayed the same. "Quite the crowd I see, well the ones who can, have a seat. And… is that a chocobo?"<p>

"You got a problem with that?" Tifa asked calmly. "I guess we'll just leave then."

"You drive a hard bargain Tifa. Why all that aggressiveness? We're on the same side." Rufus, replied, but Tifa just remained silent. "Well, now that we've cleared that situation, I have to ask, what do you intend to do now?"

"Straight to the point I see." Crono commented.

"I see no reason for an explanation, I've already been briefed of all that Cissnei had to offer, and I trust that is all." Rufus replied, sending a sharp gaze upon the crowd. "I see that you have nothing to hide…."

"This guy scares me…." Shin whispered to Terra and Zack.

"It's like he can read us like books…" She said.

"He hasn't changed one bit." Zack remarked.

"I still haven't heard a response…"Rufus shot, interrupting the conversation. "Do you have a plan of some sorts, or should we just make a shelter and hope for the best?"

"The best lead we have is that the crystals seem to frighten Omega. You wouldn't know anything about a crystal like that, would you?" Crono asked, only to be met by a negative gesture.

The moment he heard that Zack cringed and covered his pocket, trying to hide the spherical bulge that he had.

"Well, I guess we have to trust in the data that Cecil's father stored, if Omega was spotted in the True Moon, there is a small chance that Kluya knew something about that beast."Crono finished.

Suddenly Rufus stood up and walked calmly towards the elevator, not minding the confused looks from everyone in the room.

"If we don't have anything more to talk about, why stand here? Follow me and bring the moon's CPU with you."

As everyone left the room Zack stayed behind and grabbed Tseng's shoulder.

"Look, I have to ask you a favor." He said, pulling the white hair, incased in a plastic bag, from his pocket. "Can you compare this hair's DNA with the SOLDIER database?"

"White hair? The last time I saw this color was when…" Tseng stopped in his tracks. "Zack, where did you get this?"

"One of the men who attacked us on the moon knew me Tseng… and the hair came from him." Zack replied, knowing that Tseng had gotten the memo.

"I'll get this to the lab right away." Tseng said, turning his back and heading to another elevator. "Oh and Zack…" He began as he entered the elevator. "Nice to see you." He finished as the elevator doors closed.

"_It's not lying, it's omitting."_ An incorporeal female voice resounded in Zack's head.

"_Oh shut up!"_ Zack replied playfully in his head.

"Hey Zack, you coming?" Tifa asked from the elevator, Rufus was not amused.

"Be right there!" He answered, patting his pocket.

* * *

><p>"Everything seems in order, now we just need to wai…." Shelke began just as the elevator dinged. "Scratch that."<p>

"Everything is ready I hope." Rufus asked calmly as he and the entire group got of the elevator, god knows how they all fit in.

"Yes sir." Shelke said sarcastically, she didn't feel the need to hide her disgust of the president's attitudes, what was he going to do? Fire the only diver in the world? "Fusoya, the computer please." She asked, immediately receiving the small machine from the Lunarian. She approached the giant computer and placed it on a small platform near the screen, connecting three cables to it. "Cissnei, the helmet please." She asked.

"Just sit over there, the chair has one built in." Cissnei replied, pointing at a rather psychedelic chair.

"Okay… This'll take a while, so don't go anywhere." Shelke said as she sat on the chair and a steel visor covered the top of her head. "Launch it."

"Be careful." Cissnei warned as she pressed the button. Shelke spasmed for a bit but returned to normal shortly after.

"I still, don't get it, what is she doing?" Edge asked, scratching the back of his head.

"To put it bluntly, she's getting inside the computer." Vincent replied.

"How?" Edge asked confused.

"Do I look like a scientist to you?" Vincent asked annoyed.

"But why does she need to do that to get information, isn't this computer from the people on our side?" Aya asked.

"Kluya's dead and he took everything he knew about how this thing worked with him. Since Fusoya can't make it work, we have to hack into it and SND is one thousand times better than the conventional way to hack." Cissnei explained.

"I still don't get it…" Edge whimpered.

"Just give it up…" Rydia lamented.

"I don't blame you, I can't understand how this works technology either, I just know how to make it work." Cissnei replied.

"I'm in." A voice came from the columns at the sides of the monitor. The monitor had changed from numbers into what seemed to be a first person sight of a blue room.

"Great, any first impressions?" Cissnei asked.

"The guy that made this is at least one hundred years more advanced than us." Shelke replied stoically.

"How can you tell?" Rufus asked as he looked at the monitor.

"Well, when you SND you normally see the net for what it truly is a stream of data. But if you look at this, this is almost like a normal room, my guess is Kluya either could SND, or had all the theory about it." This caused everyone to turn to Fusoya.

"I really don't know, Kluya kept to himself about this, said it was too dangerous in the wrong hands." He replied weakly. "I'm sorry I can't be of help."

"Don't worry about it, whether is a bad or a good thing, every secret in this thing is getting revealed." Shelke assured. "Oh and Cissnei, you can turn on the third person view if you want."

"Right." After pressing the key the screen changed so they could see Shelke just like she was in the real world, straight the middle of the blue room.

"Well, let's get to it." Shelke said as she approached the only "door" in the room. As she crossed the gap on the wall she found herself in a circular room full of doors, each with one plate on top of them, probably designing what that specific door led too. "Unbelievable! I doubt we'll get this far in one hundred years." Shelke exclaimed as she approached the center of the room. Looking around the noticed that all doors except the one she got in and another one were closed. The one she got in had "Entry Lobby" written on the plate, while the other door had "Security bridge".

"This isn't going to be easy." Vincent commented.

"Watch and learn." Shelke joked, entering the room. The new room was all but welcoming. In the middle of it was a simple computer system. The wall, however, were filled with what seemed to be laser canons, still inactive.

"This is bad, if Shelke gets "killed" there, the shock might actually kill her!" Cissnei exclaimed.

"Don't worry about it, if we see we can't do anything about it I'll just finish the dive… Now let's see if it's rigged." Shelke said, throwing her light saber into the middle of the room, causing no reaction. "The lasers are probably there to punish those who try and hack the computer… no use thinking about it." Shelke divagated before deciding to go forward. Reaching the computer she tried to touch she noticed it was protected by a force field. The screen however lit up.

"Greetings user. Please say the password." The electronic voice said.

"Uh oh…" Shelke cried instinctively.

"Shelke, get back, it's not worth it!" Tifa shouted.

"Let me just try one thing. I am a new user and I have forgotten the password, may I have another way to prove my permission?" She asked the machine.

"Understood. Answer the following question correctly: What is the…"

Knowing exactly what the machine was going to ask Fusoya quickly shouted before the question was over."Answer immediately!"

"Meaning of life?" The machine finished.

Normally Shelke would be dumbfounded by such a question but since she had to answer fast she spouted general answer possible. "To reach happiness." The machine paused for a few seconds after hearing the answer. Shelke could feel the sweat washing down her face as the computer tinkered until it finally responded.

"Correct, unlocking all functions now, wait a few minutes."

Everyone sighed in relief except Rufus who turned to Fusoya.

"It was a trick question wasn't it?" The president asked.

"True. When Kluya asked me the same thing I flinched, trying to find an answer. He immediately told me I was wrong and said the following: The meaning of one's life is for that person to decide, if you answer it without a doubt it is because it is right for you." The elder replied.

"So the trick was to not show hesitation… and I guess those lasers were only there for the atmosphere." Rufus conjectured.

"I'd say so, Kluya was never one to kill people, those lasers would just make the person hesitate, making him fail the question and that person probably would never be able to get in." Fusoya finished.

"Ingenious, I would like to have met him."

"We all would, at least once more."

"System unlocked, if this is your first time here would like a guide to escort you?" The machine asked.

"I guess that would be nice." Shelke replied. _"Guide?"_

"Very well." The computer said before dematerializing into countless numbers that reformed themselves into a humanoid shape. The humanoid stood at about six feet and was composed by a mostly light blue body with occasional electric blue stripes. Its skin was also light blue, albeit even lighter than the body and its head had some sort of blue helmet where the hair would be. And then… it spoke.

"Greetings Mr...!" it started excitedly before coming to an halt. "Oh pardon me, I was expecting my user Kluya, maybe I should check de database." The being said awkwardly, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me…." Zack blurted after a few moments of silence.

"My brother created what?" Fusoya asked in disbelief.

"Shelke. Info, now!" Rufus demanded at the equally shocked Shelke.

"Oh silly of me, I should have introduced myself, my name is Tron, I'm the artificial life program that my user Kluya created to facilitate the navigation inside this network. And you are Shelke, a new user from what I read, now, can I ask you who are your friends? I can recognize Fusoya from the database, but the others are entirely new to me." It said, turning to face the screen.

"Caught, huh?" Zack mumbled.

"Introductions later…. We need info first, we have others things to do than just standing here and being polite towards a computer." Crono interrupted abruptly.

"Crono!" Terra reprehended.

"Don't worry, I understand your position, I'll leave the pleasantries for later, what would you have me do?" Tron replied.

"Can you tell us what you know about this?" Terra asked, pulling her crystal from her bag.

"What do we have here? A crystal? I can honestly say that my data has no information on that particular one so I must ask where you found it."

"It just… appeared one day, and no matter where I left it, it found its way to me."

"Strange… I have no memory of a crystal attaching itself to a person, but the only thing I can do is check the database about it. But first… do you know if there are more of those crystals?" Tron asked.

"At least nine more." Crono replied suddenly, pulling the reports that Kuja stole from his bag. "I haven't read this in detail but I've read enough to know that ten crystals were formed."

"Okay then, follow me Shelke." Tron said, leaving the room.

* * *

><p>As Shelke followed him to the outside she saw him opening one of the previously closed doors in the main room and signaling her to come inside. As she entered the room she saw that the room itself was minuscule, albeit harboring a giant monitor and a keyboard.<p>

"A computer within a computer." Zack remarked as he fought a mental battle of his own. _"Must… Resist…__Obvious movie j__oke…"_

"Do you have a scanner on the outside?" Tron asked.

"Yes, right there." Cissnei replied, pointing to the top left corner of the room.

"Put the crystal there please." Tron asked, prompting Terra to put her oval black jewel into the machine. "Right…. This one is certainly different from the ones that the Moon has, but I still think I can make something out of this, do you have something to improve the distance that my waves can travel?"

"I can authorize the use of satellites, but can you explain me what do you pretend to do?" Rufus asked.

"I'm modifying the crystal locator from the moon to work as a radar, but I need a little boost so that I can cover a considerable distance."

"Fair enough, if you try and access the satellites, the code is 876412."

"Okay…. One second… got it! Transmitting signal… now!" Tron exclaimed, activating the device.

Zack's heart skipped a bit, he was sure to be caught now. Normally this wasn't something that he would be worried at being caught, but if that person was so insistent about it, there had to be a reason. At the moment that the computer pinged and Zack closed he's eyes in anticipation. Surprisingly, he dodged the bullet.

"Found one! 97 Degrees south-southeast, two hundred miles and forty seven away." Tron said cheerfully.

"_I can do neat stuff can't I__?__"_ The voice that echoed in Zack's head asked.

"_Show off…"_ Zack replied, hammering his pocket.

"_Meanie!"_

"A crystal… so close by?" Terra asked surprised.

Upon hearing the coordinates Rufus reached for his pocket and called the department he had dedicated to mapping the entire new region.

"Get me a photograph of the area that is 97 degrees south-southeast and two hundred and forty seven miles from here and send it to the SND room." He demanded, hanging up. Immediately after the telephone rang again. "Yes?" Rufus barked. "What? Dispatch SOLDIER! I'll send back up." He commanded, ending the call."Manikins are attacking Edge."

The statement left the room in silence.

"How many?" Tifa asked weakly.

"Too many to count, Midgar can be next."

"But we can't lose this opportunity, someone has to go get the crystal!" Crono urged.

"We'll send four, five at most there, there doesn't seem to be any opposition there, and we need as much defense as we can muster right now."

"Terra, you have to go." Aya stated matter-of-factly. "There is a chance that the crystals resonate to each other."

"But the children…" Terra tried to reply before getting cut off.

"Let the king…and the rest handle it." Edgar reassured.

"Can you take me with you? I can use the radar even without a satellite, the range shouldn't be a problem there." Tron asked.

"Fine, I'll take you." Shelke said, canceling the dive and returning to her body.

"If she goes… I go." Vincent said.

"I can arrange a "transportation". Rydia said.

"If…" Edge began.

"Yeah yeah, we get it Edge." Rydia interrupted. "And I guess I can't stop you too Cuore."

"Fine, the group is set. The rest can…"

"No way…." Zack gasped, looking at the photo that had just arrived. "Banora underground… I'm coming!"

"But Zack…" Rufus started.

"I know that place like the palm of my hand, I NEED to go!" Zack shouted, making his statement clear.

"I guess that's acceptable." Rufus replied in defeat.

"You're going too." Crono stated as he turned to Shin.

"Why?" He asked. Not that he wasn't going to volunteer, but Crono would never demand something like that without a reason.

"It might be your crystal."

"What? How do I know I even HAVE one?"

"We missed something…" Crono began. "You can use the Spellblade like you already mastered it. That, your hair color, your height, your personality, your superior battle capabilities that only a hero could have and these reports lead all to one person. There's no doubt in my mind that you are… Bartz Klauser." Crono stated firmly, handing a pile of papers to "Shin". "If you don't believe me, read them, they are a perfect match. Your past is also there, congratulations Bartz."

And then there was silence. Bartz was too busy digesting is newfound identity and the others were just shocked at how easily Crono solved that riddle that was Shin.

"Th… Thank you Crono…" Was all that Bartz could muster.

"Don't thank me, thank whoever wrote those reports."

"Not to be a party popper, but our homes are about to be destroyed, can we step it up a bit?" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Right… See you later." Terra said, having goodbye to the group that was going into the elevator. "Let's go Sh… I mean Bartz."

"Y-Yeah." He replied as they entered the other elevator, sending them to the roof.

* * *

><p>The manikins slowly crept up into the ruined church. Seeing as there was only one person inside they prepared an assault.<p>

"Dying won't solve anything…" Cloud mumbled, taking up his giant sword. "I guess I'll play hero for a while longer!" He shouted, lunging towards the manikins with newfound determination.

* * *

><p>"I can feel it… The one I have waited so long to fight again is coming." A large, plump figure exclaimed within the Rift. "Today is the day that I will reach one of my life's goals! Our Epic Clash is at hand! One that will live on in legends! Today the world will know about GILGAMESH! Come Bartz, let us fight like men!"<p>

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

"_I'm looking for a man named Bartz, have you seen him?"_

"_I was never dead."_

"_Who are you?"_


	23. Gilgamesh Enters!

**Author's Note:** Okay, it took a while longer than expected, but here it is! Enjoy.

* * *

><p><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

****Gilgamesh Enters!****

* * *

><p>"Talk!" The cloaked figure boomed, slamming his fist on the side of a bound Kuja's face.<p>

"This is quite a show!" Kefka exclaimed, reveling in the suffering of his former companion.

"While this is quite entertaining, do we have to do this in my laboratory? This is hardly the place for an interrogation." Lezard complained. For him, the slightest interference in his investigation was already too much.

For the man, however, Lezard's words never reached his mind, as he kept wailing at the defenseless Genome.

"What makes you think I'll ever talk to someone that addresses me in such crude manners?" Kuja spat as he took a breather from the assault.

"I am giving you a chance Kuja… you know I can get the answer I want easily, but having you for an ally would serve my purposes much better. So let's try this one more time! Where is it?" The man asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Kuja replied with a grim smile behind his bruised look. "Be more specific."

"Just rip it out of him!" Kefka exclaimed joyfully.

"I would have preferred to have him as an ally, not as a vegetable." The man replied.

"Oh that's where you're wrong, he doesn't HAVE to become a vegetable if we take a more "subtle" approach, isn't that right Lezy?"

"No amount of those toy crowns will break me, I'm afraid I've grown used to them in the last couple of days." Kuja interrupted.

"Oh, what I have in store for you makes that useless technology look like paradise… I must say, I've been dying to try this since I devised this method, but guinea pigs don't come easily in the Rift…. You should be honored, you'll be the first of many." Lezard explained as he opened the same door that he had Kefka through when they retrieved his homunculus's memory. "Now, why don't you welcome our little friend?"

* * *

><p>After taking the elevator to the top of the Shinra building, the group had trusted Rydia to provide the transportation they needed to reach Banora, however….<p>

"Surely you jest." Bahamut told Rydia, a disapproving look staining His regal expression.

"My lord… have you seen our surroundings, we have no choice…" Rydia replied, trying to get on the good side of the Dragon King.

"Stubborn lizard…." Edge mumbled before turning to Shin, who was furiously reading through the papers Crono had given him. "What's the problem "Bartz"?"Edge asked, curious why the man wasn't happy after receiving the answer he craved so much.

"I'm not this guy!" Bartz yelled, throwing pages to the ground, startling the group with his outburst.

"Take a breather and tell us what you mean." Zack told Bartz calmly.

"I mean, I can "see" me doing these things, I would have made the same decisions, I can honestly say I am REALLY like this guy! But at the same time… I can't remember any of this… at all, and I'm not THIS carefree."

"You're over thinking this… A LOT!" Zack began. "When you first woke up with the kids, weren't you carefree? Did you remember any of this? No, if what the kids told is correct. If you continue to burden yourself that much you'll change, and not for the best." Zack continued, putting his hand on Bartz's head and ruffling his chocolate hair. "Go with the flow, I'm sure it'll come back to ya!"

"And if it doesn't… you still have us!" Terra finished. "If you can't go back to being "Bartz" you can always count on the friends that "Shin" made!"

"Thanks guys…" Bartz replied after a moment of silence. "I guess it's back to goofy me, huh?"

"That-a-boy, now what about you share some of your life with us?" Zack asked, grabbing a some of the fallen pages. "Let's see who are your friends…" Zack's eyes boggled as he read through the text. "You… travelled alone with THREE girls… and the three of them we're princesses? I thought I was the master… but I am but the pupil…. Teach me oh great one!"

The discovery reminded Bartz of something he had not thought yet, was he in a relation?

"Zack, did I have a… you know…" He asked.

"It's a definite…" Zack began, feeling the focus of the eyes of the small crowd that had joined in to listen. "Maybe!" He finished, crushing everyone's expectations. "You DO seem to get along with this "Lenna" girl, but that's it, no personal goodies on this piece of crap."

"Well, that bites…" Bartz commented. What would he say if he found her again. _"Hey Lenna, It's me, Bartz! Just a little question, are we dating?"_

"Don't worry Bartz! If you can travel with three girls, I'm sure you "get around"." Zack said, winking.

"And this is book is right about one thing at least, you're good with chocobos." Terra remarked.

"What? Have you seen what your bird does to me?" Bartz replied, suddenly feeling depressed after remembering all the times he was humiliated by it.

"You're the only one Stardust gives the light of day besides me, Celes and the orphans. Have you ever seen her annoy Edgar? She likes you… in her way."

"Yeah sure…"Bartz replied before hearing flapping wings. "For the love of…!" He began before being trampled by the bird in question. Ridding it was the familiar bratty ninja.

"Special delivery for Zack Fair!" She announced, detaching a bag from the Chocobo's side. "Now let's see: Materia…" She began, throwing a dozen of small spheres in Zack's direction. "A telephone…" She continued, throwing the machine while Zack was still trying to grab all of the materia. "And a new uniform!" She finished, throwing the black garments, blocking Zack's vision and causing him to drop everything. "Oh and that sword from the ship." Yuffie said, picking up Ragnarock and preparing to throw it.

"I'll take that." Terra interrupted, grabbing the sword and making it disappear.

"Yeah, I don't need it anymore, so it's okay." Zack said.

"Zack, what's all this about?" Shelke asked, glaring at him.

"I… forgot my materia at the ship. The rest are things I asked Yuffie to bring."

"I can see why you would ask Yuffie the materia and such, but why the uniform?"

"Hello! Can you get this bird off me?" Bartz exclaimed.

"The uniform is for him." Zack said as he slowly pulled Shin from bellow the distracted chocobo.

"What? Why?" Bartz asked.

"Look at your clothes, man. They're rags."

Zack was right. His clothes were not new to begin with and with all that had happened, it was surprising that he had only four cuts in his shirt, sleeves and trousers.

"Get on the elevator and change." Zack told Bartz, who complied immediately. Meanwhile, Bahamut finally broke to Rydia's demands.

"Let me get my point across. I will only do this once!" Bahamut sneered, He wasn't happy with the direction the discussion had taken.

"Guys, we have our ride!" Rydia chirped as she skimped away from the King, who was about to transform. The usual flash of light enveloped the area and the silver King of the Skies stood on top of the building, his silvery scales reflecting beams of light into the city bellow.

"You can mount." Bahamut announced in His booming voice. Hearing that, everyone started climbing onto to the dragon one by one until He realized that there was simply not enough space. "Enough. Terra, can you and your friend take the bird?" He asked the girl.

"Sure thing." Terra replied, climbing onto Stardust. "Bartz, hurry up!"

"Done." Bartz said as the doors to the elevator opened, revealing the young man in the black SOLDIER 1st class uniform.

"Well, well, well, I can honestly say you could pass as a 1st class." Zack commented. "Maybe I should have asked for a 2nd class uniform... to keep your ego in check."

"I think your mistaking me for somebody else." Bartz replied playfully before turning to the bird and taking a deep breath. _"Maybe this won't be so bad this time."_He reassured himself as he climbed into his back. He completely lost all hope as he saw the look Bahamut and Stardust were exchanging, the Dragon King had not forgotten losing in speed to the bird.

"On your mark…" Bahamut began.

"Wark wark…" Stardust replied, probably meaning "Get set."

"One piece of advice… grab onto something." Zack told the people that hadn't flown on the dragon before.

"GO-AHHHHHHHHHH!" Yuffie exclaimed, stopping abruptly as both creatures broke the sound barrier.

* * *

><p>"My Bartz sense is tingling! This must be where he is." Gilgamesh exclaimed in the midst of the Rift. "Mark my words, when Gilgamesh returns to the Rift, it will be as the world's strongest swordsman! Gilgamesh, AWAY!" The man shouted, jumping out of a wormhole into the unknown.<p>

As he crossed dimensions he found himself falling face-first into the rocky ground of a cave. Looking around he discovered he had landed on cave filled with water and strange green lights erupting from the ground with the occasional crystal on the walls, ceiling and floor.

"And the hunt begins!" Gilgamesh exclaimed, departing to the unknown.

* * *

><p>Two minutes. Two minutes was all it took for the radar too start beeping, such was the speed that the bird and the dragon had reached.<p>

"We're almost there, slow down!" Shelke pleaded to no avail.

"The town is the finish mark." Zack said, trying to give a reason for the two to stop, seeing as the town was mile or two away. The last spurt that the two flyers gave almost knocked everyone from their backs, the first however, to pass above the first dumbapple tree was… the chocobo.

"I guess that's that…" Edge commented as he regained his voice.

"I'm going to throw up…" Yuffie said, covering her mouth.

"The undergrounds entrance… is... to the north..."Zack blurted as he tried to shake of the desire to vomit.

Bahamut remained silent the rest of the flight, in contrast with Stardust who was electric after the win, not that could be said by one of her passengers, but it was something Stardust was used to, and liked, doing.

"There!" Zack exclaimed, pointing at the giant hole in the distance. "We can get in from there."

"The crystal should be in here alright…" Tron said from inside the computer. "Just take me in, I'll do my best to pinpoint it."

"I hate to ruin your little dream, but it's time for you to wake up and face reality." A femine voice echoed, followed by a giant tremor.

"It couldn't be easy, now could it?" Zack lamented.

Suddenly, from beneath the ground giant beams of green light erupted, heading towards Bahamut.

"Grab on to my scales." Bahamut commanded, dodging the tendrils of green light with relative ease, much to His surprise. "They weren't aiming for us… Terra, Bartz!" He exclaimed, however it was too late. The tendrils that had missed them were changing directions, flanking Stardust as other tendrils erupted from bellow her.

"Stardust, get out of here!" Terra shouted, even if she knew there was no way out.

"No… you get out!" Bartz shouted as he grabbed Terra by the shoulders, throwing her through a small gap in the barrage.

"Bartz! Don't be a hero!" Zack shouted as he saw his friend being trapped by the pillars of light.

"Don't worry, I won't go down easily." Bartz told the chocobo, standing up on his back and unsheathing the Lightbringer. "Spellblade… Reflect!" He chanted, summoning a green, reflecting barrier around his sword. "I hope you're ready for a race…" As he said that, Bartz pulled his arm back and threw the sword downward with all his strength. "Follow it!" He shouted.

Taking heed the chocobo plummeted downwards as the sword opened a gap in the fortress of light. However, as she managed to get out of the green sphere, another green ray erupted from the ground, wounding the bird and its rider on their left side and causing them to fall into one of the holes created by the eruptions. Meanwhile, the green rays collided with each other, the ensuing explosion causing the ground to collapse due to its lack of foundation, much to the horror of the rest of the group.

* * *

><p>The dust cleared, revealing a mountain of rubble where the blast had gone off.<p>

"Dear God…" Rydia managed to say.

"What about Terra?" Shelke asked, worried.

"Don't worry, she can fly… she should be fine?" Zack said, trying to keep everyone from panicking. The truth was, after that blast, he was surprised they were unaffected, it was hard to believe someone so close to the blast could have survived.

"Bahamut, land, we're not doing anything up here." Edge said.

The dragon nodded and began to descend. As they lost altitude they noticed a small, blue figure I the distance, frenetically lifting rocks and throwing them into the distance.

"At least she seems to be fine." Vincent commented as they landed near her.

Under a closer inspection they noticed that Terra was all but fine. Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she desperately excavated through the giant mountain.

"Terra, what you're doing doesn't make sense…" Shelke began, trying to have Terra take a more logical approach. "Nobody could have…"

"They're alive!" Terra screamed, suddenly falling to her knees. "And I can't do a thing to help them!"

"Terra, there is no way they survived all that." Vincent stated coldly. "I'm sorry but you need to hear the truth."

"I can feel people… I know they are in there, but they'll die if we don't get them out! I won't let another person die for me!" Terra replied, standing up and preparing to start digging again before being stopped by Zack.

"Wait a sec princess. If they are alive, it's very possible that they fell onto the cave system or the old Shinra lab down bellow, and since they are alive, there can't have been a major rockslide because that would have squashed them. So, instead of digging out way in, why don't we just go where we were going in the first place? That cavern over there." Zack explained, pointing at a cavern in the distance. "Now, keep your chin up, okay?"

"Okay…."

"Fine, let's go!"

* * *

><p>Water drops formed and fell from the broken tubes of the abandoned facility, a giant hole carved through the ceiling. One of these drops happened to find its way to Bartz's nose, awakening the young man from his sleep.<p>

"I'm alive? Lucky is an understatement…" He said before starting to check his body. Apart from minor bruises, a completely destroyed shirt leaving his left side uncovered and shallow cuts he was in a surprisingly healthy state, the shot seemed to have only glazed him. "Wait a minute… Stardust?" He called as he tried to get up, immediately falling back down. _"A little __sourer than I thought."_He thought before hearing a weak wark. Turning his head he saw that his companion didn't have the same luck. The chocobo's leg was twisted in a way it should never be twisted and its left wing had gotten a very serious burn.

Ignoring his own state and rushing to the chocobo Shin noticed that they were at least ten meters away from where they should have fallen, a mountain of rubble marking where the giant hole was. "You dragged us from beneath the ruble in that state? Good girl…" He told the bird, gently caressing her head. "Now let's see what we can do about your leg…" He said, putting her leg back in a normal position while trying the pacify the weak warks of pain. "Almost there… Cura!" He chanted, he hadn't had time to learn a lot about magic so it was the best he could do at the moment. As the green light faded the chocobo's leg seemed a lot better, it still some bruises, but Stardust was able to move it again.

Turning to the wing he cast the same spell but with a slightly worse outcome. After the green light faded Bartz tried to get a feel of the wing, only to be responded with a painful wark. "Still broken… should have brought an ether…" Bartz lamented.

As if to cheer him up, Stardust made an effort to stand up, showing that she could walk and for the first time, snuggling against the young man.

"I get it… let's get outta here, Mama will fix you up!" Bartz exclaimed.

Warking in happiness the chocobo ran up to the rubble and from it plucked the Lightbringer, throwing it to Bartz. After that, it ran up to him, picking him up by the neck and putting him on its back.

"You sure you can let me ride?" He asked. The chocobo nodded enthusiastically. "Fine, let's move!" Bartz exclaimed as they ran through the hallway.

* * *

><p>"Terra, slow down!" Zack shouted. "We can't all fly!"<p>

"Then I'll go ahead!" Terra replied as she flew through the green crystals.

"You don't know anything about the underground! Calm down!" Zack shouted, trying not to lose his patience. It had been like this for a good ten minutes now. Ever since they entered the cave they had to basically keep Terra on a leash.

"Calm down? How can I calm down?"

"You can start by not yelling all the time! How do you know this is the right direction?"

"Hey you two, knock it off okay?" Shelke exclaimed. "I'll try to talk to Tron about the crystal." She said, opening the laptop.

"I'm not lookingfor the crystal! I'm going to get them to safety!" Terra shouted.

"Ever thought about the possibility of them being near each other?" Vincent spat. "From what I see, you don't know where to go either."

"_I see you could use a little help Sunshine…"_ The voice in Terra's head echoed.

"_Beat it! I'm no mood to play right now!"_

"_Harsh! You're so worried about those two… I feel jealous."_ The voice said, trying to provoke her, to no avail.

"The crystal should be to the left." Tron said, watching the radar point straight left. "Wait a second… is it moving?" He exclaimed as he saw the arrow shift directions slightly.

"Maybe Bartz got it!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Or maybe someone else…" Vincent replied.

"Oh boo hoo! Stop being emo Vincie!" Yuffie cried back childishly.

After walking left for a bit Edge felt something in the air, something only he and Yuffie could feel. Stopping in his tracks Edge assumed a fighting position, his face assuming a disgusted expression.

"Can you smell it?" He asked Yuffie, who nodded back in an equally disgusted mood. "The rotten smell of the ninja's worst enemy… the pirate!" He exclaimed, throwing a hail of shuriken to a nearby ledge that, forcing three strangers to retreat.

"Don't you move!" Yuffie exclaimed as she appeared on top of the strangers, falling on top of the blonde haired man. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't gut right now, mister pirate!" Yuffie menaced.

"Leave my sister alone!" A blonde woman exclaimed, grabbing Yuffie from behind.

"Sister?"

"Yes, what about it?" The woman that Yuffie had restrained asked. Taking a closer look at her face Yuffie could notice some feminine traits, but it was hard to tell in the gold-embroidered pirate jacket she was wearing.

"Prepare yourselves, pira…. Whoa!" Edge exclaimed as he landed on the ledge. "I must apologize by my fellow ninja's behavior, I had no idea there were two ladies here." He said in a very polite manner. It was the first time that Edge sounded like a King in a long time.

"Edge… he's a she…." Yuffie informed, pointing at the woman in the black jacket.

"Wait, what?"

"This is getting ridiculous… Let's go girls." She said, turning her back on the ninja duo.

"Not so fast! I want you to explain why you were spying on us." Edge demanded, blocking the tunnel with a giant shuriken.

"We could use some help Faris…" The young woman in the white dress said.

"Yeah, we need all the help we can get to find that airhead!" The young girl exclaimed.

"Fine!" Faris spat. "But if they know nothing we're leaving!"

"Thank you!" The woman in the white dress told her sister. "Now, let's go to your companions, we have introductions to do."

* * *

><p>"Interesting!" Gilgamesh exclaimed as he watched from a distance. "If my memory doesn't fail me, those three are Bartz's companions… If I follow them, I'll finally find my destined rival! What a glorious day this is!"<p>

* * *

><p>Terra observed what could pass like her twin sister. The young woman had Terra's exact height, her clothes bore a striking resemblance to her previous ones, just white instead of red, and her hair was just like Terra's, the only difference is that she had made it into a bun while Terra had her trademark pony tail and bow.<p>

"Sorry my idiot friend tried to kill you back there!" Rydia apologized in the calmest tone she could muster, trying to seem civilized in front of the three girls.

"It's all in the past, don't worry." The young woman replied.

"Yeah, I would have done the same…" Faris said stoically.

"Faris!"

"It's the truth… I hate their kind."

"Please excuse my sister…. Oh, where are my maners? I'm Lenna, she's my sister Faris and she's Krile. A pleasure to meet you all."

"Hey! Nice to meetcha!" Krile exclaimed.

"_Lenna? I remember that name…." _Terra thought before getting a little extra boost to her memory.

"I'm looking for a man named Bartz, have you seen him?" Lenna asked.

"Now I remember, you're his friends!" Zack exclaimed from the blue.

"How do you know?" Faris asked cynically.

"He… huh…. Told us… Yeah!" Zack mumbled, trying to sound the least suspicious he could.

"Great! So you know where he is?" Lenna asked excitedly.

"_Good thing one's gullible."_

"It's a long story… but to sum it up, he fell through a hole, and a rockslide covered that hole. We're trying to find him." Zack quickly explained, realizing that he didn't want to make Terra fly away again he cut the explanation to a minimum.

"Oh my goodness! Is he even alive?"

"For now… yes." Terra said.

"Then we have to hurry!" Krile exclaimed.

"Where too?" Vincent replied stoically.

"What about doing what we were doing? Just go where the crystal is, maybe he's there, if he's not, we'll just search the entire cave and the laboratory." Zack suggested.

"Guess it's all we can do…" Terra sighed as they started walking in the direction that the radar was pointing.

* * *

><p>Back at the laboratory, Bartz and Stardust were lost, very lost. They had arrived at a prison-like compound covered by thick mist. With no map or anything to go by, they had to resort to walking around aimlessly, which wasn't working very well.<p>

"Didn't we pass through this room three times already?" Bartz asked as he noticed they had gone pass the cage-like room three times already. "But, now that I think about it, this is creepy, why would a cage be here?" He asked, his question being replied to by a deafening roar that shook the floor they were in. "Me and my big mouth!"

* * *

><p>"This is going nowhere! How can they go so slowly?" Gilgamesh shouted, frustrated. He was hanging on top of the group, hugging a stalectite. "Wait a minute… they have been looking at that gizmo for a long time now… is that a map? Maybe I can find Bartz with it! It is decided that map will belong to…" He suddenly felt a light poke on his left shoulder, cutting off his speech. Turning back he saw the young esper-girl floating with an inquisitory look on her face. Stunned by it, Gilgamesh tried to fling his arms at her, resulting in a ridiculous fall into the hard floor of the cavern.<p>

"Huh… How did you find me?" Gilgamesh asked, quickly getting up and trying to sound menacing.

"I'm sorry sir, but I couldn't ignore your incessant blabber any longer." Terra replied, landing on , tilting her head to the right as she started to remember the red buffoon."Wait… at the coliseum…"

"Hey Rydia, remember that guy on the moon?" Edge asked.

"Not you again…" Faris lamented, covering her face with her palm.

"Gilgamesh!" Terra, Rydia and Lenna exclaimed in unison.

"Now now ladies, one at a time please, there's enough Gilgamesh to go around!" Gilgamesh stated, only to be completely ignored.

"How do you know Gilgamesh?" Lenna asked.

"I fought him at Dragon's Neck coliseum after betting Excalipoor…." Terra replied. "And what about you Rydia."

"I found him inside a crystal on the true moon… but maybe that was a replica. He did mention Bartz, now that I think of it." Rydia remarked. "That explains my encounter, but what about yours?"

"Maybe it's like that Cid thing." Zack suggested.

"That's where you are wrong boy! I wouldn't forget such a cute little face like hers!" Gilgamesh said in an attempt to flatter Terra. "Neither could I forget my eternal rival's companions. The Universe can only hold ONE Gilgamesh!"

"But… how? You died right in front of us!" Krile exclaimed.

"That's where you are wrong sweetie, I was never dead!" Gilgamesh replied, maintaining his cocky attitude.

"Elaborate." Vincent spat, his curiosity picked.

"As you wish. It all began when I was in a trance between life and death. Such had been the dan…" Gilgamesh started before feeling a sword touch his neck.

"Short version, now!" Faris demanded.

"Okay okay, geez! What I remember happening was this: After the explosion I found myself drifting in the Rift. Not knowing what to do I simply did what I do best, wandering. Shortly after I saw an opening in the Rift, going through it I found myself in a completely new world and through the will of destiny I allied myself with a quiet kid. After I defeated the witch he hunted for him I was pulled back into the Rift. Now, being the genius that I am, I quickly managed to adapt to my new home. I traveled to many worlds, making comrades and enemies, all to better myself for one moment. My rematch!" He started to feel the blade prodding against his neck.

"Faster!" Faris shouted.

"Almost there! As I was saying, I found a really strange world in my travels. I saw a lot of people I had encountered, but they did not remember me, all they could do is blabber about some nonsense's as Chaos and Cosmos." Gilgamesh explained, catching everyone's attention. "And yes baby, I saw you!" He added, winking at Terra.

"Me? How?" Terra asked.

"Maybe it's about that thing that Kuja told us about, Dissidia was it?" Zack commented.

"Maybe, we'll have to ask him more about this some time." Terra replied. They were already wasting time as it was.

"Finally, my wishes came true! I found Bartz and we clashed in a battle that was to be engraved for the ages. Unfortunately, the concentrated awesomeness was too much for that world, and I was soon cast into the Rift again. But I vowed that I would finish my duel, even if it were the last thing I'd do!" Gilgamesh shouted, stopping to take his breath afterwards. "I finally saw an opening in the Rift and I felt it… Bartz was in that hole! And the rest, is history."

"Normally I wouldn't buy your story, but I've seen my fair share of "impossible" things recently, so for now I'll bite." Faris said, sheathing her sword. "That aside, why were you following us?"

"While it normally is beyond me to use cheap tricks, I needed help finding Bartz, and since you ARE his friends, I supposed you knew how to find him." He answered.

"Well, you got that wrong…" Terra lamented.

"Don't worry sugar, I'm sure we'll find him." Gilgamesh comforted, however, he felt the cold blade brush against his neck again.

""We'll"? Why would we keep YOU around?" Faris spat.

"Faris, stop!" Lenna exclaimed. "He was willing to give his life for us!"

Remembering their fateful encounter with Necrophobe at the Rift and how Gilgamesh seemed to be truly saddened by Galuf's death, Faris finally let up.

"No cheap tricks, got it?"

"Yes mam!" Gilgamesh exclaimed.

"Wait… when did we decide to let him come?" Shelke asked.

"Just go with the flow…" Rydia told her, already used to these kinds of "recruitments".

* * *

><p>"Just what is a thing like this doing here?" Bartz shouted as he grabbed on to Stardust, who was running away at full speed from the golden Behemoth King. It's full speed, however, was far below its usual. After spending so much energy on the race and because of the injuries suffered from the fall, Stardust was quickly losing terrain to the monster, who was already grasping its tail feathers. Noticing this Bartz jumped from the bird into the head of the beast, confusing it and causing it to try and shake him off.<p>

"Not that easy!" Bartz exclaimed, pulling out the Lightbringer and thrusting it into the behemoths skull. However, much to his distress, the only sound he heard was a loud "clank" as the sword bounced from the monsters skin. "What's this guy made off?"

Provoked by this assault, the behemoth made a lightning fast, 360 degrees spin, that threw Bartz of his back and into a nearby wall.

"Okay… different approach. Spellblade:Blizzara!" He chanted, summoning a white mist into his blade. Lunging against the beast, he prepared for the obvious swipe that was coming as he was fighting an irrational animal. Irrational doesn't mean stupid however, as when Bartz dodged the swipe by jumping the behemoth made another spin, making his tail collide with Bartz's sternum, fracturing few of his bones and sending him flying back to the wall, breaking it and causing the rubble to cover Bartz completely.

Eager to finish of his prey, the behemoth approached the pile of boulders and started to remove them.

"_Okay… just a bit more…"_

As the behemoth lifted the rock that covered Bartz, the Lightbringer flew into its throat, detonating its Holy charge, completely obliterating it in a flash of blinding light.

"Not so though now, are ya? Who's next?" Bartz taunted, only to wish he never did. Not one, not two, but three piercing howls echoed through the Howling Fang as Bartz saw Stardust running away from three of the same kind of behemoth.

"Get over here!" A man's voice shouted from the other side of the hole in the wall. The hole was emitting large amounts of pure white light, so Bartz had no choice but to trust the unknown, jump on Stardust, and cross the hole. The behemoth's stopped at the sight of the light, slowly returning to their lair.

* * *

><p>Walking into the Portal of Severance, the party was soon alerted by Tron's radar that something was close.<p>

"If my radar is correct, it should right across that door." Tron remarked.

Zack looked at the door he had opened all those years ago, now closed, reminiscing about the past for a bit. Looking at the pedestal he noticed that three materia were missing. _"How could they have disappeared?"_ He thought to himself.

"How do we open it?" Terra asked.

"We barge in!" Gilgamesh exclaimed, ramming into the door, causing little to no damage. "Or not…"

"We have to find the materia for the pedestal, the door will open then." Zack explained, before hearing a far too familiar voice.

"Well, well, well. You sure have a knack for putting your nose where it doesn't belong… puppy." A man's voice echoed.

"It can't be!" Zack exclaimed, turning back to the entrance and seeing a man in a red cloak accompanied by another man and a woman.

"Even if the morrow is barren of promises. Nothing shall forestall… my return!"

* * *

><p>After traversing the white light, Bartz found himself near a giant tree-like statue of a woman, holding a red orb. Near it was a smaller statue, one that had a young man sitting on top of it and a yellow chocobo near it.<p>

"So you made it out okay! Good!" The man exclaimed, jumping from the top of the statue into the chocobo. He was wearing a blue tunic, white pants and green boots. His hair was spiked backwards and was a lighter shade of brown than Bartz's. Even though Bartz was a bit bulkier than him, they were still very similar, they could pass as brothers.

"Thanks for the save, huh…" Bartz hesitated, realizing that he didn't know the strangers name.

"Oh right…" The man said, extending his hand for a greeting. "Name's Bartz! Bartz Klauser! This is Boko! And you are?"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Oh, such a pleasure that you would join us…"_

_"Ignorance is a bliss."_

_"I…Said… Out of my way!"_


	24. Through the Eyes of a Warrior: Part 1

******Author's note****:** In case you didn't notice before, yes this is an important chapter. As such, any review is appreciated. That said, sit down and enjoy the ride.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

****Through the Eyes of a Warrior: Part 1****

* * *

><p>"Genesis! How…?" Zack asked, baffled at sight of his old "friend". Genesis hadn't aged one bit, he was even better than before. Having gotten rid of the corruption, his hair had returned to its original chocolate color and his clothes we're no longer pale from all the decaying cells.<p>

"Do you really need to know?" Genesis replied. "You could just ask her!" He spat, pointing at Shelke.

"We… retrieved him from Banora after you left… Weiss and Nero wanted his help to get rid of the restrictors, he declined and disappeared soon after…" Shelke explained, being ashamed of her past.

"Fortunately, brother had only sealed himself in a cavern beneath Midgar, awaiting the time where he could protect the world we live in!" A man said as he stepped forward from the darkness. His silver hair was so spiky that it made Zack's seem normal, the spikes covered part of his face and neck. Surprisingly, he had no clothes on his torso, only a simple pair of white pants tied with a black, samurai-like belt. Two holsters hanged in his waist, guarding his sword-like weapons.

"Co… Commander Weiss!" Shelke exclaimed, mouth wide agape.

"What are you doing here, better yet, how are you alive?" Vincent shouted, pulling out Cerberus from his holster.

"Vincent… I know we aren't on good terms, but you have to believe me! Brother changed me, I want to save this world now!" Weiss seemed to mean it.

"Well, sorry, but you aren't exactly coming out as nice people!" Cuore exclaimed. She was a kid after all, and a very direct one at that.

"Don't worry little girl…" Genesis began, putting up a warm smile. "Our Goddess doesn't wish harm upon anybody."

"_AGAIN with the "gods"? You people are more religious than Kefka's cult!"_ Terra's esper side exclaimed, suddenly coming up on her mind.

"_Why are you here?" _ Terra asked. The esper wasn't one to be interested in conversations.

"_I can smell the blood__lust__…"_ It said eerily.

That completely caught Terra off-guard. "_What?" _She blurted, her violet eyes jolting open.

"_I don't know who, but someone, or something wants something dead. And I don't think it's one of those three." _The voice said.

Terra immediately realized what Genesis was trying to do and decided to call him out on it. "Genesis! What are you buying time for?"

Genesis smirk was lost in the blink of an eye. "Clever girl…" He blurted. "I would not call it buying time, I want to save you from what's beyond that door."

"Why? What's through this door Genesis?" Zack asked.

"A man named Bartz Klauser…. And something that doesn't belong in our world." Genesis replied with a disgusted look on his face. "You really don't want to try to go through that door Zack."

"Oh yeah? Try me!" Zack exclaimed, putting his hand on the Buster Swords hilt. "I may not have any idea of what is going on through, but I'm not stupid Genesis, if you don't tell me what you're hiding, I'll rip the materia from your hands and find myself!"

"You mean this?" Genesis responded, holding a red orb in his hand. "You're really showing improvements Zack, but are you going to fight us three against twelve? That's hardly fair."

"Right now, I could care less about being fair, that's my friend you have locked in there!"

"Really?"

* * *

><p>"What's wrong?" The man that had just introduced himself as Bartz asked as he watched "Bartz's" dumbfounded face.<p>

"You can't be Bartz… I'm Bartz…" Bartz mumbled, falling to his knees, his vision going blank as he sank into another memory.

* * *

><p>In this one he found himself near the same group he had learned the Spellblade from, the only difference is that the old man had apparently been replaced by a young, blond girl.<p>

"We sure showed him!" That girl exclaimed, giving a proud full look that almost seemed to be directed to "Bartz".

"It was too close… And I'm not thanking you for the save, knuckle head!" The woman in the pirate garb announced.

"Geez Louise, I liked you better when you were "princess Faris"…." The man that "Bartz" had just met replied.

"Why did he attack us Bartz?" The woman in the white dress asked, shattering all of Shin's hopes. Yes, Shin. He wasn't going back to being nameless, not again, not ever.

"Not sure, but he didn't seem to be evil or anything… Isn't that right?" Bartz asked, kneeling down and peering through the eye of the person that was lying there, but Shin felt like it was for him. This memory was different from the others, for the first time he felt like it was truly his.

"It is completely normal… you should feel confused." The red haired man said as Shin found himself in the same colored mosaic. "I was trying to hide this as long as I could."

"You! You knew?" Shin spat, his eyes burning with anger. That man had just been toying with him this whole time. Come to think of it, it was something Shin knew, but didn't want to accept. "Why?"

"I wasn't certain that you were mature enough to handle the information, besides, interfering with your life would be… counter-productive to what I am trying to achieve." The man replied, his cerulean eyes still unfazed.

"Oh really? Tell me, am I "mature enough" now?" Shin asked sarcastically.

"You will have to be, if it depended on me we wouldn't be having this conversation yet…" The man said stoically.

"You're not making sense!" Shin replied. That man was only showing up because he wanted too, why was he having second thoughts now?

"The problem is, someone is already going to make it all clear for you, whether I want it or not." The man said, suddenly grabbing Shin's wrist. "Don't forget your own advice… it's this that counts!" He told Shin, putting his hand on top of his heart. Shin merely nodded as he started to go back to reality, it was time to get some answers. "And Shin…." The man suddenly said as the space was about to disappear. "I'm sorry… for everything."

* * *

><p>As Shin opened his eyes he realized he had blacked out because of the vision. Quickly getting on his knees he tried to look for Bartz, he was sure that he knew something about him. But the cave was filled with green light, it was so intense that Shin had to move blindly around the cave until his eyes started to get used to the light. Just as he started to distinguish figures the first thing he saw was Bartz's figure on his knees, gasping for air.<p>

"Bartz! Are you okay?" Shin shouted as he ran towards the young man, ignoring the figure that towered above him.

"Get… away…" Bartz blurted before being blasted away by an unseen force.

"You are a true hero, but you are misguided, this soul is not worth saving." The figure said in a melodious voice, so serene it was that Shin almost forgot it had blasted Bartz away moments ago. Ignoring the voice and Bartz's advice Shin continued to run towards him, only to be thrown away by the same invisible force. "Haven't you done enough to him already, beast?" The figure asked, making a small gesture with the staff-like object in her hand, making all of the green light enter it, revealing her figure. While Shin knew he should be ignoring it, the woman floating in the middle of the room was simply mesmerizing. Clad in intricate golden armor, a white dress tying the battle plate and the shoulders together, a clear half-moon shaped crystal in her chest, wings sprouting from her armor and her pale golden hair waving at the flow of a soft breeze this woman was one of her kind. Unfortunately, her emerald eyes didn't seem as beautiful as they could be when they were stained with disgust.

Shin quickly regained his senses, it wasn't the time to admire girls that wanted him dead. "I really don't have any idea of what you are talking about. But please, enlighten me." Shin said sarcastically.

"Dogs like you deserve no explanation!" She exclaimed as her armor detached from her body, leaving her with only her tiara and a simple white dress. The armor, her shield and her staff somehow joined together to create a composite bow. As the bow started rotating a glyph appeared around Shin, sealing him inside. Almost immediately afterwards, he was bombarded by a rain of crimson arrows. He gasped as all the arrows tore through his skin, but he had felt worse. Still gasping for air and using his sword to maintain his balance, he looked up to see the real problem. The woman had created a giant magical arrow to go with her giant bow, so strong it seemed that even preparing the shot released lightning from her bow. Getting hit by that was a certain death. "For your crimes against the Planet… I sentence you to oblivion!" The woman exclaimed, releasing the arrow.

Shin saw his life, or what he remembered of it, flash before his eyes. Preparing from the inevitable he closed his eyes and murmured. "Sorry… guys." But the impact never came. After a short while Shin slowly opened his eyes, only to see a portal close right in from of him. Right after that, he noticed that the glyph was gone and by his side was a cloaked figure.

"Oh, such a pleasure that you would join us… Lufaine."

* * *

><p>"Girls, attack formation!" Lenna shouted, her clothes and her friends starting to shine, Her clothes changing into a ninja's garb, her sister's changing into a knight's armor and Krile's changing into a dragon-like armor. "We'll have to do without our Mystic Knight for now… Go!" She shouted, making the trio jump on Weiss, who ran away to buy time.<p>

"Weiss!" Vincent shouted, jumping after him with Yuffie on his tail.

Noticing that the other figure was getting away Shelke had a strange urge to follow it, she felt that she would find something she lost.

"Okay happy family, let's go!" Edge exclaimed, not receiving his usual punishment due to time restraints. Quickly grabbing on to Edge, Shelke managed to secure a ride to the stranger.

"Looks like you got the short end of the straw! Rue the day that you were forced to fight… GILGAMESH!" The red buffoon exclaimed, assuming one of his over-used Kabuki theater poses. A breeze entered the room, leaving Gilgamesh quite embarrassed at the lack of reaction.

"You are still in time to avoid conflict, just wait here until that door opens." Genesis said, drawing his pristine red rapier. However, almost immediately after drawing his rapier he was greeted with a swing from the Apocalypse. Barely blocking it, Genesis green eyes widened in horror as Terra summoned the Ragnarock into her other hand.

"No thanks!" Terra exclaimed, delivering a devastating blow to Genesis abdomen, leaving a gashing wound. "Why don't you just give me the materia?" She asked as she watched Genesis cough blood all over the floor.

Zack and Gilgamesh were completely jaw dropped. Zack never knew Terra could dual wield to that extent, hell he didn't even know ANYONE that could dual wield to that extent, I mean, those were two five foot great swords, she was barely bigger than them.

"You surely are not the angel that you appear to be." Genesis scoffed, a jet-black wing sprouting from his back, sending a torrential downpour of feathers that forced Terra to go back to her companions side. "But I am a knight of the Goddess, I cannot, I WILL NOT fail!" Genesis shouted, his eyes shining with determination and his wound disappearing from his abdomen.

"I knew he wouldn't go down like that…" Zack commented, remembering his past adventures. "Okay then, it's time for a rematch!"

* * *

><p>As they chased through the caverns Edge noticed that there was no way out from the tunnel they we're in other than going straight ahead. A smirk appeared under his scarf while he grabbed an exploding Kunai. "Hey you!" Edge shouted, making the figure look back to see his arm prepared to throw the Kunai. "Stick around!" He shouted as he threw the kunai, impacting on the ceiling, the ensuing explosion caused a cave-in that covered the figure's only escape route.<p>

As Edge finally caught up Shelke jumped from his back to have a closer look at the figure. It was then that her eyes welled up in tears. Happiness, sadness, betrayal, relief? She didn't even know.

"Hey… little sis." Shalua Rui greeted with a saddened tone.

"Why?" Shelke asked, falling to her knees. "Why are you helping them?" It was like destiny just gave her a sweet just before taking it away after the first bite.

"Because, they helped me…." Shalua replied, opening her left eye and showing her restored left arm. "I owe my life to the goddess, the least I can do is help her save us."

"Even if it means attacking your own sister?" Edge asked, infuriated.

"It's for her own sake…" Shalua replied, drawing her two guns. "Don't worry, I won't shoot to kill."

"Edge, aim for her materia. If you grab it, run back and take Rydia and Cuore with you." Shelke said in the most monotone tone she could muster. "I'll handle my sister." She said as she stood up, wiping her tears away and grabbing her energy sabers.

"Will do, not that I like stealing stuff from women and running away, but stuff like this needs to be done." Edge reassured. "Now, if those slowpokes got here it would be great…" He commented, looking back to see if he could see Rydia.

* * *

><p>"Minerva, are you not being unreasonable? The boy has done nothing wrong!" The figure known as Lufaine told the woman in the most courteous way possible.<p>

"Unreasonable? For someone like you to be calling me that is truly a gem!" Minerva replied, raising her hand to her mouth to cover up a smug laugh. "You should be thankful Cid that I do not wish to hurt you right now. After all that you've done, I don't think you deserve my mercy. Tricking me into joining a false battle between order and chaos, putting my heroes on disadvantage just so you could raise a monster and escape… All of those are selfish, unforgivable things. But I am willing to let it all go, your situation was dire, it was normal for a mortal to be desperate, and you were, of course, a victim of a far more evil being. But HIM? Even if it's the last thing I do, HE won't leave this cave alive." She said, pointing at Shin, unfathomable fury burning in her eyes.

"He doesn't know what you accusing him of! Are you judging an innocent on the count of someone else's sins?" Cid asked, taking off his hood to reveal a gruff old man with a silver mane covering his shoulders and an unkempt beard. "I am thousands of times more guilty than the boy! I know what I did, and I accept it. I am guilty, he is not."

"You are mistaken "old friend"... Ignorance is bliss, not salvation. His sins are his to pay for." Minerva said, never once blinking as she stared down Shin, who was getting more confused by the minute.

"What sins?" Shin exclaimed, sweat beginning to course down his face. Was he really a monster like that? Why did she hate him so much?

"What sins? What sins? Taking my best heroes away was my fault, I was deceived by this man's banter, but YOU pit them against one another. But that's nothing compared to what you unleashed. For while Cid was asking for consent to take the "heroes", you must have took the "villains" for your little act. You, for your own damned gain, unleashed Sephiroth! Have you any idea of what that caused to the Lifestream? Have you any idea of what might happen with monster like him roaming free? Maybe you have, but you probably don't care. For someone that orchestrated a battle between two fake gods, deceiving and stealing from other gods in the process, for one that didn't care for causing pain and suffering to all that entered the fight, for one that pitted families and lovers against one another, for one that deceived even the one that wanted that war in the first place, all to gain power, for someone like you forgiveness is merely a word." Minerva spat, every word showing more and more hatred, her angelic figure completely losing her composure. "Look at the Lifestream now! People are reviving, former mortals are taking over, and it has to live in fear of Sephiroth ever putting his eyes on it again! I can't even control it anymore, I, its representative!"

"None of that is his fault!" Cid shouted, stepping in. "It was mine! If I hadn't been so greedy…."

"As I said Lufaine, you aren't an angel yourself, but you were used, that is very different from what he did."

"Minerva, listen to me! The one who you wanted to judge is GONE! Are you going to make a martyr out of him just because you are angry? Your fury is just, but it's misguided!" Cid told Minerva, always trying his best not to anger the woman. But as soon as he implied that she was wrong her eyes flared up from Shin into the old man.

"You are beginning to overstep your boundaries Lufaine! Make no mistake, I have no problems with disposing of both you and the thing. But I'd rather let you live, you've proven yourself useful until now." She spat, readying another arrow. "Now, stand aside!"

Cid might have been at a loss of what to do, but Shin was beyond confused. The conversation they we're having didn't make any sense. Cid was trying to make him look like a martyr, Minerva was making him look like some kind of demon, and the worst part is that any of them could be right. However, Shin knew what he had to do, survive. Completely unhampered by the glyph, Shin was one jump away from a clean strike at the woman. Readying himself for the worst he drew the Lightbringer and made a jump for it. As he crossed the air ho noticed, much to his distress that the woman wasn't surprised by his approach, only annoyed.

"Like sheep to the slaughter…" She murmured, her wings begging to shine and launching feathers backwards, foiling a surprise attack from Bartz. Next thing she knew Cid was already on top of her, dropping a white fang near her face. The ensuing blast of ice was enough to make her lose senses for a short while, enough to let Shin cut through the left side of her pristine body, it was then that Shin knew that he wasn't fighting anything akin to a human.

A direct blow from a sword only left a small gash on her body, barely enough to make any blood slip out. Oh and her blood, wasn't blood at all. It was just more of that green liquid, mako was it? He barely had time to worry about it though, as cutting her seemed to have had the opposite effect he had hoped for.

"Unforgivable… you steal my warriors…. you unleash monsters… you throw my world into disarray and you still have the audacity, to hurt… ME?" She shouted, columns of green light erupting from everywhere in the room, blocking off Cid, Bartz and even the chocobos who were just starting to wake up. "This was the last drop!" She boomed, the whole cavern shaking, lightning erupting from the bow, which seemed to be at its limit. "Disappear! SHINRYU!"

As the arrow was shot everything appeared to go in slow motion for Shinryu. He had finally found the truth, but it only lead to more questions. There was no closure in dying like this, there was no closure in leaving his friends behind, and even if had done all those terrible things, there was no closure in dying before he fixed them. As determination grew in his eyes so did the golden light from the last time. "No use in dying here either! Chaotic…" He began, putting everything had on his sword, it was do or die. "Deluge!"

* * *

><p>A giant tremor shook the cave, getting the attention of everyone involved in the fights for the Materia. The first one to make sense of it was Genesis, whose eyes shone in delight.<p>

"It is over…" He reveled, taking is hands up. "The goddess has purified evil!"

"Wh-What happened?" Terra asked, still shaken by the amount of force in the explosion.

"What have you done with our friend, what have you done with Bartz?" Zack shouted, trying to punch Genesis, who teleported away into the front of the gate.

"We have done nothing to Bartz, at least, we didn't plan to. Now your friend… is a different history." Genesis said in a priestly tone.

"WHAT?" Terra blurted in a mix of horror, surprise and rage.

"Those who sin must be punished." Genesis continued, ignoring Terra's state.

"G-Get out of my way…" Terra fumbled, having difficulties in putting what she was feeling into words.

"What difference does it make? You cannot open this door!" Genesis replied before watching mouth wide agape what was happening.

It was happening all over again. Terra's hair was untying, her skin breaking into a new shinning one, fur erupting from her skin. Only this time, she was in control.

"_Hey Sunshine, who gave your permission to use MY form?"_ Her esper side asked in an angry tone.

"_Shut up! You did it too!"_ Terra barked back in an unusually aggressive tone.

"_Now that you put it that way… "_The esper replied before understanding that watching this would be way more fun than fighting it.

Genesis didn't move. This made Terra unspeakably angry. Why didn't he move, what had happened there, was the person she met still alive, why didn't they want him dead? Why? WHY? "I… Said… Out of my way!" Terra screamed as she lunged forward.

Genesis had barely anytime to perceive the advance, let alone dodge it as he felt the small girl whoosh beside him. Turning back he only saw what he thought to be a foolish attempt at demolishing the door, a door that his Goddess herself had made. But all that changed as Terra's small fist collided with the door. In an even louder crashing sound, the door simply crumbled at Terra's half-morphed feet, who hurried inside, leaving everyone in the vicinity paralyzed with shock.

* * *

><p>"Another one?" Shalua commented as she dodged one of Edge's attempts to steal her materia. "Something's wrong! Shelke, let's stop this."<p>

"Give me the materia and we'll talk." Shelke replied coldly. Much to her surprise, the red orb flew into her hands moments after.

"Unbelievable amounts of magic… Something or someone just blocked the crystal's energy with their own." Tron said from Shelke's back.

"I have a very bad feeling about this… let's hurry back!" Shalua exclaimed. Her gaze made a believer out of Shelke, who turned off her sabers.

"Fine, just try and keep up." Edge said as he started running back to the gate.

* * *

><p>"Where the heck is that guy?" Yuffie asked, starting to feel frustrated.<p>

"He seemed worried about the other explosion, you don't think…." Lenna began.

"He must have gone and see what happened!" Krile exclaimed.

"Let's hurry to the gate." Vincent said, prompting the group to run back through the cave.

* * *

><p>"Bartz? Anyone?"Terra called, trying to find survivors in the ruble. It wasn't long until she started sensing faint life signals from a near rock pile. Lifting he rocks with only her mind she found Shinryu lying face down into the ground. "Hang in there!" Terra exclaimed as she began to heal her friend. Fortunately she found no deep injury, he had just blacked out. And even that was only temporary as it wasn't long before Shinryu opened his eyes.<p>

"Did you get a haircut before rescuing me?" Shinryu joked as he saw Terra's half transformed figure.

"Very funny!" She exclaimed, giggling before hitting him on the head. "Sorry for being worried about you." She said sarcastically.

"Still, we have to find the others." Shinryu said, breaking up the light atmosphere. "Bartz! Cid! Are you there?" He called.

"Bartz?" Terra asked confused. "But… aren't you Bartz?"

"Far from it." Cid replied from behind Terra, causing her to jump backwards. "And, as much as I'd love to give you an explanation, I don't think this is the safest place to do it." Considering what he had written about Shinryu in the reports, Cid found it best not to say the name carelessly.

"Fine, I'm used to secretive people by now…" Terra replied. She still hadn't gone back to normal, there was something in the air that frightened her.

"Terra, a little hand?" Shinryu asked, too exhausted to get up.

"I look like your babysitter!" She replied, pulling him up and letting him lean on her shoulder for balance.

"Hey! If not asking too much, can you take this GIANT BOULDER off me?" Bartz's voice resounded from a few feet away.

"You heard the man Terra, do your thing." Shinryu joked.

Terra grunted and made the boulder that Bartz was holding fly off. "What about Stardust?" She asked.

"She's there." Bartz replied pointing at two chocobo's racing towards them.

"Who's a good girl? You are!" Terra exclaimed as she pet her chocobo.

"Can you fix her wing? I tried, but I'm not exactly an expert mage." Shinryu asked.

Nodding, Terra lightly touched the wing with her hand, a flash of green light later Stardust was already able to move it normally. Looking at the newcomer, she was amazed how he was similar to the person she thought as Bartz, but more importantly, a light flared up from her pocket. Reaching for it she discovered that it was her crystal seemingly resonating with the light that had just flared up from Bartz's pocket.

"I can guess that you have the crystal that we were looking for." Terra commented.

Not surprisingly, Bartz reached for his pocket and pulled out a purple crystalline object with some azure parts in the cracks.

"Well, yeah. At first I thought it was adamantite, but then I was being chased for having this. But, shouldn't we get back? I really don't feel this place." Bartz replied. Terra just nodded, she could wait for a story.

"Now that that's settled, let's get out of this cave." Cid suggested, receiving a positive nod from the rest of the group.

All in all, Terra was happy. Despite all the interruptions and fighting, she had found everything she wanted. Her friend and the crystal. This Cid even looked like an informed man, it all turned out for the best.

She was about to relax and take off her pseudo esper form when she heard a gunshot. No, she felt the gunshot. It didn't hit her, but it something adjacent to her. It all happened to fast. Shinryu flew right from her shoulder and neck first into a nearby wall, crashing with a sick thud. It was then that Terra noticed the bullet mark on his shirt as he fell, laying motionless on the ground. Looking back to the front she saw Weiss, smoke leaving the barrel of his gunblade. He didn't look happy of what he had done, but the woman besides him was reveling.

"Wonderful work Weiss! That cur stood up to me for the last time!" Minerva exclaimed, teleporting on top of Shinryu, starting to step on his head. "Whatever you do, monsters will always be monsters. You can't change the past."

That was Terra's tipping point, she was shaking all over, that was how angry she was, she could swear she was only seeing red. Something in her mind clicked, something that should never click. Whatever he had done, whatever he WAS he didn't deserve this. The person she met was kind, caring, funny, determined, a little bit insecure but his hear was in the right place. He was NOT a monster. But she could see that that woman didn't care. She didn't care about life that… that...

"YOU...!" Terra yelled, her violet eyes burning with anger and her skin cackling with lightning. "You dirty…rotten… cowardly… uncaring… DISGUSTING **BITCH**!"

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter note<span>****:**No preview this time, wouldn't be much of a cliffhanger if there was a preview, now would it? Don't worry, the next chapter is coming out… "Soon" Tm.


	25. Through the Eyes of a Warrior: Part 2

**Author's Note:** This one came out… unexpectedly fast, even I was surprised. But I guess that's a good thing. On a side note, 100K words! That's a milestone for me, I never thought I would get this far. For those of you reading this, thank you for sticking for so long, and a special thanks for the ones that reviewed until now. Enjoy, there's still much more to come.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

****Through the Eyes of a Warrior: Part 2****

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><p>Minerva didn't even have time to think, for as soon as she saw Terra scream she felt a bone-crunching punch hit her jaw, sending her against the wall. Immediately after she felt a sharp pain on her abdomen as Terra punched right through her armor and into her gut. Trying to take a breath she looked down to find Terra's burning indigo eyes. Minerva had only seen Terra for brief moments before this outburst, but she was sure something had changed, and she was afraid of it. She flinched for a second, <em>"A goddess afraid of a mortal? Ridiculous<em>!" she thought.

"Tell me why…" Terra asked solemnly, pushing her fist into Minerva's gut. "Why did you kill him?"

"Why would I explain myself to you? You would never understand!" Minerva spat back. She would come to regret that as she felt an excruciating pain and cold coming from her gut. Terra had just impaled her with a giant icicle, making mako slip from Minerva's formerly flawless abdomen.

"Let's try this again, why did you kill him?" She asked coldly.

"Even you… Should know what Shinryu did!" Minerva replied, desperately trying to pull Terra's hand and icicle out.

"He's Shinryu, huh?" Terra commented, completely unfazed. "That still doesn't explain why would you kill him now."

"What… are you babbling about…?" Minerva asked, falling to her knees and trying to catch some air as Terra dispelled her icicle.

"Did you ever think, that he might have changed?" Terra asked, looking down on Minerva, as if trying to suppress some savage urge. "Did you ever think about giving him a chance to explain? Like I am trying to give you now?"

"You? Give me a chance? You over-rate yourself, human!" Minerva blurted. Another grave mistake. Before she could react, Terra's foot had made contact with her chin, making her fly up just enough for Terra to grab her face.

"Look, first I'm not human, never was, never will be and really, I'm fine like this, he taught me that." Terra began, looking at Shinryu's fallen body. "Second, spare me of your "I'm a god, you are a mortal" crap, as far as I'm concerned, you are just number three." Terra had just made her threat painfully clear. "Now, one more chance. Why?" She asked as she dropped Minerva.

Bartz was completely speechless at sudden turn of the tide, but Cid was completely unfazed. He had hopped not to see this, but he knew that Terra had this kind of power hidden away.

Still trying to digest the fact that she was taking orders from Terra, Minerva finally decided to give a straight answer. "I did it to punish his sins." She stated.

"WRONG!" Terra yelled in an unpredictable burst, blasting Minerva with a Firaga of her own. "You did it to satisfy your own ego!" She cried, watching Minerva break a piece of the wall, crying in pain. For the first time in a long time, Terra actually delighted in that pain, as twisted as that sounds. In her current state, she didn't care anymore. "It's not that you didn't realize that he could have changed, it's just that Shinryu had wounded your pride so deep that you wanted to take it out on him anyway, wasn't it?" Hearing a blade cutting the air she merely raised her hand, stopping it partway with her yellow claws.

"Don't you dare insult our goddess! She is benevolent and forgiving! If she ordered me too kill him then there was no other choice!" Weiss shouted with conviction.

"Love is blind…" Terra sighed. "I don't want to hurt you Weiss, you are as much of a victim as Shinryu, she used you, can't you see?"

"Do not listen to her Weiss!" Minerva cried desperately.

"What has she done for you Weiss?" Terra asked. The sudden change in the eyes of Weiss told her that she hit a weak spot. "Maybe she was a benevolent person in the past, but have you seen what she did?" Weiss's grip on his sword loosened ever so slightly, but it was more than enough for Terra to snatch it from his hands. "Do you want to be a pawn in a game of revenge?"

"Hypocrite! What are you doing now? Aren't you having your revenge?" Minerva blurted.

"I am giving you a fair chance to explain yourself. For you I am just the Judge, the Jury… and the Executioner." Terra stated.

This was the point where Minerva's pride overrided her brain, she couldn't believe she was being looked down upon. Filled with anger she lashed out, summoning her staff and hitting Terra square in the face… to no avail, she didn't even flinch. "You're just as big of a threat as he was! I'll kill you just like I did to that damned lizard!"

"Damned… Lizard? He had a name… HE HAD A NAME!"

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><p>God was he unlucky. After all of that, dead? And death sucked too. Just falling down a bottomless pit of darkness, he would been bored to death, if he wasn't already dead. As he fell he started to ask himself if there was something like heaven… or hell. Considering who he was, it was definitely hell. Funny, Shinryu was supposed to be a dragon, a real large one at that, but if so, why was he like was? He knew that Bahamut could change forms, but still…<p>

"You really come here often." A way too familiar stated just before Shinryu hit the floor headfirst. "Are you in pain?" He asked, grinning at the young man who was holding his head, jumping and yelling.

"No, I'm fan-freaking-tastic… what do you think? That would have killed me, if I wasn't already dead that is." Shinryu blurted back, stopping as he saw the giant grin on the man's face. "What's so funny?"

"You really surprised me you took it a lot better than I thought. Your persona really is complete." The man replied. He snapped his fingers causing a storm of white doves to erupting from the floor, revealing a changed mosaic.

The colors of this mosaic were much more vibrant than the last, but what really changed were the images. Shinryu's image still stood in the middle, albeit with a different set of clothes, what changed was the shadow behind him. It now was a representation of a silver dragon with a golden torso, resting his head on his shoulder. Right bellow the dragon's tail the three circles on the floor had changed and a new one had appeared, they now housed images. The top one showed Terra's shy smile, the top middle one Zack's cocky grin the top middle one was a cluster of Edge, Rydia and Cuore, speaking of clusters the last could barely hold Katarin, Duane and Leo so he could see a dozen of tiny heads popping out from every corner of the circle.

"Hmm, interesting. So that's what you're doing from now on? Interior designing?" Shinryu said playfully. "But really, those clothes… you're just rubbing your ego in there."

You could instantly make the connection between the clothes that Shinryu was wearing in the image and the dragon. He was wearing a silver overjacket with an unclosed zipper, revealing an equally silver shirt bellow. The jacket had dragon-like patterns inscribed in gold trim and had a golden dragon's wing on the back. The pants and the shoes we're pretty conventional compared to the jacket. The pants were considerably less baggy then the SOLDIER's uniform and had a golden line trim stamped on the sides.

"I think that it is a master piece!" The man scuffed.

"Really? Don't I get a say on the matter? At least the colors!"

"Fine, you can change one color…" The man replied.

"Change the silver to black, I look like a damn flashlight with those two bright colors!" Shinryu said. He had his reasons, the dragon's silver was… bright to say the least, it would blind anyone who looked at him.

"Fine…" The man replied, snapping his fingers. After a bright flash the clothes were changed.

"Alright! Much better!" Shinryu replied before noticing the man's gaze. "What's the problem?"

"You… seem to be taking this a little _too_ lightly. Aren't you curious about your past? And about your flashbacks? What about, who I am?" The man asked, clearly surprised by the new carefree nature of the man in front of him.

"Oh I'm not taking this lightly Shinryu. I still want to punch your face in, I'm just trying to clear my mind. By the way, to avoid this getting confusing, call me Shin for now." Shin replied, a smile covering a much darker expression. "But if you want to monologue by all means do it, I really want to know how much shit I caused in the past!" He exclaimed sarcastically.

"Fine. First let me tell you that I have no memory of how I came into existence, I only remember the unending search for Omega, I knew that I had to defeat him, it was my only goal. We clashed several times, but I never even landed a scratch on that monster…" Shinryu began, nostalgia and regret covering his face. "I thought that it would never end, the cycle of battle and defeat, until that fateful day." Shinryu took a brief pause to look at Shin before continuing. "I lost Omega in the Rift, it was normal as Omega liked to destroy worlds, so I awaited to see it return after it had its fill. What happened was completely the opposite. I saw Omega running away from something… I saw no true injuries on him, but Omega is a cautious beast, he will retreat at the first sign of danger. But the fact was… he never retreated against me!" Shinryu exclaimed, looking at his hands.

"You were jealous?" Shin joked.

"No… I just felt… useless. Like I had failed at my purpose. I quickly determined that it was a group of four humans. Normally I'd laugh at the thought, but none of the monsters in that part could even breathe on Omega, let alone scare it. So I entered a chest that contained a magnificent sword, hoping that whomever had challenged Omega would open it. What happened then, you saw in that flashback." Shinryu explained, turning to Shin.

"Bartz kicked your ass!" Shin scuffed.

"True… But what bothered me the most about that victory was that I didn't know why I had lost… I should have been completely overwhelming for humans, instead, they overwhelmed me. It was then that it dawned to me! I had to discover what made humans this strong in order to defeat Omega." He exclaimed in a sudden burst of excitement before reverting to normal.

"I travelled to many worlds, fought many heroes and lost, but I gained power, I gained experience, with every battle. I was now far above anything Bartz ever dreamed off. I was a new being, so I called myself appropriately, I was Neo Shinryu! Unbeatable…or so I thought." He paused.

"I lost… I utterly lost, I fell into desperation. I had more power, even the gods themselves feared me! How could I lose? I became obsessed with power, I forgot my purpose, I had to have more power! Then, I found him… Cid of the Lufaine." Shinryu paused again, the regret began to amplify making so he couldn't even look at Shin in eyes.

If it was someone else Shin would be consoling him, but he knew what happened next, so he just stood there, unwavering.

"It all went downhill from there… Power… power… power… POWER… **POWER**! I saw only power! When I realized the chance I had… I became blind with lust! I didn't care for the pain and suffering I was causing, I didn't care about the monsters I was unleashing, I didn't care if I was becoming far worse than Omega. I. Only. Needed. Power!" Shinryu shouted, scaring Shin with the sudden outburst.

"When the thirteenth cycle came by, my power was beyond anything I could ever dream off. I had the memories of the greatest heroes in world, and I had absorbed most of them by that time."

"_That explains me having flashbacks that belonged to other people…"_ Shin thought to himself, not wanting to stop the story.

"When Bartz stood in front of Chaos, whose power was enhanced by own… I laughed, thinking he would never have a chance. And he didn't. I laughed when all the heroes fell before Chaos. I thought I had finally reached a level that was beyond a human's, a level that Omega would fear… but then that girl stood up… And single handedly crushed my dreams. I knew about Terra's power, and by what I had seen it was nowhere near mine and Chaos's, but she still lived, she still stood up, she still destroyed Chaos… It was then that I realized, it wasn't "power", it was something else. And I had to find out what!" Shinryu stopped to catch his breath. "And I also had to punish Cid for betraying me."

"_Betraying him?"_Shin wondered, taking mental note to ask him after it was over.

"It was then that I decided to create a perfect dream world in which the cycles had continued. I implanted Cosmos with the idea of summoning warriors to this dream world when my power reached its absolute maximum, so I could discover why they were so powerful, and if I could ever defeat them. Sure enough, at the 20th and final cycle, I pretended to enter a conflict with the now demented Chaos, consumed with despair of never ending cycles, causing Cosmos to subconsciously summon five warriors with her last breath..."

"Those five warriors were, interestingly enough, the ones I wanted to see. Bartz for obvious reasons, Terra for her raw power, Cloud for having defeated Sephiroth time and time again, Zidane for being a Genome, something even I had doubts about the potential, and Vaan for his involvement in destroying the prototype of a new Omega, Omega Mk. XII." Shinryu's face turned to one of tiredness.

"By that time, the me in the dream had already reached its apex, it was impossible to get any stronger, he had absorbed all of the warrior's powers and experience, he was the true ultimate being, so I called him Shinryu Verus."

"And since we are here today… it didn't go so well did it?" Shin mocked.

"As you'd expect, no. When they reached Chaos's doorstep after rescuing Cid, I poured every ounce of power the me in the dream had into Chaos. Chaos by itself could already destroy the fabric of reality, I thought that that was the end of them. And it seemed so. Feral Chaos dominated them, destroyed them, ripped their hope to shreds until no one was left standing. I wasn't surprised, they had barely managed to defeat Chaos, they shouldn't have had any chance to begin with. That was until… Vaan was killed, I don't know what came through Terra's head, but she snapped. I was… scared. I don't even want to remember what happened next, just pure carnage. But I finally realized what I was missing, the one thing that made them stronger and stronger the more difficulties I threw at them."

"And that was…?" Shin asked, feeling curious.

"Bonds." Shinryu stated. "And the hearts to make them."

"Huh?" Shin was taken aback by the answer, that guy was getting way too sentimental for a dragon.

"It's normal for you to be surprised, but think about it, how many times have you pushed your limits to protect your friends? Even in the small period that you lived, to protect those bonds you made, you called upon powers that you never knew you had. Remember Zeromus? And the clash with Minerva? Even that fight with the wolf, you grew stronger because of your heart, your emotions. As a god, and one that never interacted, I do not know about those things, that is because that is not something for a god to see, but for a warrior to see, you understand?"

"Kinda…" Now that he thought about it, he was right. But there was something that he needed to know. "You told me your life's story, but why am I here? Why did you create me?"

"You see, I tried to pursue that power by becoming what you see in front of you right now, human. But then I realized, how could I create bonds? Even if I could forgive myself for what I had done, nobody would trust me I am Godsbane Shinryu, an evil as great as Omega. So I created you! A new human, free of my past guilt and knowledge, a completely new person, one that could live its own life. And I would be there to witness it, the life through the eyes of a warrior." Shinryu finished, just in time for a punch in the face.

"So that's what I am? A FUCKING PUPPET? You just wanted to use me for power? You haven't changed at all, at least I am dead now, this charade is over!" Shin shouted, completely besides himself. Everything he had experienced, his life, his friends, his feelings, were just a means to an end for this guy… he could just kill him right now, if he weren't him.

"Did I ever call you that? You are not a puppet… you are more like my successor." Shinryu replied.

Shin was completely shocked by his comeback, to the point of his mind being too scrambled to create a coherent thought.

"I created this body, for you. Even if I wanted I could not control it, even appearing in front of you takes a giant amount of effort. You see Shin… I'm tired. Tired of fighting, I may sound selfish but that's just the truth. I'd rather spend the rest of my days here, watching." Shinryu continued, but one thing about that speech didn't seem right.

"Wait a minute? Rest of your days? Aren't you immortal?" Shin asked.

"Immortal? Yes, I was. But haven't I made it clear? You are a human, this is your body and I am stuck in it. When you die, I die, we are the same." Shinryu answered extremely calmly for someone that had just revealed he had doomed himself to die before his time.

"Why did you do all of this?" Shin asked as calmed down. "I mean, why would you throw your life away like this? You can't even make your own decisions now."

"Maybe I am running away… running away from my responsibilities. Maybe I am trying to atone, maybe I'm curious or I can even be trying to reach my goal of destroying Omega. I don't know why, but I had to do this, my last gamble. The life I lived was nothing but misery, your life however… I have never enjoyed myself so much, your reactions, your decisions, every bond you made. I could feel it, it was worth it." Shinryu slowly got himself up. "You will probably never see me again but remember, you are not me, nothing I did if your fault, live life the way you see fit. I truly think you can put my power to better use… when you learn to use it that is." He finished, putting his hand on Shin's shoulder. "Anything else you want to ask?"

"Why am I so much like Bartz?" Shin asked, it wasn't really a serious question, but he didn't really have any left.

"That's…kind of embarrassing!" Shinryu exclaimed, scratching the back of his head, Shin's attitude was starting to rub off on him. "I'm really horrible at creating things, my evolutions just changed my colors for example, so after I decided to make another body, I couldn't think of one and I ended up combining aspects of heroes I met with my original human form, this one… the result is what you are. To be honest, the only thing I ended up using was Squall's hair color and a hair style similar to my mane as a dragon. As to why you look so similar… Bartz was the first human I saw, give me a break okay?"

"So you are not as good at creating bodies as you are in interior designing." Shin joked, looking at the mosaic. "Just one more question, where do I get these clothes?" he asked, pointing at his figure.

"You'll see soon enough." Shinryu replied as an unusual slick grim appeared on his face.

Shin laughed for a bit before realizing he was starting to fade. But he didn't feel like he was disappearing, just returning. "Wait, aren't I dead?" he asked surprised.

"If you were, why would I give you encouragement?"

"But… how?"

"Put your hand on top of your heart." Shinryu stated with a trickster's smile.

"What the… Did you do this on purpose?" He asked as he felt a familiar shape in his chest.

"No, you just have insane luck."

"Okay then! I guess… see you later?" Shin said as he felt like he was waking up.

"Maybe… just tell Cid and the other's I'm sorry, for all that's worth, okay? " He was met with a positive nod. "Thank you… Sayonara!" Shinryu replied, giving a two fingered salute as Shin disappeared. "You're the only thing in my life I've ever been proud of… don't fail Shin." He said as he looked to the place where Shin once was.

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><p>Back in the real world things weren't going so well. While Gilgamesh and Zack were more than a match for Genesis, he still hadn't let them in the chamber.<p>

"Genesis, you're outmatched, just give up!" Zack shouted. He had to admit the only reason he had been able to actually beat him so easily was Gilgamesh. For a mumbling buffoon that guy had talent. It was really amazing, his talent almost outshined his natural tendency to be ridiculous and cocky. If he was a more serious man-monster-thing and trained hard it was hard to imagine what he would become.

"As much as I'd like to trust you again Zack, my mission is to not let anyone through. I may have failed already, but I'll do my best to…" Genesis was interrupted when Minerva came whooshing by his side and crashed into the back of the Portal of Severance. "M-My lady?" Genesis cried, trying to run over to his fallen Goddess, only to notice his feet frozen in place., soon after everything but his head was frozen. He tried to turn his head to the right but it was like his body was warning to not do it. Seconds later he watched helplessly as Terra just walked past him in the direction of Minerva.

"Terra, don't do something you might regret!" Zack exclaimed, blocking the path to Minerva. "This isn't like you!"

"Zack… please step out of the way… Bartz… Shin's dead!" She yelled. "She did it!"

"Terra, killing a person won't bring someone back, it didn't bring Aerith back!" Zack replied, still not budging.

"You don't know what she did…" Terra said in a dark tone. "Please… get out."

"Terra stop!" Cid commanded. "If you do this, won't be the same as her?"

"I've already killed people… gods before! Why would this be any different?" She shouted, begging to lose her last thread of sanity.

"You always did to "protect" if do this now, you'll only be destroying… just like Kefka." Cid replied, knowing just how dangerous his statement was. The look that Terra gave him was something he had never experienced before. It was supposed to scare him but he could see that beneath all of that hatred there was a sad little girl. "I know you are sad but please, do not do this! He wouldn't have wanted that!"

"Look, Terra, I know you. This isn't like you! Is this like what happened at the tower?" Zack asked, remembering the outbursts that Terra had attributed to her being an esper.

"_They really give you too much credit Sunshine… Tell them! Tell them that I don't have a damned thing to do with this!__" _Her other side shouted.

"shut up…" Terra almost whispered. "Shut up! ALL OF YOU JUST SHUT UP!"

"Terra, I won't let you past m…" Before Zack knew it Terra was already on top of Minerva, her cold claws ready to rip off her neck.

"Give me one reason, just one, why I shouldn't rip it off right now!" Terra ordered. Minerva was too scared to even respond, just what was this THING that was threatening her. Knowing how the Lifestream was right now, it was possible that she was never going to get her body back… she could die.

"Ha-have mercy." Minerva begged, completely broken. Everyone who watched was just as surprised, but they couldn't do anything, they did not know the person that was on top of Minerva.

"It's a little too late to be sorry." Terra replied darkly raising her hand. "You reap what you sow." Minerva closed her eyes as Terra's hand descended on her, but it never hit her.

"That's enough Terra!" A voice that Minerva never thought she would hear again said. Opening her eyes she saw the man that she thought dead holding the hand that was supposed to have killed her, how ironic. Terra was just as speechless as her and quite frankly, everyone in the room was.

"H-How are you..?" Terra asked before seeing Shinryu hold up the pendant that Katarin had given him, the bullet was still lodge in the middle.

"I forgot to give it back!" He replied, a bit embarrassed. " Don't worry, I'll definitely have it fixed. Now relax okay?"

"But she-"

"Imagine if what happened to me happened to Kefka, would you act any different?" he asked. The words stung Terra, she had never thought of it that way, she almost agreed with how Minerva felt. As she calmed down she began to realize just what she had done, and she hated herself for it.

"I did it again!" She cried, falling to her knees as tears came rushing down her cheeks. "I lost control again didn't I?" She asked as her body reverted to her human form, only this time she kept her clothes on.

"Well, maybe a little bit, but it's okay now, don't be hard on yourself." Shinryu said, trying to comfort the girl."Chin up, we're all okay aren't we?" He asked as he got on one knee and put his hand on her golden locks, giving it a playfull rub. He was too busy trying to cheer her up to notice the change in Minerva's expression.

"_Both of them defied me, made a mockery of what I am, they stole everything I had! I won't let them get away like this!"_ Minerva reassured on her mind, making her bow appear one last time. "Just die already!" She shouted, firing the last arrow that she could afford with her body.

Seeing as Terra and Shinryu were at point blank range and weren't even paying attention, Zack had to make a split second decision. "Dammit Minerva!" He exclaimed as he reached for his pocket and grabbed the green orb.

"Holy!"

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><p><strong><span>Post-chapter note:<span>** "What is this? Not again!" Is what you're probably thinking, but it is, you won't be getting a preview this time around either. Bear with me, I promise that I'll try to be as quick in the next one as I was in this one.


	26. Through the Eyes of a Warrior:Final Part

****Author's Note:**** Okay, just to let you guys know that I'll try to update every single Sunday from now on. Not saying that university will _let_ me, but there's a pretty good chance I'll keep the schedule, even if I need to make slightly smaller chapters. That said, enjoy, and as always, feedback IS important.

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><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

****Through the Eyes of a Warrior: Final Part****

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><p>Denzel ran through the narrow passages of the alley he had brought Marlene to. The both of them had been separated from Terra's orphans just before all hell broke loose in Edge. He had no idea of what was going on, but he knew that that crystalline Sephiroth wasn't going to pet them. However, as fast as he was trying to run, the manikin was a copy of a trained warrior, it wasn't long until he trapped them in a dead end. "Don't worry Marlene, I'll protect you!" Denzel exclaimed in fake confidence. The Manikin seemed to still have a bit of Sephiroth in it as it kicked the boy down set his eyes on Marlene.<p>

Just as the manikin prepared to strike the terrified girl another manikin came crashing down into it, transforming both into thousands of pieces of crystal. "Come on! Who's next?" Layle shouted as he looked around. The coast was clear. "C'mon, let's go find Cloud." He told the two kids, pulling Denzel up with his telekinesis.

As soon as they arrived at the main plaza they were greeted with a surprising sight. No manikins. The people of Edge were gathered there but seemed to be awfully relaxed.

"What happened?" Layle asked Crono who was just passing.

"All gone, the manikins retreated." He replied with a concerned tone.

"That's good… right?" Layle asked, confused by Crono's tone.

"It may look like it, but think. Why would they attack full force, and then retreat when we had barely touched their numbers?"

It was true, the number of manikins that had attacked Edge and Midgar was almost incomprehensible, it made the one that attacked Figaro seem like a scouting squadron. There was no way they could have already destroyed them all, especially since they didn't fight any Super battle pieces.

"Probably because… they didn't find what they were looking for." Rufus said as he came into the plaza, causing a huge uproar by the citizens.

"What do you mean?" Layle asked.

"Maybe they thought that there were crystals here. It's hardly surprising, Terra left with one just as they attacked." Rufus explained.

"That doesn't explain why they stayed here for three hours before leaving." Crono commented, crossing his arms, closing his eyes and leaning his head forward. It wouldn't take that long to figure out that Terra had left, if she had stayed she would likely be the first and the most noticeable to battle.

"Cloud!" Denzel exclaimed as he heard the distinct sound of the Fenrir close in. Sure enough the black motorcycle arrived at the plaza at full speed, making a drifting stop right in front of the group.

"They were looking for something." Cloud stated as he got of his bike.

"What do you mean?" Crono asked.

"I don't know how many you had to fight, but they were VERY insistent in getting in the church." Cloud replied. "After flooding the church, they kind of lost interest in it, then I saw them retreat from every place I passed on the way here."

"So something was on the church, but was taken away and the manikins retreated when they realized that… But where would they go now?" Layle asked.

"We need to find Cissnei!" Rufus exclaimed as if he just had a revelation. "Zack was the only one in the church except Cloud… he took it, whatever it was… and if I am right, they must have tracked him down already.

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><p>"Impossible, who did this?" Minerva blurted as she saw tendrils of Lifestream protect the duo. "Who dares to use the Lifestream against me?" She stopped as soon as he saw what was floating in front of Zack. "You…"<p>

In front of the Soldier was an ethereal young woman. Dressed in a pink dress that spanned until her shin, a red, unbuttoned jacket that covered her shoulders, metal bracelets on her wrists and a long chocolate ponytail tied up with a pink ribbon. The materia that Zack was holding was shinning in the middle of her transparent body.

"AERITH!" Yuffie exclaimed as she arrived at the scene. Not one to contain excitement she jumped from the ledge she, Vincent and Lenna's company were in and tried to glomp her deceased friend, just to pass right through her. Yuffie's usually cheerful face darkened for the first time in months.

"I'm sorry Yuffie… I can't comeback." Aerith comforted in an angelic tone, turning to Minerva. "Minerva, look at what you've become!" She exclaimed determinedly.

"Silence! Who are you to question me?" That's all that Minerva could do now, talk. She had no energy left, it was a sad sight, her formerly perfect figure leaning against a wall, bloodied and beaten.

"The Lifestream's scared… I know you're scared too." Aerith continued as she "walked" in Minerva's direction.

"Stay away!" Minerva shouted, flinging her arms in an attempt to keep Aerith away, the difference was that Minerva could actually hit Aerith but that did little to stop her advance. Kneeling down, Aerith gently put her arms around the goddess in a comforting hug.

"It's okay to cry…" Aerith whispered.

"S-Silence!" Minerva whimpered, trying to shake Aerith off.

Shelke arrived just in time to see what was happening. Shalua was shocked but before Shelke could say anything her back started beeping. Pulling out Tron's computer she listened to what the artificial intelligence had to say.

"This is amazing! Shelke, there are THREE crystals here!" Tron exclaimed.

"Three? Where?" Shelke exclaimed.

"Terra has one, that man in the blue shirt has another one, and there's one floating inside that woman with the pink ribbon."

"Inside her, huh?" Edge asked with a grin on his face.

"PERVERT!" Rydia shouted, sending Edge plummeting off the ledge with a slap to the face.

"Jokes aside, that woman isn't alive." Shelke explained.

"Yeah, I noticed too, and I'd say that buffoon got it, but Edge had to be Edge…" Rydia said, shrugging. "We should probably get down there though, it looks like we missed a lot."

"Look at the ones that followed you Minerva, they are a testament of what you once were, do you remember what you did for them?" Aerith asked. "You stopped Genesis degradation, giving him a second chance at life. You took Weiss in and never blamed him. You even gave Shalua her body back. They trusted you, they were willing to give their life for you, but after what you did here, even their loyalty is shaking!"

"You lie…" Minerva replied weekly, stopping her resistance.

"Stop trying to fool yourself, Shalua was completely against this and only agreed to it out of respect, Weiss only did this because of Genesis and even him had doubts, you know it as well as I do, what you did here was wrong. Look at them now." Aerith said. Minerva complied only to receive apologetic looks from Genesis and Weiss.

"But… but I…"

"All that rage, that sadness, that fear… You have to let it go." Aerith comforted, tightening her hug.

At that moment Minerva was able to fully comprehend what she did and small droplets of mako ran down her cheeks. "I..."

"It's okay... it's okay."

"Well that's a sight I never expected to see." Zack commented in a low tone as he observed the situation.

"Hey Zack, what did you exactly do?" Shinryu asked.

"Well my good friend, I did what many people with an extensive repertoire of woman friends does, I asked my ex to solve my problems!" Zack joked. "Okay, I'll be serious, I brought Cloud's crystal with me."

"You did what?" Shinryu exclaimed.

"Relax dude, it's not like he needs it or anything, Aerith just asked to come with me that's all. I admit that I was surprised that she evaded the radar for so long."

"And how exactly is Aerith inside that crystal?" Terra asked as she washed her face with conjured water.

"She's not _inside_ the crystal. You know how I told you that she could move in the Lifestream at will? Every crystal has a special propriety from their world, Cloud's crystal is the Holy materia from this world. In this world, Holy is serious business, only Ancients can use it and there's only one materia in the world. This is because the Holy materia is connected to the Lifestream itself and when used it mobilizes the Lifestream to its users will. Since the Holy materia is connected to the Lifestream, it acts as a "bridge" for Aerith. Got it?"

"Kinda…" Shinryu answered. _"What's with all these complex explanations in only one day?"_ He thought before being put in a headlock.

"Good to have you back Bartz.. I mean..:"

"Shinryu." He replied.

"Oh yeah Shinry… WHAT?" Zack's jaw almost hit the floor at that revelation.

"Long story… What?" Shinryu asked as he heard a beeping sound.

"Sup Ciss." Zack answered his phone.

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Rufus's voice stated from the other side of the line.

"Y-yes sir! Sorry about the mistake!" Zack sutured at the voice of his "boss".

"In a more immediate purpose, have you found the crystal?" Rufus asked.

Over hearing the conversation Terra nodded and pointed in Bartz's direction.

"Yes sir."

"Good, then get out of here as fast as you can!" Rufus said with a distinct tone of urgency on his voice.

"Why?" Zack asked.

"Every single manikin on the city retreated, we have reasons to believe that they are after something you took from the church." Zack gulped at the mention of his "theft", he'd have to world REAL hard to keep his job now.

As if to answer his call quick walking sounds could be heard from the tunnels. Judging by the sound, there had to be hundreds, no, thousands of manikins coming.

"I'll call you back boss. Huh Aerith, we might have a problem." Zack said, quickly storing his phone.

"I know, but how do we get out?" She replied as she left the crying Minerva and went to taw Genesis.

"We can't…" Weiss said. "Can't you hear it? The sounds are coming from every single tunnel."

"Gilgamesh, what about the Rift?" Lenna suggested.

"The Rift does what it wants, I absolutely cannot open holes at will." Gilgamesh replied, flaying his arms in denial.

"Gilgamesh? GILG!" Bartz shouted, jumping on the red man's back. "You're alive man!"

"Not the best time Bartz…" Faris commented.

"Cid, what about you?" Shinryu asked, remembering how Cid had gotten inside.

"I have used too much energy, I can only warp myself now…"

"We have no choice but to stay our ground." Vincent said.

"How? Terra can barely move, I can't use summons without sending this whole area down, most of us aren't in top shape and Shin doesn't look like he's okay." Rydia replied. They had already endured a considerable amount burnout, they couldn't fight thousands or more manikins.

"We have to try!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"You might be right Rydia, I myself have only about thirty bullets left, but it's not like we have an alternative." Vincent added.

"I can send you out…" Minerva said.

"Huh?" They asked in unison.

"I may be beaten and bruised, but I can still do something that simple." She said matter-of-factly.

"Then it's settled, do it fast!" Zack exclaimed.

"I understand, just join in a circle." Minerva said.

Moments later they were all gathered up in front of Minerva including the chocobos. Only Genesis, Weiss and Shalua were still on Minerva's side.

"I'm going to trust you on this Minerva, if you're pulling a fast one on me, I'll kill you before the manikins get to you." Zack stated.

"She won't betray us Zack, I know it." Aerith stated, giving a small smile to Minerva.

"Even I did, you would not be able to have your revenge Zack, for I am not going with you." Minerva said.

"Why? You're going to die here!" Terra exclaimed, not even her wished something from a person, former enemy or not.

"I can only exist in places with enormous amounts of Lifestream, this is one of the only places left, it is my fate for bringing you all here."

"That is why we shall stay with our goddess." Genesis stated, giving Zack a powerful stare.

"I know that I won't change your mind about this so.. good luck Genesis, it was nice seeing you again." Zack replied, waving goodbye to his friend.

Shelke and Shalua avoided staring at eachother, not bearing another goodbye.

"Farewell, and may you find it in your hearts to forgive me." Minerva said as she waved her staff, causing the cave to be shrouded in green light.

* * *

><p>Zack felt a strange tingling feeling take over his body as he was being materialized somewhere else. As soon as the light died down he opened his eyes to find himself inside the Sector Five church.<p>

"She wasn't lying…" Zack commented before taking a look around. Everyone had reached their destination safely, and by everyone he meant everyone. Looking to the other side of the church, Zack spotted something that should not be there.

"What happened…" Genesis asked before realizing it. "No… NO! MINERVA!" He shouted, for the first time calling his goddess for her name.

Minerva struggled to walk down the hallway to the Light of Doom, her ankles burning and her knees creaking. It was hard to believe that a few hours ago she was so determined to kill the people she was doing this for now. Slowly but surely she arrived at the statue chamber. As she put her hand on the cold, pristine stone she remembered when Genesis came all the way back there just to rebuild her statue. It was then that she encountered him and his brother, it was then that they promised each other to rebuild the Planet…

"How did I go so wrong…?" She muttered as she reminisced about how hopeful was the future a year ago. It all appeared to be so far away now.

"Chanting your prayers?" A voice echoed from the distance.

Making a harsh turn Minerva found the entrance blocked by manikins, but they were just there… waiting. Someone was controlling them, and she knew just who.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" The voice mocked, this time coming from above.

"I have nothing to say to you!" Minerva spat at the one winged man that towered above the statue.

"Now now Minerva, this isn't like you. First you help the _humans _get out and now this? Don't you think beings like us are more important than mortals?" Sephiroth asked.

"Sephiroth, you are not a god… and neither am I for that matter, we just called ourselves that to bolster our own ego. And, might I had, for a "god" you do not seem to be unscathed. Who was the mortal that did that to you now?" She mocked as she noticed Sephiroth's sorry state. The left part of his torso was still burned and a big part of his wing was featherless due to Edge's attack.

"Big words, for someone that's on her last moments." Sephiroth spat, trying to hide the humiliation that had taken over him.

"I am on my last moments on my own will Sephiroth, if I so desired, I could have escaped with them, but that would be just what you wanted, wouldn't it?" Minerva answered, falling to one knee as her lungs gave in to the internal injuries. Breathing heavily she cocked her head in the smirking Sephiroth's direction.

"Even if you found out my real intentions, you don't seem to be in condition to stop them." He said as he flew to the giant red orb in the statue's grasp. "But you were right in not escaping, once I have this orb lodged in my body, it's just a matter of time till your will is my will."

Disgusted by Sephiroth's words Minerva reached deep inside for strength as she pulled out just enough to create an arrow for her bow. Summoning all the remaining parts of her armor she slowly pointed her bow at the SOLDIER who merely laughed at her attempt to kill him.

"Come now Minerva, are you really that ignorant? What makes you think you have a chance to hit me with that?" He mocked. Minerva however had he complete opposite response that he thought she would have, as soon as he finished talking her mouth formed a small, yet strong grin.

"And what makes you think I am aiming for you?" She questioned as she pulled her arrow to the utmost extreme of her bow, changing her line of shot to the materia.

"You wouldn't…. the Goddess Materia IS you, are you really going to throw your life away?" Sephiroth shouted with an impossible to mask despair on his voice. He couldn't do anything if she shot. Trying to block her arrow would only result in his death and not blocking would cause the destruction of the materia, which would probably cause the whole cave to collapse on top of them.

"I'd rather die than serve you, and what better way to do so than taking you to the deeps of hell with me?" She shouted, releasing the arrow. Sephiroth could do nothing but watch as the arrow cut the air and impacted on the Goddess Materia, causing a massive eruption of energy, shaking the foundations of the cave. As the small shards of crystals started to fall, so did the foundations of the cave, which started to collapse, giant boulders crushing the manikin horde. Knowing that he had lost the battle, Sephiroth disappeared in a storm of black feathers, leaving Minerva to die. None of the boulders hit Minerva, for she was slowly fading away from existence. Looking back at all that she had witnessed and done, from saving Genesis to testing Zack and finally her actions on that day she let out a dire laugh as she realized that, deep inside, she was no different from a human. "Maybe this world doesn't need gods…" She mumbled as her body started to flicker. "Best of luck… Genesis… Zack… Cloud… and yes, even you… Shinryu." And with that she let out her final breath, her body turning into thousands of tiny green orbs of light, vanishing moments after. She had not gone back to the Lifestream, she had just… disappeared.

Sephiroth looked as the cave collapsed, cursing every second of it. Minerva had not only taken away from him power over the Lifestream, but she had also had him by making him think she wanted to kill him.

"You never intended to take me down with you… you just wanted to destroy the manikins with your materia... Damn you Minerva, damn you to hell!" Sephiroth yelled, quickly regaining his composure. "How am I going to explain to Mateus that thirty per cent of our manikins were destroyed?" He wondered as he opened a portal to the rift, disappearing into the endless darkness.

"Genesis…" Zack began, trying to comfort his kneeling friend.

"I know, what I was going to do was irrational, it's better this way but, I could have tried, why didn't she let me try?" Genesis asked, if he wasn't such a prideful man he would be bawling right now.

"She didn't want to be responsible for your deaths. I think… she finally regained her old self there." Aerith stated calmly. "I'm just sorry it had to end this way."

"It's hard to believe she was the same person that tried to kill us." Terra commented, feeling guilty of how she mercilessly tortured her.

"Well, I don't think she would want us to stand here and mope about it, let's go to the Shinra Building." Zack said. It was a bit crude, but after having that cave collapse, they had to get back fast before the others assumed the worst.

"I should be going then." Aerith commented." I don't think it's a good idea to show myself to Cloud like this, at least not now."

"Probably." Vincent replied. "Good to see you again Aerith."

"You too Vincent… and come here Yuffie, give me a hug!" She chirped in her crystalline voice. She couldn't touch Yuffie, but even an imaginary hug from her was reassuring.

"Just come and visit, okay?" Yuffie said, trying to hold back her tears.

"I'll try…" Aerith said, instantly masking her preoccupied look. "And you two, take care of Zack and Cloud for me okay?" She told Shinryu and Terra.

"Huh, why us?" Shinryu asked.

"Zack won't stop talking about you two, I think he never spoke of others like this since he met Cloud, so I guess you're the best ones to ask this." She said winking, causing every male in the room to swoon, Zack merely scratched the back of his head because of his ex's lack of trust in his behavior. Right after that she yawned, a tired look coming over her. "Anyway, I'm tired, maybe I'll see you guys in a while. Goodbye!" She exclaimed as she divided thousands of green energy spheres, each of them entering the Holy materia as it floated to Zack's hand.

"Okay then, let's give those guys at Shinra a surprise!" Zack exclaimed, pointing towards the exit of the church.

"Just a question…" Shelke interrupted. "What about him?" She said, pointing at Gilgamesh who was busy engaged in a verbal conflict with Faris, needless to say Faris was winning.

"Well… you're a meanie-face!" Gilgamesh exclaimed, running out of arguments. "I want to fight Bartz now!"

"Yeah, I want to fight Gilg now!" Bartz concurred.

"You two shut up before I deny you of your possibility to have kids!" Faris warned. Both men covered their groin and growled in defeat.

"I think we should keep him." Lenna suggested. "He _did_ see other worlds."

"No problems with that, he seems a nice guy." Zack replied.

"Let's do it like this Gilgamesh, you help us, you get your rematch, okay?" Shinryu suggested.

"Okay!" Gilgamesh nodded enthusiastically." I waited for god knows how long already, it won't hurt to wait a bit longer."

"Okay then, _now_ are we done?" Zack asked, receiving positive nods. "Follow me then!"

* * *

><p>"Let my sister GO!" Kuja exclaimed as he struggled to break his chains.<p>

"Make… it… stop…" The small, blonde girl begged as the cloaked man slowly pulled her hair while holding her head to the ground with his foot.

"You know how to make it stop, Kuja." The man said.

"Fine! I'll do it, just let her go." Kuja begged.

"Good to know, but I'll be taking her, just so I know I can trust you." The man replied, taking his foot of her head and forcefully pulling her up by her hair. "Now, be a good girl and don't get in your brothers way, okay?"

"Okay…" The blonde girl replied, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Okay then Kuja, lead the way." The man said as he cut through the bonds. Kuja groaned in displeasure but he still created a portal and leading the man through it.

"You two stay here, I'll deal with this myself." The man said as he went through the portal.

"Who told him I wanted to leave my lab? My other homunculi are on the brink of being ready for the infusion." Lezard commented.

"You are the single, sickest bastard I know Lezard. The way you made Kuja talk, priceless!" Kefka complimented. "I must admit, that was pure genius."

"The best part about it is, the experiment was a success!"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Finally… a fighting chance!"_

_"Well, there is one more city to look."_

_"God, look at her."_


	27. The Misadventures of Bartz and Co

****Author's Note:**** Okay, first of all, I'm sorry. Blame Skyrim, I only remembered about the date I'd set today, but one day off isn't that bad, so yeah. I may or may not throw an extra chapter this week, since this one is only half of the chapter I had planned, but it turned huge. Enjoy.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

****The Misadventures of Bartz and Co.****

* * *

><p>"That's… a lot to take in one go." Tifa commented as Shinryu finished telling what had happened in the cave. Her wrist was wrapped in cast, no big deal, but she needed to stay on the sidelines for a bit.<p>

"If you feel that way, imagine me." Shinryu remarked, shrugging. "I'm apparently a former genocidal lizard."

"Sooooo, can you, you know…" Luso began, fortunately, the boy only had minor scratches, but he still had a large bandage covering his forehead.

"No, I can't turn into a dragon." Shinryu stated guessing Luso's question who sighed in disappointment.

"So, with Cloud's crystal, Terra's crystal and Bartz's, we have 3 crystals… Finally… a fighting chance." Crono muttered. Staying true to his fame, he didn't have a single scratch on his body.

"It would have gone a lot better if Cid hadn't slipped from our hands." Zack remarked. As soon as they left the church they noticed the lack of the old man, they immediately started searching for him but they deemed that he must have escaped through the Rift.

"I don't understand why he would run away from us." Terra commented.

"Cid's a hard man to understand, maybe he feels guilty, but he probably has some reason. I guess we'll have to wait to find out." Aya replied. She didn't seem to have physical injuries, but she seemed so tired that she could fall face first any minute.

"Most importantly, what do we do now?" Ramza questioned, he too was completely drained, but for the sake of the team, he stayed awake. "We have no idea on how to cross the Rift, and we appear to have already gotten all of this world's crystals, excluding Cecil's, but that one should not be hard to find."

"Somehow I don't think that the crystals that are in the chambers are the same as these." Rydia said, cutting off Ramza's trail of thought. "It's not like Terra's responded to them anyway."

"That only makes the matters worse. What do we do now?"

"Well, there's one more city were we can look." Bartz stated, turning the entire meeting room to him.

"It should be directly to the south." Lenna finished.

"How do _you_ know that?" Rufus asked cynically.

"It's a long story…" Bartz said, trying to shrug the topic, he wanted to get out as soon as possible, but it was here that having a girlfriend didn't pay off.

"Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it." Lenna told Rufus.

"_Damn it Lenna."_ He kept to himself as he watched Lenna give him a devious look.

"It all started about a week ago. For the first time in _months__, _yeah… _months__. _Bartz came to visit Tycoon." Lenna briefly shot a glare at Bartz before moving on. "He was strangely accompanied by Krile, apparently he had _somehow_discovered a purple stone and brought it to _Krile's _researchers, not mine, to be examined. It just goes to show what Bartz's really made off."

"Oh come on, you can't STILL be sore about that, I was closer to Krile's kingdom than yours." Bartz protested, to no avail.

"Wait, Krile HAS A KINGDOM?" Edge blurted.

"Yeah, so?" Krile replied.

"You're a king, everything's possible from that point on." Rydia pointed out.

"BURN!" Zack exclaimed, followed by a burst of laughter.

"DO I HAVE TO REMIND YOU WERE WE ARE?" Rufus boomed, turning the laughing atmosphere into one of terror. "Good, proceed…" He told Lenna.

"Ye-yeah sure."She stumbled at the sight of the president. "Okay, where was I? Oh yes, when Bartz arrived he told me that soon after he arrived at Bal, it was attacked by "crystal things". You can guess what those were." Everyone nodded. "Now, we didn't have a clue about what we should do until Faris busted into the castle claiming that there was a "Giant whirlpool, rift looking thing" in the ocean near Tycoon. So we talked to the fisherman, and they confirmed that they had seen strange crystalline beings emerge from the beaches and they also confirmed the giant whirlpool."

"Are you saying that manikins sink? And that they walk on the bottom of the ocean?" Zack asked.

"Well, duh! They're made of rocks." Faris spat. "Sorry Lenna, but you're taking too long, here's what happened."

* * *

><p>"So this is the hole…" Bartz said, staring into the unknown as they sailed right next to the whirlpool. The crystal he had was resonating to it so this had to be the reason for all the weird stuff that happened.<p>

"Y'know captn, I have a bad feeling about this place here." Faris first mate warned, ruffling the beads on his head while making rather feminine gestures.

"Shut up Jack, you'll never reach captain if you maintain that attitude!" Faris spat back. "So, Bartz, what do we do now?"

"We jump!" He exclaimed.

"WHAT?" The whole crew yelled. And they thought their captain had a screw loose.

"Bartz, did you eat the shrooms in my chest?" Faris asked. "They were for selling!" Bartz HAD to have had the hallucinogenic shrooms, it was the only possible explanation for that retarded idea.

"The crystal is telling me to go!" Bartz replied, only adding to the suspicion.

"That settles it, he's high." Faris remarked, taking her palm to her face.

Suddenly, Bartz's arm jolted forward, pushing him off board and stopping in midair, floating just above the maelstrom.

"Still think I'm high?" Bartz exclaimed as he tried to hold on to his shinning crystal.

"Captain! There's something latching on to the ship!" One of Faris's crewman shouted before a large thud was heard.

"The deck is leaking! Those things are getting in!"

"We're sinking!"

"Thank you Captain Obvious!"

"Shut your mouth and work you fresh water sailors! I didn't raise a crew of dogs or did I?" Faris yelled.

"NO CAPTAIN!" The crew yelled in unison.

"DAMN RIGHT I DIDN'T, now go bust some heads!" She yelled.

"AYE!"Her whole crew responded, rushing towards the edges of the boat and bellow deck to fight off the manikins.

"You know we won't last Faris." Lenna remarked, awfully calm for the situation, it was like she already knew the solution.

"I know what you're thinking, but how do we get to the whirlpool? The waters will destroy our boat before we can even get near it." Faris asked.

"We shoot ourselves there!" Jack exclaimed.

"Sparrow, what the hell are you implying?" Faris spat, disturbed by what she thought her first mate was telling her.

"What you're thinking captain. We load the canons… with ourselves!" He exclaimed with a disturbing smile, considering what he had just said.

"Do you have any idea how STUPID that idea is? Has it ever even crossed your mind what can happen to us if we canon bolt ourselves into that hole?"

"Aye, I'm not that stupid Captain. But do you prefer to drown like a dog, or try and die like a pirate?"

"Well said Jack… Well said. PREPARE THE CANONS!" Faris yelled, still surprised by the spirit of her first mate.

"But we don't have ammunition Captn!" One replied.

"We don't need ammunition, we ARE the ammunition." Faris exclaimed, turning into a samurai. "Now git! We'll hold them off. Jack, you're in charge of the canons."

"AYE AYE!" The whole crew shouted as some made their way below deck while others started preparing the canons on top.

Shortly after all the canons were full of gunpowder and ready to fire, the crew... not so much.

"What are you waiting for? Get in the canons!" Faris ordered.

"But captn…" One of the crewmen began before being interrupted by a shrill cry.

"OH SHIIII….!" Bartz shouted just as the crystal stopped floating, sending him straight to the darkness bellow.

"Bartz!" Lenna shouted, turning into a dragoon and jumping into the whirlpool after him, Boko jumping right behind her.

"You coming?" Krile taunted as she changed into a dragoon. "JERONIMO!"

"See that? Are you going to let a wee lass like that get the best of us? I'll be the example!" Jack shouted, putting himself into a canon and lit the fuse.

"You're mad Jack, MAD!" His best mate Gibbs told him.

"Good thing I am or this probably would never work." He said with a carefree smile on his face just before being blasted into the middle of vortex. _"Maybe this wasn't one of my best ideas…" _Was all he could muster as he plunged into the darkness.

"I'm going after him!" Gibbs said, shattering the crew's hesitation.

"AYE!"

Faris just smiled as she changed into a dragoon and jumped, seeing all her crew sending themselves into the abyss. _"Bartz has a pretty good challenger…"_

* * *

><p>Faris was interrupted just as Cuore made an entrance in the room.<p>

"How's Edgar?" Terra asked worryingly.

"He's going to be okay, but it'll take a while before he can see with his right eye." The girl replied. "I healed most of them, but they need a lot of rest."

"They had bad luck… Running into a super battle piece like that." Crono commented, nudging his eyes.

"Yeah…" Tifa said, holding her wrist. "It was weird… Fighting a clone of Cloud like that."

"At least none of the orphans got hurt." Locke said as he limped into the room.

"Locke! You should be resting!" Terra exclaimed.

"Nonsense, I have to hear this." Locke shrugged, flexing his muscles in an attempt to conceal his state, but his wounds opened up again. "Looks like… I'm really bedridden, I just had to say, the kids don't have a single scratch on them. Don't worry, I can walk back myself." Locke informed, clutching to his chest as he made his way out of the room slowly.

"Now where was I?" Faris wondered.

"No fair! My turn!" Krile announced. "So then, when I was falling I noticed that Bartz was like, floating in the middle of a purple bubble and when I fell into my speed disappeared!"

* * *

><p>"Nice!" Krile exclaimed as she started swimming through thin air.<p>

"Yeah, I know! Oh look, here comes Faris and the crew!" Bartz exclaimed as the bubble started to get cluttered by the pirates.

"It worked…?" Jack asked, still not believing that he was alive. "Twas expected!" He tried to mask.

"I can see the ground from here!" Lenna exclaimed. "And is that… a castle?" She said as he skimmed her eyes.

"It's more than a castle, there's a whole city there!" Faris exclaimed.

"Okay then, we know where to head nooooooooooooooooooooooooooow!" Bartz was interrupted just as the bubble pooped. Fortunately they were close to the ground but that didn't stop them from forming a dog pile on top of Bartz. "My ribs…" He whimpered.

* * *

><p>After a short walk of about half an hour, Bartz and company arrived at the walls of the castle town.<p>

"Welcome to Alexandria travelers! Are you here for the annual "I want to be your canary" play? If so, you're out of luck, it has been delayed indefinitely." A young guard exclaimed happily. Must have been his first day on the job.

"Actually, we're not here for that. Can you tell us how to get to the castle?" Lenna asked. Talking to the ruler is the way to go, she thought.

"First time in Alexandria huh? Well you can't miss it, just keep walking towards it and then you'll run into the river. Just ask for a boat ride to the castle, don't worry it's free! Now if you want to meet the Queen… you might have a bit of trouble with that." He excused, scrathing his head.

"Why?" Bartz asked.

"Well… I don't know if I should tell you this, but the queen kinda disappeared with the king a couple of days ago…" The guard said with an embarrassed look plastered on his face.

"Did something bad happen?" Krile asked preoccupied.

"That's the thing… no. Sometimes the king just up and leaves, taking the queen with him. The royal guards must be fuming right now, especially General Beatrix, she must be on the mood to see some heads rolling." The guard replied, a scared look plastering on his face as he talked about his general. "I even heard that she's going to take the airship to go and look for them."

"Thank you for the information, have a nice day!" Lenna hastily replied, signaling everyone to keep going as she pulled Bartz to the city, stopping any follow up questions.

"What was that for?" Bartz asked, grabbing his arm.

"If we ask too much they can get suspicious, just as they can if we travel in such a big group." Lenna explained, turning her gaze to the pirate crew.

"Okay, we split up, but what are these guys gonna do?" Bartz divagated.

"Gather information I guess…" Lenna suggested.

"Fine!" Faris fired. "I don't like what I'm about to do one bit but… a crew needs a captain, and this may take a while." Faris said while taking out her captain's hat.

"Captn…" The crew said in anticipation.

"Jack, you're captain until I'm back, enjoy." She said dryly, shoving her hat in Jack's head.

"Captain Jack Sparrow… Sounds good!" Jack exclaimed, trying to keep his cool but still erupting in an over the top way.

"When I come back, I want my crew as it is AND I want information about this town, if I'm not satisfied, you're walking the plank "captain". Understood?" Faris stated, shutting down Jack's excitement and creating a huge lump on his throat.

"A-Aye Aye captain!" He exclaimed.

"Now that's done, let's get to the castle." Faris said, bidding farewell to her crew.

* * *

><p>"Beatrix calm down!" An armored, very stuffy man shouted as he chased a light chocolate haired woman down a hallway. "I'm sure the queen is well."<p>

Hearing his statement Beatrix made an abrupt stop, turning to face the armored man, glaring at him with her one eye. Her other eye was covered by a white eye-patch, lost in a long forgotten battle. Her long tailed coat matching her eye-patch.

"I don't CARE if they are well, I'm tired of those two lovebirds always managing to escape the castle without THE KNIGHTS OF PLUTO NOTICING!" She fired back, shooting an incriminatory glare at the man.

"Beatrix, my sweet…"

"Don't you DARE sweet talking me Steiner, you're going to stay here and care for the castle, me? I'm going to round up my soldiers and teach that monkey a lesson!"

"Beatrix, they never leave for more than a week, it's already been five days, let them have their rest, you know you can't turn a thief into a king that easily." Steiner said in the most convincing tone he could muster in front of the enraged general. He had to admit, his wife was the one wearing the pants in that relationship.

"Since when are you on their side…" Beatrix said as she calmed down, rubbing her temples. "Be that as it may, I need some fresh air, I'll take the Red Rose for some exploration, reports are that an entirely new continent has appeared."

"A continent doesn't just_ appear_." Steiner protested.

"Apparently, it does. I'll be back later tonight, maybe even tomorrow, don't wait for me for dinner." She replied, bidding her husband farewell.

* * *

><p>"C'mon Faris, you're slowing us down!" Bartz exclaimed.<p>

"Shut up Bartz… they can hear us." Lenna replied. Bartz Lenna and Krile were all plastered on the ceiling using their ninja skills, safe from the guards sight, while Faris was still struggling to dodge their field of vision. Contrary to them, she refused to use her ninja class, she always did, it was against her principles, ninjas were disgusting beings. Eventually she managed to dodge the guards and they arrived at what seemed to be a hangar.

"When do we depart Miss?" A female soldier asked the passing general.

"Immediately." Beatrix stated dryly.

"U-uh? Yes mam! Prepare the engines."

Immediately after the sounds of the airship's engine could be heard.

"Were are we going?" A soldier that was passing next to the group asked her companion.

"I heard we're going to go look for the queen, but I don't know." She replied.

"Oh well, maybe we can actually USE the chocobos for once!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah!"

"Chocobos? Didn't we smuggle Boko into the stable? Crap!" Bartz exclaimed as he saw Boko being loaded onto the ship.

"Don't worry, if they're going to find the queen, we need to get in that ship anyway." Lenna stated reassuringly.

"But how does Faris get in?" Bartz asked.

"I have an idea!" Krile exclaimed, turning into a black mage. "Vanish!" She chanted, covering Faris from sight. "This won't hold up for a long time, let's get inside as soon as we can." Krile said as she changed back into a ninja.

"Okay, go!"

* * *

><p>Several hours later.<p>

"Are they ever going to find her?" Bartz asked. "Being glued to a wall isn't that entertaining." He complained. They were all hidden at plain sight, a sheet covering them while Faris was a black mage, trying to keep vanish up at all times.

"The guards just left, let's get some rest." Lenna suggested.

"Look, outside! What is that?" Krile marveled as she saw Midgar.

"They look like ruins." Faris stated dryly.

"That building looks fine, but I've never seen anything like it." Bartz said.

"Neither have I." An unknown female voice punctuated.

"Please let it not be that… crap…." Bartz lamented as he turned back to see Beatrix standing there, sword drawn and ready to rumble.

"Any last words?" She interrogated.

"We come in peace?..." Lenna replied, but she knew that three ninjas and a black mage didn't exactly seem friendly.

"If you did, why did you sneak on board?" she asked, taking a step forward. "You know, I don't take too kindly to spies."

"RUN!" Bartz exclaimed, throwing a smoke bomb into the ground.

"GUARDS! Seize them!" Beatrix boomed, and all hell broke loose.

* * *

><p>"I don't know what happened to Bartz after we split up, he went right we went left. I do know that we spent quite a bit of them trying to outsmart the guards, but we were cornered by the guards at the deck, and let me tell you, it wasn't pretty."<p>

* * *

><p>"Surrender now, and you may even survive." Beatrix announced as she reached the deck.<p>

"I don't trust her." Faris told Lenna, but ended up being overheard.

"Well then, sad for you! Climhazzard!" Beatrix exclaimed, jumping and swinging her sword down, lading right in the middle of the girls. The ensuing shockwave rocketed them to the edge of the airship, completely powerless.

"Just how strong is this woman?"

"So, have you changed your mind yet?" Beatrix interrogated, towering over them.

Suddenly the ship trembled as a large bang was heard.

"What was that? Beatrix demanded.

"It was the chocobo's stable, General! The man just blasted the walls and seems to have jumped off with a chocobo!" A soldier explained, still black from the explosion.

"It's his death." Beatrix replied, turning to the girls who were standing up right next to the edge.

"I think it's more like, "our escape"! Time mage go!" Krile exclaimed as they all turned into time mages. "Float!" The chanted in unison, quickly jumping off board.

"No! Turn the ship!" Beatrix ordered.

"Captain, the ship is heavily damaged, every moment we are on the air is on borrowed time, we're lucky if we even are able to get back." The engineer exclaimed.

"Alexandria is hours away!" A soldier exclaimed, panicking.

"And that's why we can't afford to get into a chase, quickly, to Alexandria!" Beatrix ordered, looking down upon the three girls. "Next time, you won't be so lucky!" But all she got was Krile sticking out her tongue.

* * *

><p>"And that's how we got to the montain near the cave. We saw Bartz land on the other side of the mountain but he thought it would be nice to go THROUGH the cave instead of AROUND the cave, so we lost him." Krile finished.<p>

"DIE PIGS!" Zack yelled at his phone.

"Zack, please don't tell me you've been playing video games through the whole conversation." Cissnei asked darkly as she swept his Iphone from his hands.

"Not ALL of it." He tried to excuse himself.

"Alexandria." Cissnei said.

"What?"

"Exactly!" She said, hitting him on the upside of the head.

"Well, now that that's done, what now?" Edge asked.

"Now we decide who goes there." Rufus stated. "If we are to talk to a king, we must send kings, are you sure Edgar can't go?"

"I can go and see." Terra suggested.

"Okay, do that." Rufus said.

Without further ado, Terra raced towards the exit and to the infirmary.

"Now, is there anyone from your world that can represent it politically?" Rufus asked Rydia.

"I don't thi… don't you dare!" She told Edge but it was too late.

"I'll do it! I'm a king!" Edge exclaimed.

"We're screwed…" Cloud remarked, most of the room agreeing.

"I should go as well, we're all queens and technically, Faris is a princess." Lenna suggested, making Faris scuff at the mention of her title.

"I don't think they'll be very happy to see you again." Cloud again remarked.

"You're talkative today." Tifa commented, immediately making Cloud turn his head with a slight tinge of red creeping onto his face.

"That's true but, they have the right to go, anyone else want to go?" Rufus asked.

"I do." Shinryu stated. "I created this mess, I'll solve it."

"Oh please, don't give us that speech." Layle interrupted. "But it does sound interesting, I'm in."

"Me too, we don't have injuries to take care of." Crono completed. "And I'm the one that can explain this the best."

"Good, then for this world… Cloud, Zack, Shelke, Tifa. You're going." Rufus stated.

"But what about my kids?" Tifa asked.

"Barret's home." Rufus replied.

"That only makes me MORE worried… But I guess I have to keep an eye on Cloud." She shrugged. "Okay then."

"Great, get some rest, you've earned it. Tomorrow is another day."

"Hey Tifa, what time it it?" Yuffie asked.

"Huh? Half past two." She replied.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked with a mischievous smile.

"Shopping!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Hell's yeah! C'mon Rydia, we'll take Terra and go on a shopping spree!" She said grabbing Rydia and rushing out the door.

Just after Zack's holy materia came flying of his pocket and lodged herself on Tifa's.

"Byeeeeeeeeeee Zack!" Aerith exclaimed playfully on his head.

"Traitor!" He hissed back.

"I'll go too!" Cissnei exclaimed, receiving confused glances. "I'm a woman too!" She fired back. "Oh and by the way Zack. Here's the address." She said, throwing a piece of paper to Zack.

"Thanks Ciss."

"Anytime, they were really happy to see me again, I can't imagine how they'll react if they see you." She giggle, running after Yuffie.

"What's that?" Shinryu asked.

"My parents' address… They moved to Edge after Meteorfall." Zack explained with a nostalgic expression. "I wonder how they're doing…"

* * *

><p>In the infirmary Terra found, looking out the window, a heavily bandaged Edgar, the most prominent of them covering his right eye. Filled with guilt she approached him.<p>

"Hey Edgar…" She called softly.

"Oh, didn't see you there Terra. What is it?" He asked before being pulled into a hug.

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't have left you to protect them by yourself" she quickly apologized before letting go.

"Hey don't be! I offered myself to do it! Besides, this only happened because Sabin's a crappy body guard!" Edgar replied, trying to cheer Terra up.

"But still… You're right, no use on crying over spilled milk, how's the eye treating ya?" Terra asked, shoving sadness away, she had enough of that.

"Not so well, but the doctor's say I can see again in a month or two." Edgar replied as the nurse came in. He signaled her to wait with his smooth smile and ignored the swooning. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, we needed a king to go with us to Alexandria…"

"No way!" The nurse interjected. "He needs rest and constant care, his eye can be recovered easily, but his vision is very tricky, he was hit right in the cornea!"

"You go Terra!" Edgar replied, much to Terra's shock. "What? It was you that made all the decisions when we we're fighting Kefka, and it turned out fine, I'd even say that you'll make a better decision than me."

"Yeah, but I'm not a queen… Edgar!" She yelled as she comprehended what the king was going for.

"So much for that pick up line… But seriously, you should go, do you want me to write a letter or something?"

"I don't think we need it… but are you sure about this?" She asked.

"Yes, why not?" Edgar replied, instantly jolting his eyes up as he received a light peck on the cheek.

"Thanks Edgar, now if I can get Shinryu and Zack to come it'll be great." Terra exclaimed happily.

"TERRA!" A feminine voice shouted as a rope went through the door and tied Terra up. "GET OVER HERE!" It exclaimed, suddenly changing its tone. "We're going shopping!~" Yuffie exclaimed, pulling Terra away. She gave Edgar a small wave and they were off.

"God look at her…" Moments after Edgar bursted into laughter. The ruckus was so loud that even Sabin couldn't ignore it.

"What now brother?" The muscled man asked.

"Rejection sucks." He stated coldly.

"Wait what? She just kissed you man!"

"Yes she did. Sabin, it's no secret that I've had my fair share of kisses. That was definitely the "you're friend zoned forever" kiss."

"Geez man… harsh."

"Well back to my old life. Hey nuuuuurse!"

"He seems to be taking this rather well…" Sabin thought as a sweat drop went down his forehead.

* * *

><p>"So, where do I drop you off?" Zack asked Shinryu as he rode into Edge.<p>

"At Seventh Heaven… I need to sleep." Shinryu replied tiredly.

"Didn't sleep last night?" Zack was getting worried at all these blackouts he seemed to have, they had all had a good night's sleep.

"I did but… I feel so tired…" Shinryu felt he could just pass out any minute.

"You know, if every time you fight you need like two days to recover, you need to practice pacing yourself a bit better." Zack advised.

"You're one to talk!" He replied, getting a bit of his energy back.

"Touche… But you still owe me a uniform, got that?" Zack replied, nuddging his head.

"Fine, fine." Shinryu replied playfully.

* * *

><p>After getting dropped by Zack at the bar, Shinryu made his way to the guest room, slowly cranking the door open. He could hear the loud snores of a man but he decided to pay no mind to it.<p>

"_So much happened… I didn't get a chance to think it over." _He thought as he took of his shoes and lied on the bed. _"Still, I feel strangely relieved. Heh, I wonder what comes next?"_ He asked himself as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

><p>Zack stood in front of his parents' house. It was a modest one story high house, but then again, his parents never wanted much more, he had offered to pay for a better one when he got to first class but they'd always refuse. Summing up the resolve to resolve the ten year old breakup, he pushed the doorbell. It didn't take long before he heard agitated footsteps.<p>

"Why hello, how can I… It can't be…" The elderly woman began before freezing at the sight.

"Hello mom…"

* * *

><p>"Found anything Terra?" Rydia asked as she looked at Terra skimping towards a rack.<p>

"This one's perfect!" She exclaimed, hugging the garments.

* * *

><p>"We're here…" Kuja said darkly.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Sneaky lizard…"_

_"Hey Blank! Look at that!"_

_"Being king has its perks."_


	28. Fruits of Labor

**Author's note:** It's been half a year already… Time sure flies huh? Thanks to all of those that stuck with me and this story until now, oh wait, didn't I do this at chapter twenty-five already? Anyways, here's the other half that I promised earlier this week, now if you'll excuse me, I have two days to make a chapter, so yeah, see ya soon.

**PS:** Reviews are always nice.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

****Fruits of Labor****

* * *

><p>"<em>Finally, rest and relaxation. Oh you don't know how much I've waited for this, just lying down on the bed and… what is that noise?"<em>

"SHIIIINRY!" Yuffie cried, the sheer magnitude of the scream shaking the windows and waking everyone in a five mile radius up. As if that wasn't enough, Shinryu wasn't even able to get up as she was jumping around in his bed like a crazy person. "Hey Shinry, Shinry, are you awake?"

"Now I am you crazy ninja! DO you have any idea how relaxed I was? And don't call me Shinry, I'm not a pet!" Shinryu spurted back. _"Maybe I over did it…"_

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed!" Yuffie pouted.

"N0, I just woke up with a girl in my…. WOW that sounded wrong." Shinryu completely came to an halt just as he realized what he was about to say, but that was not enough to stop the entire room from a quake of laughter. There was a surprising amount of people in the room, none of them keeping a straight face on. Rydia, Edge, Cloud, Bartz and company and you could see Shelke, Tifa and Cuore in the background. "It's time to go already?" He asked, looking at the window. Considering the elevation of the sun, it was morning already. Damn, he was the king of oversleeping.

"Don't worry yourself with stuff like that!" Yuffie in a tone that made a sugar rushed squirrel seem calm. "We… I mean Terra got you something!" She exclaimed, bolting out of the room.

"_Terra__,__ what?" _He questioned himself, forcing himself into a sitting position on the edge of the bed.

"Let go of me!" Terra's voice echoed.

"You bought it, you give it." Celes' voice stated as she pushed Terra into the room. First thing Shinryu noticed was that Celes was still using crutches, a huge cask covering her right leg. But he didn't linger too much on the taller blonde, looking straight down he noticed Terra holding a large bag clenched to her chest. "What are you waiting for, go on!" Celes demanded in a _very_bad attempt to look irritated, she was this close to burst laughing.

Making a very weak attempt to look mad at her Terra concentrated to the task at hand and stepped forward, her arm jolting to the front, holding the bag just centimeters away from Shinryu's face.

"I-hum… thought you needed a new set of these…because… you know… those are ruined… and I thought these-look-good-on-you!" At first she stuttered but then she took the exact opposite approach, shooting words like a machine gun and slamming the bad against Shinryu's torso.

"Ooooohh, how cu-"Yuffie completely froze when Terra glared at her, she liked her neck where it was thank you.

Taking advantage of the confusion Shinryu shrugged of his own astonishment and peaked inside the bag. So Terra had gotten him new clothes, no surprise there. He looked at his half burned uniform, nodding. Still, it was reassuring to see that Terra worried about him. He looked up to see Terra being held down by Cloud and Edge, clawing at a _very_ frightened Yuffie, a faint tinge of red coloring her face. _"She must have run all the way here."_He told himself.

Noticing the stare Rydia put herself in the middle of the girls and said:

"You aren't expecting him to try them out with all of you in the room, now are you?" Most of the men shrugged, but then again, it wasn't directed at them. Yuffie didn't seem to mind, disturbing I know, Celes simply walked out and Terra turned her back as fast as possible, apologizing and running outside. Shrugging it all off, as soon as Rydia closed the door he poured the contents of the bag in the bed. They were awfully familiar, but nah, it couldn't be… But it WAS, as he observed the clothes they were definitely THOSE. Black with a golden trim. He even looked at the back of the jacket to find the dragon's wing, along with all the patterns of the rest of the clothes.

"_That sneaky lizard…"_ He concluded. Before he could even think of something else, he noticed a note falling down from the clothes. He quickly grabbed it and started reading.

"_Dear me, as promised, here are the perfect garments you and yourself made. No need to thank me,and don't how I did it, I just do. Now you have absolutely no excuse to kick ass and look good while you're doing it. Don't try and contact me, if I need to do it, I will, but you probably never will. Also, would you please stop using my name? It gets embarrassing, at least tell them to call you by your last name._

_Sincerely, you."_

"What, Shin?" He asked. "That's more of a nickname than another name… Well, at least it won't be hard to change it. He then noticed that the letter wasn't finished it and read the PS out loud. "Don't worry, I won't be watching ALL of the time… if you know what I'm saying." It took a while for Shin to figure out what he was saying… but when he did… "PERVERTED BASTARD!"

"Hey Edge, Shinryu's calling." Rydia pointed out from the outside, causing an eruption of laughter.

Trying to pay as little mind as he could to what Shinryu _could see_ if he wanted too, and if it ever happened, he quickly dressed up. He had to admit, he felt comfortable in those. Well, figures, they were tailor made and all, but he couldn't help but feel a magical vibe from them, it soothed him, maybe there were some spells put into it, you never know.

"You look gorgeous in those!" Rydia exclaimed when he opened the door. _Gorgeous _wasn't the best compliment for a man, but he put up with it, it was funny really, seeing Edge cower in defeat."Well, off to the plaza!" She exclaimed, beginning to pull Shin with her.

* * *

><p>Along the way, and after Shin freed himself he finally got to ask what was going on.<p>

"_First things first" _He thought."Terra, thanks a lot for the clothes, they fit perfectly! How much do I owe you?" He asked Terra who jumped at the sound of his voice. _"She's kinda off today…"_

"You don't owe me anything!" She hastely replied. "The shopkeeper gave them to us, apparently Tifa saved her daughter from manikins when she was fighting the Super Battle Piece, so she let us pick one piece we liked as thanks."

"Oh, but really thanks."

"You're welcome. By the way, if you're wondering about when we're gonna leave, we're waiting for them to finish upgrading the Blackjack before we go, we still have until the evening." She replied, as if she could read his thoughts.

"We?"

"Ye-Yeah, I'm coming instead of Edgar."She replied, quickly taking a deep breath._"Calm down Terra, you're jumpy today."_ She told herself.

"_I wonder why…"_Her esper teased.

"_One. More. Word. And. You. Are__.Dead."_ She threatened, punctuating every word.

"_Yeah right, keep dreaming."_

"Terra… Terra!" Shin called, snapping her awake. "Were you listening?"

"No…" She replied apologetically.

"Where are we going?"

"Oh that, well you see, I think you've improved, but we need to know how much. We can't get into dangerous situation without knowing each other's limits." She explained, noticeably calmer. Maybe it was handing a gift that made her nervous, she never had the money to give one, she gave Katarin her pendant because Edgar gave two of them to her. "So, you're fighting him." She finished, pointing at Bartz.

"Bartz? Oh this is gonna be rich!" Shinryu replied, finding the irony too amusing.

* * *

><p>After not even five minutes both Bartz and Shin were standing face to face at the plaza, swords drawn.<p>

"Okay, since this a practice match I'll cast protect on the swords, that way they won't cut through, okay?" Terra asked. Seeing as they both nodded, she made a quick incantation and stepped back a few feet. "I'll be the referee, any blow that would be mortal will end the duel. Remember, no magic and/or Spellblade, you'll seriously get hurt with that, and since you guys specialize in the same thing it should be fair. Ready?"

"I'm so gonna kick your ass!" Bartz exclaimed, pointing the brave blade a Shin.

"Set!"

"Nononono, I'm going to kick YOUR ass!" Shinryu replied, answering the pointed blade with his.

"Oh, it's on now!"

"GO!" Terra shouted.

At the sound of the girl, both swordsmen made a quick jab to each other's head. Curiously they reacted the same way, by jumping backwards. They were now about thirty feet away from each other. Shin started to scout Bartz for weaknesses. Compared to Zack he had a completely different posture, he was full of openings, but Shin deduced that he was confident he could dodge and counter.

"Doesn't Bartz need to change jobs?" Yuffie asked Lenna.

"Not for his normal fighting, he can keep his primary abilities from two other jobs on his freelancer job, so he's fighting at his peak with it." She explained, narrowly missing the first movement.

Even if Shin knew Bartz would dodge he needed to take the first step, he need to impose his pace. Because of that he lunged at Bartz, going for the left leg just like he did with Zack. Bartz easily blocked the blow, making the Lightbringer bury it's tip on the ground. Terra sighed at it but was soon to be proven wrong. Using his sword for balance, Shin unleashed a spinning kick, connecting right in Bartz's jaw, sending him flying. Next thing he knew, Shin was already on top of him, punching him into the ground.

"He can use his body too huh?" Terra commented.

"Not bad… not bad at all." Cloud remarked, drawing the First Tsurugi. "Well, Bartz's out, I'll be your opponent." He stated, shocking Tifa.

"Cloud's actually CARING?" She exclaimed, but Cloud just shrugged it off. However as Cloud was heading to the center Bartz just jumped back into a fighting position.

"Oh you've done it now!" He exclaimed, summoning an identical sword to his left hand. "It's time for round two! Can't use Spellblade, but two thirds of my combo are right here!"

"Seriously, what's with all the dual wielding nowadays?" Shin interrogated, going back to get his sword.

"Okay then, round two… Ready?" Terra asked.

Shin quickly picked up his sword and assumed a defensive position, the hilt protecting his chest in the diagonal. He had a feeling that Bartz was not going to play around this time.

"Set?"

* * *

><p>"Hey Blank, look at that! Those guys are going at it." A young man exclaimed from a nearby roof. He had straight blond hair, some of which of was tied in a pony tail at the back of his head, overshadowed by the black cloak he was wearing. The black cloak extended itself to his feet, concealing a frenetic movement from his rear, as if there was something there.<p>

"Don't tell me you plan on watching!" The red haired man exclaimed. He had a leather belt covering most of his face and he was dressed in … rags.

"Well duh!"

"Just what are you two doing?" A young woman asked as she managed to get on top of the roof. Her white mage cloak was considerably stained by dirt, and it wasn't a smile that it was hiding.

"Shhh, they might hear us Sarah." The cloaked young man warned.

"Fine! But after you watch these guys we're going home! I don't even want to think what Beatrix will do too us when we get back…" She lamented as she laid down next to the two men and started watching.

* * *

><p>During their conversation Shin was not holding up so well. He could handle one sword, but two was not exactly the same. Considering how heavy the Lightbringer was he could only block one of the swords so he had taken quite a beating, even when he tried his best.<p>

"Shinryu!Why,don't you, DOOOOODGE?" Edge shouted. Easy for him to say, his swords were light as feathers. Still he had a point there.

The hesitation of him thinking was all that Bartz needed however.

"Time to finish this! Rapid Fire!" He announced, quickly jumping high and closing the gap between them and unleashing a fury of blows. They were too fast to try and dodge so Shin instinctively raised his sword, parrying both blows but taking him too one knee in the process. Bartz didn't let up as he continued to describe semi circles with his sword, constantly pushing Shin's blade down. Once he got to the head, it was game over. Trying to think straight while receiving the assault, Shin could only think of one, extremely reckless solution. Just as Bartz pulled his swords up for the final strike, the Lightbringer took flight, crashing into both his swords, leaving the men weaponless.

"_That should even it up."_ Shin thought to himself. "Now, let's finish this!" He yelled, delivering a punch right in Bartz's nose, who only backed up slightly, using the momentum of the swing he delivered a spinning kick to Bartz's jaw, rendering airborne. Then a wild spark lit in Shin's eyes. Jumping after Bartz he punched him yet again, shooting him even higher in the air. Kicking a nearby house for a boost he grabbed Bartz's neck from the back and planted both knees on the freelancers back, sending him even higher as he gasped for air. He was about twenty meters high now. Finally, landing on the roof right next to the cloaked young man's, he gave a giant leap, putting him right next to Bartz. Joining his hands and pulling the up he began to bring a double axe handle on Bartz's sternum.

"Uh oh!" Terra exclaimed, her hands beginning to shine in blue light.

Just as his hands collided with Bartz's chest he could hear a crack, something that immediately took his attention, but it was too late to stop. Bartz was already plummeting downwards, crashing into the ground and raising a giant cloud of smoke. He would be more worried if he wasn't twenty meters in the air himself. Fortunately, just before he hit the ground he stopped in mid air. Looking to the right he could see Terra with both hands stretched and shinning in blue light. His satisfaction didn't last very long, as he was assaulted by an infuriated Lenna.

"This was a SPAR, if Terra hadn't interfered you'd probably be BOTH in the hospital!" She screamed.

Knowing that Shin looked at where Bartz had fallen and found him in the same situation he was in, and didn't seem to have anything broken or anything. He looked at Terra and gave an apologetic smile that was met with a glare. He quickly turned his head in fear.

"Begginers luck!" Bartz shouted. "I want a rematch!"

"Shut up, you lost, suck it up." Faris stated dryly.

"But I..."

"NO BUTS!"

"Okay…" Bartz said, finally cracking.

"He broke through Protect, with one punch…" Terra said, still a bit incredulous. It was a reaction cast so it wasn't a very powerful spell, but still, was this the guy that a mere week ago was demolished in five seconds by Zack?

"As impressive as that was, he's still full of flaws. He was reckless AND he doesn't know how to pace himself." Celes stated dryly. "He still needs us to babysit him for a while…" She lamented.

* * *

><p>"Those guys are monsters!" Blank said terrified.<p>

"But they look chill." The cloaked man added.

"I guess… Well, let's go home, shall we?" The white mage suggested.

"Fine by me, I hope they'll get there soon." The man said, pulling out a gizmo.

"How did you get one of those?" Blank asked, looking at the teleporter.

"Being a king has its perks!" And with that they had disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Guys, it's almost time for lunch!" Edge exclaimed.<p>

"We still have to go get Zack." Tifa affirmed.

"Isn't he at his parents' house?" Shin asked, maybe he wanted to stay a bit longer.

"Yeah, but he texted me, he needs us to get him out, do you really think his parents will be willing to let him go after that many years?" Cloud remarked.

"Fine, let's go."

* * *

><p>"So, what are you planning on doing from now on son?" Zack's father asked. He was a grizzled man of average height, his plain brown clothing showed his lack of interest in money or notoriety. "Don't tell me you still plan on being a SOLDIER."<p>

"As a matter of fact, I do." Zack replied, gulping. "I'm too old to do anything else, and really, it's what I like to do, danger or no danger."

"I see…" His farther replied, lowering his head and looking at his shoes. "I don't suppose I can change your mind on this one."

"Sorry dad…"

"Well, if it's what you really want to do, then it's alright. Just come and visit often okay? We live in the same city after all. Now, can't you take a day or two off? We have a lot to catch up with." His mother said gently. Zack froze, not knowing how to break the news of him going away that day.

"Hey Zaaaaack~!" Aerith's voice called, entering from the open window. "It's almost time!" She said, materializing. Zack's father almost fell of his chair as he saw the young woman materialize in front of him.

"Who's this lady Zack?" He inquired.

"She's…a friend." He said, trying to avoid awkwardness.

"I'm his ex!" She chirped. Well so much for that plan.

"So this is the girl that you wrote us about… but what about that cute little orange haired one?" His mother asked.

"Strictly business!" Zack interjected.

"Really? I could have sworn that…"

"Anyway, what made you both break up?" His father asked, noticing his son's discomfort.

"Well… Zack kind of died." She replied. Sure enough Zack's parents stopped talking.

"That must have been hard for you de-" She stopped when she noticed her hand had just gone through the girl. "You…"

"Yup, dead." Aerith was probably taking death a little _too_ lightly.

The awkward silence was broken when they heard a lot of noise from the outside.

"Are you sure it's here?" Cloud's voice asked.

"Probably." Tifa replied.

"I'll just go ahead and hit the door."

"Zack, are you…" His mother asked. Zack merely scratched the back of his head and nodded slightly. His mother made a depressed face but it quickly turned into a smile as she hugged her son. "Make us proud."

"Of course!" He replied energetically, picking Aerith's materia, regardless of the illusion and shoving into his pocket.

"OW!" She whimpered.

"See ya in a bit dad, mom! When I come back, they'll make a statue for me."

"Sure they will son." His father said sarcastically, or maybe not.

"Our son really has quite the gang, doesn't he?"

"Yes… yes he does."

* * *

><p>The rest of the day went by pretty quickly, while nothing special happened, both Shin and Zack noticed that the amount that Terra ate was enough for AT LEAST five people. Worst of all they couldn't even see her eating. If they turned their attentions elsewhere for a second they would look to find her dish emptied. They swore to find out how she did it.<p>

At about six thirty PM Zack, Terra and Shin were watching reruns of the show Zack had missed when he disappeared all those years ago. The concept of television still boggled Terra, but she still enjoyed watching it, like when you give a baby a new toy.

"Oh, oh, now's the best part." Tifa WAS a tomboy, so she was into the kind of shows Zack was, surprisingly, even Cloud was.

"You… you can't be Vegeta!"

"Of course not, I am Super Vegeta!"

And then the TV was turned off.

"HEY, what's the… Sorry boss!" That had to be the quickest change on tone Zack had ever made.

"I've put it on recording. Don't worry." Cissnei said, winking. "Now, get going, the ship's ready."

"Fiiiine." Zack replied. "So, where's Cid?"

"He's not the pilot." Rufus stated.

"Setzer?"

"Broke his arm."

"Then who's piloting?"

"I am!" Terra said sheepishly, winking and skimping away.

"We're soooooo screwed…."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"I love you guys!"_

_"Let's get this show started!"_

_"I finally found it!"_


	29. I Want to be Your Canary

**Author's note:** Another week, another day late. This really ticks me off much more than it does to you I'm sure, I don't like failing to meet deadlines, especially ones that I made myself. On the bright side, at least this month will have five chapters instead of four… Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

**PS:** Keep reviewing, you've been great so far.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

****I Want to be Your Canary****

* * *

><p>"Are you SURE you know how to pilot this thing?" Zack asked. Somehow, Terra didn't look like a pilot… okay maybe he was being a <em>little<em> sexist.

"For your information, piloting has been my hobby for over a year!" She fired back.

"It has?" Shinryu asked, curious.

"Well yes, when I stopped being able to fly after Kefka's fall I had a minor depression, I felt stuck to the ground, like a bird without wings. Everyone realized that but Setzer took a set further than just encouraging me to accept it and came every time he didn't have work to do and let me pilot the Blackjack. It really felt refreshing, it wasn't the same as me flying, but feeling the air rushing past my face and toying with my hair was something I needed. Plus the gesture of giving up a great part of his free time just to stop a silly depression really touched me."

"Is flying really all that fun?" He asked. If losing the ability to do it was so devastating it must have been.

"Uhu. You should try it someday." Terra suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Not by yourself, I mean fly an airship or something. Not today though, there are too many people on this ship."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence…"

"Anytime!"

"Sorry to interrupt your friendly banter, but I just got the coordinates from the satellites." Shelke said coldly. "I'll just go ahead and link Tron to the machines downstairs. The GPS near the wheel will do the rest, any doubt, you just ask Tron, okay?"

There was something about that girl that could creep everyone out if she so deemed. A grown woman in a little girl's body was a little freaky, especially a woman that made Cissnei look like a slacker. They just nodded and Shelke disappeared from deck, telling them that she would be on room 3 if they needed her.

Getting everyone to the airship and saying their goodbyes took longer than they thought, when the ship was ready to take flight it was already past Nine Pm. They would have to fly at night.

"Don't worry Terra, just make sure you follow the arrow and I'll be okay." Tron said, his voice coming from the newly installed circular device just besides the wheel. Zack had briefly explained what a GPS was and Shelke had programmed it, they were all ready to go.

"Just a fair warning." Terra said. This couldn't be good. "I don't pilot like those slowpokes you're used to." She stated, pulling the speed leaver all the way to the maximum. For reference Setzer normally used two of the seven levels, four if he REALLY was in a hurry.

"Déjà vu…" Shin commented as he was being thrown around the deck and down the stairs.

* * *

><p>"I don't CARE what he did, you are NOT killing off one of our main characters, much less grounding the other one! Do you have ANY idea how hard it would be to get someone to pull off their part now? No, you don't missy!" The large, stocky man angrily told Beatrix. He seemed to be the only one in the room that could look at the general in the eye, the rest were cowering or trying to stop the fight.<p>

"Well Baku, I don't CARE how hard it is, do it! We don't even know when they'll show up, and we have THOUSANDS of tourists that have been waiting for the damned play for a week now. Marcus did his part good enough last time." Beatrix snorted back. "Besides, we had SPIES on our ship, we are lucky we can even DO the play."

"It's not the same without those two! And Blank also went to god knows where!" Baku fired back. "I'm not moving without my three most important actors!" His face getting dangerously close to the general's.

"Well then, I guess you'll not be moving at all!" Beatrix replied, pushing Steiner and half the guards off the way. "Let's settle this my way! First to bleed has to obey the other."

Suddenly the doors of the throne room spread open and Blank, together with the two hooded teens walked in.

"Calm down, the main characters are here!" The cloaked teen announced cockily, throwing his cloak to the air, revealing his teal vest covering the white sleeveless shirts, his brown leather belt, blue trousers and white boots. He then pulled his extremely light green hued gloves from his pocket, along with his blue cuffs. To put the icing on the cake he tied his ribbon in a bow. His tail waggled furiously at getting so much attention, maybe a little too much. "Now, let's get something to eat!" He said casually.

"ZIDANE TRIBAL! If you weren't king I would murder you without hesitation! But..." Beatrix was hastily interrupted by the tailed teen as he continued with his playful banter.

"Now now Beatrix, that's King Zidane Till Alexandros to you!" You could spend hours talking about how Zidane hated the responsibility of being king, but when it came to abusing his power for his own gain, he was second to none.

"You insolent little…" Beatrix began before being interrupted again, this time by the girl in the white mage garb.

"Beatrix, you know how Zidane can be, just let it go. Oh and Baku, sorry for the delay, can you schedule the show for tomorrow morning? I'll send messengers for the guests." The girl said as she took off her cloak, revealing a short haired teen dressed in a white blouse covered by an orange jumpsuit, red boots and red gloves.

"You cut your hair again Pr- I mean Queen Garnet?" Steiner asked, tumbling on the name he had called her for sixteen years. Kid sure grow.

"Yes, me and Zidane liked it better that way, I'm sure that now that Alexandria is over the shock of having Zidane as king it won't be a problem to cut my hair." She replied, tilting her head to the side. "Why? Does it look bad on me?" She asked in an oh-too-cute manner.

"N-nononoo, not all my queen!" Steiner excused.

"For the last time Steiner, you can call me Garnet!" She insisted.

"Or Sarah, you can even call her Dagger!" Zidane exclaimed, jumping on top of Steiner. "C'mon Rusty, loosen up, we're all friends here!"

"Zidane looks like a kid that they gave a new toy too…" Garnet sighed.

"Anyway!" Ruby exclaimed, now that Beatrix was slightly more calm she found the guts to talk. "Y'all better know the script, I won't let you put to shame my amazing performance last year."

"Don't worry Ruby, I won't." Garnet replied, a bit unsure.

* * *

><p>"You know Shinryu, you probably are having a little too much fun with him." Aerith told the man, sipping on her milkshake. "This is really good though." Shinryu had taken interior designing to heart, now he was building an entire house inside Shin's psyche, I mean, what irreversivel harm to his heart and soul could come from that? Nothing! Yeah, right...<p>

"Can't a dragon have his fun? I'm going to disappear soon enough, and if I'm the audience to a TV show and I have a say on the matter, why not change the things a bit? I won't do anything harmful, like I did in the past. Besides, I put some spells on those clothes, they might come in handy." He said, grinning.

"Fine, but don't make me come out here again okay?" Aerith warned.

"It's your choice Ancient." He replied slyly, knowing what he had just hit.

"Now I feel like an old hag." Aerith pouted.

"Welcome to the club."

* * *

><p>"How long have I been out?" Shin asked himself as checked the back of his head. "Good, no blood." Looking up, he decided to see what was on deck. Just as he arrived at the door he could see that the deck was empty, save for Zack and Terra. They were so concentrated on whatever they were talking about that Shin grudgingly decided to have them share their little moment.<p>

"Yo Shin! We were just talking bout ya!" Zack called. Shin needed to work on his hiding skills.

"_They were?"_ He asked himself as he walked up to them.

"How would you like to pilot for a bit?" Terra asked.

"But didn't you…"

"Crono's not here, everyone's downstairs asleep probably so nobody has to know." She interrupted, sticking the tip of her tongue out. "Besides, it's easy! Here, I'll downgrade the speed for you." She offered, pushing the leaver back to level one. "Okay then, the ship's yours." She let one hand of the wheel and invited Shin to grab it.

Shin carefully grabbed both handles. But as soon as Terra's hands left the wheel the ship trembled in response.

"This is harder than I thought." He remarked.

"Not really, that usually happens when you give someone the wheel midflight, don't worry." Terra comforted. "Now, just keep the ship flying in towards the red arrow that's on Tron's radar, I'm going to loosen up a bit." Just as she finished explaining she ran towards the edge of the ship and jumped. Seconds later she appeared on the other side of the ship.

"She flies faster than this thing?" Shin asked incredulous. He had to admit though, piloting an airship felt much better than just flying in it. He didn't know why, but the feeling of the steering wheel combined with the landscape and the wind rushing down his face made him feel… free.

"A lot faster might I add, why do you think I pilot at level seven?" She replied, laying down in midair while looking at the stars.

Some minutes passed, everyone just looked at the black sky, taking in the atmosphere.

"You saw it right?" She suddenly asked, taking a seat in midair and putting her hands around her legs. "My Esper form I mean." She finished as she saw their confused looks.

"Yeah, so?" Zack asked.

"Were you… grossed out?" She asked in a more embarrassed tone.

"_HEY! I take offense to that!"_

"_That's the point."_ Terra replied, still keeping her arms crossed.

"What, no! Of course not, right Shin?" Zack replied, elbowing Shin.

"What he said!"

"Do you mean it?" She asked, giving an inquisitor's look.

"Yeah! You looked badass in it, didn't she?" Zack replied shaking his arms wildly.

"Of course! Cute even!" Shin said, nodding violently.

Terra giggled at how awkward they were acting, sure maybe they weren't being 100% honest, but it was the thought that counted.

"I love you guys!" She exclaimed, pulling both into a hug. Both of them blushed profusely and looked away immediately. "What's the problem?" She teased.

Their fun was cut short when the Blackjack started plummeting down, apparently Zack had hit the altitude lever and Shin wasn't at the steering wheel anymore. Terra jumped and pulled the lever back up while Shin and Zack stabilized the ship, but what happened was way too hard to hide.

"TERRA! ZACK! SHINRYU!" Crono's voice resounded as heavy footsteps were heard coming towards the deck.

"Look, we're here!" Zack exclaimed, pointing at Alexandria.

"Saved by the bell…" Terra sighed.

* * *

><p>"Finally making progress, excellent!"Lezard exclaimed, letting a giant crazed laughter out.<p>

"What did you find Lezy?" Kefka asked in a child's tone.

"I finally understood what is inside your girl." He replied, grinning.

* * *

><p>"Everyone, the sun has risen!" Crono announced.<p>

Considering the time they took to get to the city it was no surprise that its doors we're completely shut when they arrived, so they decided to sleep it off until morning. Minutes after Crono called everyone was already outside, they were behind a hill that was a mere five minutes away from Alexandria. It didn't take long for them to notice they had smuggled cargo. Two chocobos and a giant red buffoon to be exact.

"Gilgamesh, why are you here?" Faris asked, almost all up Gilgamesh's face.

"To protect Bartz!" He exclaimed, much to the confusion of everyone. "I won't let him die until I, the great Gilgamesh defeat him!"

"I guess I'll never die then!" Bartz remarked, earning a healthy laugh from the crowd.

"Okay then, now that we're all set, let's put ourselves into groups. Any preferences?" Crono asked. Bartz and co, including Gilgamesh, bundled up. Shelke and Tifa jumped on Cloud, Edge did his thing and Zack decided to stay with Terra and Shin so Aerith could appear without Cloud freaking out. "I guess it's just you and me Layle…" He looked left to find no one besides him. "Or not. See you in the castle."

"What do we have to do again?" Zack asked as he walked by the other two.

"Just stay away from the others to avoid getting unwanted attention." Terra answered.

"But I like attention!" He yelled.

Needless to say, he was ignored.

* * *

><p>"What's happening?" Shin asked as he saw the huge commotion that there was on the city.<p>

"The king and queen are back! And to make things better they made the play free of charge as an apology for taking so long! If you want to catch all of it you better run!" A pedestrian told them as he ran past them.

"Well, if the king and queen are there, we might as well go see it." They all nodded.

* * *

><p>Faris and the group entered the first tavern they could find and found exactly what she said they would find.<p>

"JAAAACK!" She yelled as she saw everyone of her crew completely wasted.

"If you excuse me miss, I have urgent business to attend to." Jack blurted, soon to be pulled into a dark part of the room by Faris… nobody tried to help him.

"Edge, whatever you do, just let me do the talking okay?" Rydia "asked".

"Sure thing, if you go on date with me!" Edge replied chanting victory in his brain. Zack told him that that line had at least 90% chance to work… that's 10% chance to happen what happened next.

"How about this, you let me talk and I don't kill you." Rydia said with an eerie calm.

"O-Okay…."

"I wonder how I don't get traumatized." Cuore said, looking at her father and mother figure. "Maybe I already am, hard to tell."

* * *

><p>"What's this play about?" Tifa asked a person that was standing next to her.<p>

"You don't know? It's a love story between Marcus, a knight and Cornelia, the princess of the enemy kingdom. King Leo, Cornelia's father, wants her to marry Prince Scheinder, someone she doesn't love and it's Marcus's job to save her. I won't spoil the end for you, but it is quite the tragic story, I hope you brought a tissue." The woman replied.

"So, it's this world's Romeo and Juliet…" Cloud commented. "I guess I have some sleep to catch up with.

"Tragic story…" Shelke merely commented, if she wanted to say something more, she didn't.

* * *

><p>"We're really doing this, aren't we?" Garnet asked Zidane as she put on her white mage robe.<p>

"Yup, don't worry, you did fine two years ago, just don't let them see your face okay? Don't want to ruin the surprise." Zidane replied mischievously as he put on his dark cloak. "I'm Marcus." He said in a gruff voice.

"And I'm Cornelia." She said in an angelic voice.

"Break a leg, lovebirds!" Baku said jokingly.

"Let's get this show on the road!"

* * *

><p>In order to trick the audience two cloaked figures were put on the balcony of the castle. The audience did think it suspicious, knowing their current king, but they decided it would be best to just enjoy the play before asking unwanted questions.<p>

The play went without a hitch: Blank could really make for a convincing prince Scheinder if given the chance. Zidane's Marcus was… unorthodox. He didn't even TRY to get into the character, Marcus was as playful as he could be, but for some reason the crowd didn't suspect a thing. Baku's King Leo was flawless, he had a thing for rough parenting. Finally Garnet didn't have to try to be the distressed Cornelia, she knew the role too well. The play took its unexpected turn right at the end.

"Ready your tissues ladies…" An old woman said.

"Really? Why" Terra asked.

"SPOILER ALERT! Don't you dare tell us why!" Zack interrupted, using his body to cut the line of communication.

Marcus and his comrades had broken into the chamber that housed the king and the princess. After a brief reunion they found themselves sieged by dozens of soldiers under the king's command.

"Pray, sweet daughter, come home to the castle with me." "King Leo" told "Cornelia" as she and "Marcus" were preparing to escape.

"Nay, Father! I shan't return!" "Cornelia" replied, a deep, unseen glare coming from her eyes.

"Cornelia... Trouble me no more. This wedding is for thine own welfare. Be mindful of that." The king said, still trying to convince his daughter.

"Not if I can help it! Now is my moment of vengeance! For my parents, and for my love, Cornelia..." He drew both his daggers, inciting some suspicion from the audience, alas it was quickly dismissed. "I shall cut thee down!" He shouted, jumping in the King's direction. Just before he hit the king the princess got in the way. Everyone gasped, for they knew what should have happened. But "Marcus" missed."Why Cornelia?" He asked. The audience was still trying to figure out what was happening.

"I still love my father Marcus! I cannot let you end his life, no matter how justified is your cause!" "Cornelia" replied, water staining her cloak.

"_Seriously? She can force tears? This girl was born an actress!"_ Zidane told himself. He'd have to make use of this sometime.

"I understand, call off the guard now, I will spare your life. Surely you won't slay thine own blood." The knight told the king.

"I have no daughter!" He shouted, taking a dagger out of his belt and thrusting it at both the princess and the knight. In one fluid movement, "Marcus" pushed "Cornelia" out of harm's way and reaped "King Leo's" life.

"Father!" "Cornelia" called, more tears wetting her cloak.

"It had to be done my love." "Marcus" comforted.

"I know… he was once a good man, but deep down I knew, he was beyond saving." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I shan't cry, for the man that my father was, for the people and for us, we shall rule this beautiful land into a golden age!"

"But of course, my dear!" Marcus replied in a different even more immature tone. He reached for his cloak, the princess doing the same. "Let's rule Alexandria together!" Zidane exclaimed as he and Garnet threw off their cloaks.

The crowd stood there, speechless for a short while. It wasn't until they digested what had just happened that they erupted in a standing ovation for their regents. The men in black cloaks on the balcony threw of their cloaks as well, revealing two rat-like people named Freya and Fratley.

"Long live Queen Garnet! Long live King Zidane!" The crowd cheered as they knitted compliments to the play. The best interpretation that they ever saw, even if it drastically changed the way it was meant to be played.

"I have a feeling that it wasn't meant to be like this." Zack said as we did his best not to be swayed by the crowd.

"It was still wonderful, the king and the queen make such a cute pair!" Terra commented with her hands cupped near her chest, stars in her eyes. She may have never had a boyfriend, but she was a sucker for developing relationships, just ask Locke.

"_Now there's a side of her I never saw." _Shin thought, sweat running down his forehead. "Not _the quiet, timid girl she looked like, now is she?"_

"Hey guys!" Bartz called. Apparently everyone was there with him.

"Enjoyed the play?" Lenna asked.

"Of course!" Terra replied. They really, REALLY looked like sisters.

"The king and queen are really young." Tifa commented, but then she looked at Krile. "Never mind..."

"So, how can we talk to them? I feel like a party is coming, and we didn't exactly bring supplies to wait for them." Shin asked. Hearing a whooshing sound he quickly turned, only to find a sword resting on his neck.

"It depends, are you with them?" Beatrix asked, pointing at Bartz and his friends.

"Crap, it's the sadist." Krile blurted, she really needed to contain herself.

Just as they looked around they noticed that they were already surrounded by soldiers.

"Can't we just sit and talk about this? The last thing we want is to break into a fight right now." Terra said carefully, trying to get Beatrix to sheath her sword.

"She's right." A voice said, parting the crowd, revealing the queen and the king. "You shouldn't be so aggressive Beatrix!" She said, slightly annoyed at Beatrix's _people skills._

"B-But, your majesty, these are the ones that…" Beatrix began.

"That you scurried off the ship, without giving a chance to explain themselves?" Garnet completed. Beatrix lowered her head in defeat and sheathed her sword. "Don't expect to earn my trust so easily." She warned.

"May this woman and Celes never meet…" Terra prayed, scared of what could happen.

"My name is Garnet Til Alexandros the XVI, I am the queen of this country. A pleasure to be your acquaintance." Garnet said in a more formal tone.

"And I'm…" Zidane began before being interrupted.

"Zidane Tribal." Shelke said matter-of-factly.

"How did you…?" Garnet asked.

"Tail." Shelke pointed at the appendix that was twirling in Zidane's back. "Genomes have tails. It was written in the reports, see?" She explained, pulling out Tron and showing the database, much to the confusion of the ones looking.

"Sorry about my sister, I'll explain…" Tifa interjected. Beginning to give a slight bow before Garnet refused it, it made her feel far away from the people.

"We can't talk here, would like to have lunch with us? We have a feast being prepared, I'll just alert the cooks." Garnet offered, an offer that was quickly accepted.

"What happened to Faris' crew?" Shin asked curiously.

"I beat the crap of everyone who was drunk." She stated calmly.

"Every single pirate was drunk." Bartz whispered. They thought that the best way to handle this was just ignore it, and so they did.

* * *

><p>Saying that the castle was luxurious have been an understatement, every hallway made even the throne room of castle Figaro look like a shack. Alexandria was the wealthiest country in their world, and they weren't afraid to show it. Just as they arrived Garnet entered the dining room first to welcome some of her friends. The party came to know the energetic (But quite annoying) Eiko, Cid and his wife (this didn't even surprise them anymore), talked face to face with the ones that disguised themselves at the balcony, TRIED to make up with Beatrix, having a much easier time talking to the "Rusty" and Cloud found someone to sulk with at the corner, the Flaming Amarant, Amarant Coral. They also tried to befriend Quina, but shehe did nothing but ask how their food tasted like, something that Terra offered to cook someday.

"_Mental Note: Terra can cook."_ Zack and Shin thought.

Just as they had all but introduced themselves the door opened and multiple short figures entered. They had the trademarked black mage garb, the brown pointy hat, the blue tunic and brown pants and the face completely obscure.

"Hello Garnet, Zidane! The show was amazing!" They exclaimed in unison as they rushed to hug Zidane. Terra couldn't help but sense a nostalgic, yet sad vice coming from him, it was like…

"Did Zidane ever loose anyone important?" She asked Garnet.

"If you're asking now, I guess you felt it too." Garnet replied. "Those are the sons of Zidane's best friend, Vivi Ornuntia. He died just before Zidane came back from his journey, he always felt guilty for not saying goodbye." When Garnet finished Terra was already in the middle of the crowd, comforting the little black mages, even if they didn't _need_ it.

"You completely lost her when you implied they were orphans." Zack explained. "Don't worry though, she isn't insensitive, I'm sure she paid attention, she's just overprotective of children."

"By the way Zidane, Kuja told me he did his part." She whispered, quickly getting back to the tiny black mages.

"You know our brother?" A young girl asked. She had an uncanny resemblance with Zidane, including the tail. That reminded her, she didn't recall Kuja having a tail, why?

"That's my youger sister Mikoto, she's kind of new to this kind of life, so if she sounds wierd it's not her fault." Zidane explained, keeping the boring explanations to a minimum.

"Don't worry, we'll talk more at dinner." Terra told Mikoto as she pulled two of the black mages into a hug.

Soon after they were dining. Crono was explaining everything until then, as usual, now needing some interventions from Shin and Terra for the parts he wasn't in. Halfway through the dinner Terra had barely touched her plate, provided Zack was constantly keeping track on it.

"Zack, how was it, being dead and all." Zidane asked all of a sudden.

"Well it wasn't all that special, it was like being alive, just swimming in a giant pool of green water and…" He quickly glanced to the side to see Terra cleaning the side of her mouth with her napkin, no food left on her plate. "Oh c'mon, that isn't even physically possible!"

* * *

><p>"Are certain it is here Kuja?" The cloaked man asked as he looked upon what once was the Iifa Tree.<p>

"As long as there are memories Memoria will always exist, you just have to know how to open it." Kuja spat in a hateful tone. "It is not held together by the Iifa Tree, but by the Crystal world, being the only entrance to it." He began ascending into the air, assuming his tranced form. "Ocean of memories, hear my call and become a crystal as bright as the sun! Show us the path to the heart of this world! Come to me, Memoria!" As Kuja finished his incantation the ground trembled and, as if the planet was crying, a liquid started ascending from the debris, concentration in one specific location. At first it was just a blob but then it began gaining shape, forming a colossal city that towered above the continent, slowly floating in the sky. Before saying another word however, Kuja turned and looked at the man.

"I will give you back your sister, if I get what I want, and what I want is inside, until then, you'd best follow my orders." He stated.

Kuja stared into the girl's sky blue eyes and decided that he would give anything to protect someone, no matter the cost.

"Crystallize!" He chanted reluctantly, sending an enchanted ball of light into the fluid. The world was engulfed in an abolishing light as the fluid became solid, and with that, the city had risen once again.

The man looked as if he was overflowing with joy, his darkened eyes shining with a grim light." Finally, I have found it! The way to the Crystal World!"

* * *

><p>Back at the castle the feast was going quite well until…<p>

"Shelke! SHELKE! You have to see this!" Tron shouted. Shelke dropped her "conversation" with Amarant and quickly opened the PC.

"It can't be!" She shouted, getting the attention of most of the room.

"What happened Shelke?" Terra asked.

"Terra, look!" Shelke exclaimed, pointing at the crystal radar.

Looking at it she could find three small dots on the south side of the radar, which she assumed to be their crystal, but the other end of the radar stood a giant circle that covere almost all of the screen. Confused she asked Shelke what that thing was.

"It's a crystal Terra…" Tron stated. "Hundreds, no, THOUSANDS of times more powerful than yours!"

"That can't be!"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

"_I wish it hadn't come to this."_

"_Memories are like droplets in an ocean…"_

"_Break a link, and you destroy the chain."_

* * *

><p><strong><span>Post-chapter note:<span>** In case you haven't figured it out yet, the next two/three chapters will play a huge part on the rest of the story, sort of like a season finale, not that I am going to stop after it, I'm just sayin'.


	30. Memories Born From Waves

**Author's note:**What is this? I updated in time? The world's doomed! Well, it had to happen _someday__._ Don't get too used to it, next week the chapter will come a bit later, maybe Tuesday, I have a Physics exam Saturday. Well, enjoy.

**PS:** Thanks for giving me the ten reviews guys. I WAS aiming for those for the whole story, but I'm not even halfway through and I already reached them. That said, don't stop now!

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><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Thirty**

****Memories Born From Waves****

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><p>"Are you sure we can trust them?" Beatrix asked Garnet, who glared back. "You cannot be so naïve! You expect me to trust scoundrels that appear on the day that Memoria reappears in the skies?" Beatrix asked. Apparently the bright flash that colored the skies was easily recognizable as the flash that preceded Memoria two years past.<p>

Terra and the others however, already knew what to do, in a flash they were already onboard of the Blackjack, now they were waiting for Zidane's group's decision. Amarant was completely against the idea, he was maybe the only one that remembered that one of Shinryu's forms had blocked Memoria for them in the past, even furthering Beatrix's suspicions. Steiner was divided, so was Freya but when Fratley decided to go she did too. Zidane was, of course, all up for an adventure, he had taken an incredible liking to Bartz, like they already knew each other. Quina really didn't care, and needless to say, Vivi's kids couldn't go. It was all up to Garnet.

"We're going!" She said, filled with resolve. "I… can't shake the feeling that we…" She pointed Zack, Layle, Edge and Rydia. "Have met before, I _know_ I trust them."

"But that's not possible, my queen." Beatrix said.

"Actually, it IS quite probable." Crono interjected. "Zidane only appeared on the twelfth cycle, Garnet is as good of a candidate as anyone for previous cycles, I can't be sure, we only have the last three cycles on record."

Beatrix groaned and finally decided. "If my queen has made her decision… so have I, but I will only be a guardian, do not expect me to put my, or the queen's, safety on the line for any of you." She stated bluntly, rushing through the crowd and into the airship.

"Are you going Zidane?" Amarant asked, he was met with a smiling grin and, for a second, seemed to grin too. "That's all I need to know."

After they all got to the ship Terra took the steering wheel and looked back. "Is Memoria far away?" She asked.

"Not really, our world is pretty small if you ask me." Zidane replied.

"Well, good, we'll get there faster then." She stated with a devilish grin. "Better hold on to something." She warned as she pulled the lever back to level seven.

* * *

><p>The man in the black cloak stopped right at Memoria's second room. He shook his head and turned back to his two unwitting followers.<p>

"We are most likely to be disturbed by those self-righteous fools, Kuja, this for both your sister and yourself, do not let them pass." He ordered. He then grabbed the little girl and started pulling her away at a much faster rate. Kuja didn't answer, he just accepted the inevitability of the situation.

"I wish it hadn't come to this…" He lamented as he whistled. At his command hundreds of wings could heard from the outside, even him being as deep in the citadel as he was.

* * *

><p>"Well, crap." Zack lamented as he saw exactly what was surrounding the giant city. "Silver Dragons?"<p>

If anyone thought that Kuja's dragon was unique, he would have changed it's opining by now. Tens, if not hundreds of dragons surrounded the citadel, and they didn't look friendly.

"The Blackjack wasn't made for combat!" Terra exclaimed.

"We have to get inside anyway, so use your heads." Cloud stated dryly. "You can fly in, can't you?" He asked, turning to Terra.

"Well, yeah but…"

"Take Crono and go." Cloud said. "He's the best of us, if it comes down to the worst possible situation, we have to have our best inside."

Terra looked back at Shin and Zack who nodded in agreement.

"But still, I can't dodge _all_ of them, much less with cargo." She pointed out.

"You want a distraction?" Rydia asked, smiling as she jumped of the ship.

"What's she…" Garnet began before seeing Bahamut burst into the open skies with Rydia on His back.

"It's been a long time Garnet." He told the queen.

"You're a summoned?" Garnet asked Rydia, incredulous. "Where's your horn?" She asked.

"Horn?"

"It is not the time for such petty conversations!" Beatrix interrupted. "They have sighted us!" Just as she finished saying that, the first dragon hit the ship with a head-first tackle, the ship trembled as Terra gripped the steering wheel and pulled the altitude lever up, trying to get coverage from Bahamut. As soon as they passed through Bahamut he blasted five dragons with a Mega Flare, leaving their roasting carcasses to fall on the forests bellow.

"I've got an idea." Cloud stated as he went down the deck. He came back not even a minute later with his motorbike and a steel plate. He used the edge of the ship to form a ramp and jumped on the Fenrir. Zack jumped too, he knew this was going to be good.

"See you inside!" Cloud exclaimed for the first time since they met. It was a little know fact that when Cloud got to do extreme _sports_his attitude changed completely. He then sped of the airship. During the fall he landed on one of the Silver Dragon's back. Giving off a small grin he pulled the handle, accelerating and using it's back as a launching ramp. As the ones in the ship watched baffled, even the Dragon King, he repeated the feat three times, all while Zack was yelling how awesome that was on the top of his lungs. Landing on one last dragon he noticed how close he was to the transparent sphere that covered Memoria and hit turbo, jumping into the unknown. However, as he was about to reach the barrier, a Silver Dragon flew in, ready to cut the jump short. But it was his flight which was cut short as an arrow of light trespassed him, sending him plummeting into the ground.

"Don't expect me to be always looking out for you, _hero_." A soft feminine voice told Zack.

Both him and Cloud looked around frantically before entering the dome, but there was no one in sight.

"Was it you Aerith?" Zack asked mentally. The sphere was oddly silent.

"This gives me an idea…" Zidane smirked as the others stood in awe. He quickly started stretching as he mused himself with his thoughts. Right beside him and copying him as a mime was Bartz and by proxy, Gilgamesh was copying him.

"You could just jump you know?" Lenna told her boyfriend, already donning her dragoon armor.

"Wouldn't be NEARLY as much fun!" He replied with a goofy smile on his face.

"The man's right!" Zidane said in agreement.

"For once, the twerps and I are in agreement." Gilgamesh pointed out.

"Haven't we met before?" Garnet asked, inspecting him up close.

"No we haven't miss!" He yelled, waving his arms. It was obvious they did.

"You're the guy who boasted about being the world's best treasure hunter when you were really nothing!" Zidane exclaimed.

Even Gilgamesh's pale face couldn't hide the blush, but before the conversation cold continue Beatrix steeped in.

"Zidane, as my king I can't let you go unguarded, especially knowing that the queen WILL find a way to follow you, for that, I'll be watching you." She stated. Zidane suddenly didn't feel as upbeat, but it would pass.

"Ready Zidane?" Garnet asked, jumping on Bahamut's back. "See you inside!" She teased as she waved Beatrix goodbye.

"GARNET!" She yelled in a mix of anger and fear, jumping off board and grabbing Bahamut's tail.

"Where's Layle?" Terra asked, looking around the deck. "Did he… get caught?" She despaired for a moment before hearing a faint but distinguishable voice.

"Spider-Layle, Spider-Layle, does whatever a spider does…" Layle hummed as he used his telekinetic powers to swing from dragon to dragon into Memoria.

"Take Shinryu." Crono said as he jumped of board, followed by Zidane and Bartz.

"Ready?" She asked as she started to float and grabbed his shoulders.

"As much as I'll ever be." Shin replied. After so much air trauma, he hoped he wasn't getting vertigo. That would be so ironic considering who else had it.

"Just don't look down!" Bartz shouted from the distance. After years of practicing he did manage to at least control his fright.

"Good luck, we'll clean up in here." Tifa said, taking the wheel.

They both nodded and soared downwards, using the whole that Bahamut had left behind on the enemy formation to enter the sphere.

* * *

><p>"There are so many…" The young girl said as she felt a jolt running down her spine.<p>

"I have to agree… You stay here. You know what you can do in this city, if you let them pass, you'll never see them again, understood?" he man stated coldly. Seeing the little girl nod slightly he left the round room and ventured deeper into the citadel, leaving the girl to contemplate her duty.

_"_Memories are like droplets in an ocean…" She began, touching the ground. "And I'm at its fountain. I'm really sorry…" She said as a lone tear came down her face. "I'll probably never be able to use my power the way I want it." She lamented as four giant beasts appeared in front of her.

"Little girl, what have you done?" A giant, three headed dragon hissed. Looking at his companions. A black lich, a serpent with a woman' s body wielding four scimitars and an octopus like monster. "How did you revive us, the Chaos guardians?"

"You are part of this world's memories… With Lezard's power and being as close to the crystal world as we are now, making you reappear is easy." She explained.

The explanation was vague, but for the guardians, being alive was all that mattered. They were more concerned with what the girl wanted from them.

"Stop the intruders." She said, as if she could read their minds.

The monsters nodded silently, with a shard of fear in their consciousness and departed, leaving the girl to herself.

"_Please don't let them get here… I don't want to hurt anyone…"_

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><p>"Thought you'd never get here…" Zack joked as Terra and Shin landed. They found themselves in a very thin stairway, leading up to giant city. The stairway was so long and thin that Bahamut had reverted to his human form to fit in it.<p>

"Don't you think we're a bit too many in here?" Rydia asked, scouting her surroundings. She sighed as she noticed Cuore had sneaked in as well, but she couldn't say she wasn't half expecting that.

"Certainly not." Bahamut replied. "If one could raise this citadel once more, he needs all the power we can arrange." He stated.

"Maybe you're right." Edge said in agreement.

"Shinryu…" Bahamut began, turning to Shin." Please understand, you made me do it."

"No hard feelings." He said, shaking off any of the King's concerns. "Let's just concentrate on the now, okay?" He got a faint chuckle from the God of summons.

"_To think, Shinryu would ever act like this…"_He mused. "Very well, let us not waste anymore precious time, Zidane, you've been here before, lead the way."

"No need to ask twice, follow me!" The Genome said enthusiastically.

"Aren't you coming?" Rydia asked.

"They require my assistance…" Bahamut replied, as his cape became his wings. "I'll join you as soon as I finish this. Be careful Rydia."

"You too…" She replied as she ran to catch up with the others.

"Okay, first things first, do you have any traumas?" Zidane asked. Way too casual for the question he was asking.

"These guys? We have CLOUD with us, what do you think? The guy's like a walking trauma machine." Zack remarked. Cloud just scuffed at him and threw him off the Fenrir.

"Well, then we're in for a ride." Zidane lamented.

"I don't think we are." Garnet pointed out. "Isn't Memoria made from the memories of Gaia and Terra?"

"Terra?" The girl of the same name asked.

"That's the name of my home planet." Zidane explained

"I get a town and she gets a planet?" Edge scuffed. Rydia shot him a not _now look_ and that was the last he heard of that.

"Either way, I have to warn ya. A lot of what you're going to see here is just not real. This city makes illusions out of our memories. It's very easy to get lost here." Zidane warned. He looked up to see the entrance. "Just stick with me, 'kay?" He showed off a goofy smile, as if he didn't want to be taken seriously.

* * *

><p>Just as they entered they found themselves in a burning, relatively advanced village. Zidane instantly recognized the place as being the same village where the Genomes lived in Terra, but why was it here? It wasn't a traumatizing experience for anybody in the room… or was it? He instantly looked back and saw a yellow flash entering one of the houses. Speeding towards it he jumped through the broken window and landed inside. The person tried to escape through the front door but Beatrix was there, waiting.<p>

"What a surprise, Miss Mikoto. But do be more careful, I don't take chances with pursuers." Beatrix warned, patting her sword for emphasis.

"Why are you here sis? You can't even fight!" Zidane exclaimed, fury and fear running down his veins. She was his younger sister now, he had to protect her.

"Zidane, I know you can feel it too, we have something waiting for us here… Something important." She said. Zidane wouldn't admit it, but he did feel an… urge to go deeper into the city, as if he had something life-changing inside.

"I'll tell you what is waiting for you here…" A dark, distorted voice hissed.

"It's something I have longed to give." An even darker voice continued, hearing it alone would remind you of the abyss.

"DEATH!" A feminine voice blared, the sound of blades filling the air.

"Malevolent winds…" Terra chanted, embracing the incoming blades in a tempest of her making. "Protect me now!" She ordered, causing the tempest to explode, sending the blades whooshing in every direction, the sound of meat cleaving being heard.

"Insolent little…!" Marilith yelled, filled with rage as she clung to the stump she once called her arm.

"You!" Garnet gasped.

"Yes, us." A distorted voice echoed as if the speaker was underwater. The speaker was Kraken, the octopus that was the fiend of water.  
>"Who are these guys?" Zack asked as he everyone in the room slowly backed up into the middle of the so-called village, flanked by the snake, the octopus, the dragon and the lich.<p>

"These guys protected the only way that existed to go from Gaia to Terra, but we killed them… twice!" Zidane replied confused. "How are you alive?"

"What purpose would it serve for you to know? Your live is about to end!" The dragon spat as he launched itself onto the group, its three heads seeking blood.

Taking a preemptive action against the assault Beatrix raced towards the dragon, propelling herself into the air and lowering her body, allowing her to get beneath the dragon. She drew her already shinning sword and trusted the tip against its chest, yelling:"SHOCK!" The ensuing white, spiraling energy wave launched the drake skyward, stopping only as it hit the invisible ceiling of the room, cracking it.

"GO!" She yelled, pointing at the only way out of the village. "I'll hold them off!"

"You can't be serious!" Zidane fired back.

"Take the queen and go Zidane!" Beatrix insisted, turning at the kraken, slashing at one of his tentacles, only to be blocked by a rockslide caused by the Lich.

Nodding resigned, Zidane took Garnet's hand and pulled her to the exit, followed by the others, looking back every second. He then felt resistance coming from Garnet, who tried to free herself and go help her protector.

"Zidane, we can't! She'll…" She yelled before being interrupted by a plump figure.

"She touched me. The Great Gilgamesh! Go now, and do not worry, for we shall join you soon!" Gilgamesh stated in a very over the top manner.

"Don't die on me big guy." Bartz encouraged.

"Not on this life." He smirked, getting into a direct sword fight with Marilith's three arms.

Zidane gave a reassuring nod at Garnet and pulled her away, neither of them looking back.

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><p>This time they found themselves on a mountain top covered by mist. Zidane and Garnet were particularly confused since the hill looked like nothing from their world. Moments after they settled in the sound of weapons clashing filled the air along with the screeches of pain as life's ended there and at that time.<p>

"Look down there!"Cuore exclaimed, pointing to the other side of the mountain top.

Looking down they could only bear witness to an all out war between humans and what seemed to be Espers. Many of them were unknown to even Rydia, but the question was, what was happening?

"The War of the Magi…" Terra gasped. "It was the war between humans and Espers that forced the Espers into hiding on another dimension, but… that was a thousand years ago, who would have memories of such event?" She asked, before realizing just who could.

"They _could_ be mine, but I have a feeling that they aren't. And if I have a feeling, it's probably that dragon giving me signals." He explained before a bone-chilling roar echoed through the skies.

"I don't think that's the case…" Layle commented as him and everyone looked up to see a silver plated descend on the battlefield. The dragon stopped abruptly atop the esper forces, gathering energy in its mouth and blasting a great deal of the Esper ground forces, causing them to run in disarray as many of them met their end.

"KAYSER!" Shinryu roared, it's eyes as red as it's mane. "Are you so afraid to confront me? Brother!"

"You still hang on to that ridiculous notion?" A guttural voice interrogated. Soon after, from the other side of the battlefield, a dragon as black as the night appeared, surrounded by eight other dragons, all different in color and shape. "Just being created at the same time and for the same purpose doesn't make us brothers Shinryu"

"I am not here to discuss our family bounds Kayser, I am here to know what you are doing with these beings, have you forgotten the purpose for what we were created?" Shinryu asked, the tension between the two gargantuan dragons had completely halted the war, it's combatants now spectators.

"Ha, do you think you will ever defeat that monster? You cannot defeat Omega, Shinryu, neither you nor I, not even combining efforts. The last thousands of years proved that." Kayser replied as it let out a guttural laugh.

"Enough! I won't let you continue with this foolishness anymore!" Shinryu boomed as the time-space itself started to be distorted by the energy he created.

"We have to get out of here!" Garnet urged. "The illusions are as real as it can get, getting caught in crossfire between those two will kill us!"

Nodding in response, most of the group started running towards what seemed to be the way, a crystalline door at the step of the mountain.

"Hey, you two, it's too dangerous to stay!" Crono yelled, snapping both Terra and Shin awake. As they turned, they looked back to see both dragons lunging at each other as a purely white light filled the ground beneath them. They wanted to know what that light was, but dying wasn't worth it.

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><p><em>"Don't push yourself…"<em> The girl's voice told Kuja.

"Don't worry about me, I'll get you out of this, I swear!" Kuja exclaimed resolutely.

The girl couldn't but feel a pang of guilt as she broke contact with the man and grabbed the black leafs she had brought with her, she needed to prepare.

* * *

><p>"Are we all here?" Cloud asked, still on top of the Fenrir.<p>

"Looks like it." Shin replied as he looked around.

"Just what was that about?" Rydia asked.

"I have… no idea. The war's archives are either long lost or I have never read them. I don't know what happened in that war. I just know that black dragon." She explained. "He was Kayser Dragon, the leader of the Eight Dragons, he was neither an esper or a human. We fought him before entering Kefka's tower. He rivaled, if not surpassed, Kefka's power as a God, I couldn't do anything against him by myself, I needed everyone's help and every magicite… I guess we now know why."

"_But why didn't he tell me that? Is it because he didn't think I needed to know since Terra took care of it… how did she… Why am I surprised?"_ He asked himself as he remembered Shinryu's stories. "_I'm starting understand why so many people are scared of her."_ He joked_. "But really, if he didn't tell me about it, was it because of that or did he just, not remember? More __importantly, if Terra still had to deal with that overgrown lizard, how did that confrontation end?"_

"This place…" Garnet began as she studied it before making any rash conclusions. However, the dark purple, psychedelic and advanced architecture didn't leave any doubt.

"The Pandemonium, yes." A voice came from above. "Greetings, my sister-in-law." The genome quickly ended any doubts about his intentions as he shot a lightning bolt in Garnet's direction but it was quickly reflected by Terra.

"Kuja…" Terra sighed. The Genome didn't seem to be in a talking mood. "Why are you doing this?"

"When Kuja doesn't want to talk, he won't talk." Zidane said, drawing his mage mashers. "Don't worry, I'll help him out of anything he's gotten himself into this time." He shot a reassuring smile at the group. "You can go, I'll deal with my own family."

"Who said anything about letting you go?" Kuja taunted as he floated downwards, into the only door in the room.

"IFRIT!" Garnet chanted, waving her rod. A circle of fire erupted from the ground bellow Kuja, forcing him to jump away and revealing the half-men half-beast esper. "Baptism in hellfire!" The summon roared and punched the ground, creating even more circles which combusted into flame pillars. "Go! You're almost at the end, just keep going forward!"

"I won't let you!" Kuja exclaimed, dodging Zidane's spinning assault and plummeting towards the door. Bartz noticed that he was gaining too much terrain in against the most advanced group, making it easy for him to block out the path again. Then an idea lit his head. He looked at Lenna who was already one step ahead of him. Copying her and donning his black mage garb he stopped in his tracks and gathered his power.

"Quake!" They both chanted, making the entire structure shake violently. The ceiling collapsed and the debris covered the way out.

"YOU…!" Kuja yelled, possessed by rage, his clothes simmering down to reveal red fur and his hidden tail.

"Me!" Bartz mocked, a giant mocking grin taking over his face.

"Kuja, stop!" Mikoto cried, standing between Kuja and Bartz.

"Who… are you?"

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><p>"No use worrying about them." Cloud pointed out.<p>

"What now?" Edge asked as he observed the surroundings, they were in what looked like and old, dusty, deserted mansion. Spiderwebs covered the corners and chandeliers and decoration were lying all over the place.

"Who here has a trauma in an abandoned manor?" Rydia asked. No one answered.

"Mother, where's Crono?" Cuore asked. Looking around, they noticed that they didn't only lose Crono, but Zack and Layle as well.

"Locked." Shinryu stated as he tried to open the entry door.

"Step aside. " Terra asked, charging a Firaga. Shin quickly moved and Terra shot the flaming ball, but after the smoke cleared, not even a scratch could be seen, neither on it, or on the wall. "Probably not the way out."

"Let's search the rest, but stay together, nothing can guarantee us that one of the doors won't port us out." Rydia suggested.

And so they did. They looked through every room of the dusty mansion, pulled every lamp, lifted every rug and lifted every fallen chandelier. They went up the stairway and turned right to find a library, but again the search proved fruitless. Not knowing what to do they left the library to find a better solution.

"Hey, was that room there before?" Shin asked as he pointed to a room from which a clear, white light shined through.

"It had to be, but I'm not even sure anymore." Terra lamented, getting slightly annoyed by the city's lack of common sense.

"This probably is the way out." Cloud pointed out. The light was so intense no one could see through, so they assumed it to be the portal out and just walked through it. Huge mistake.

* * *

><p>As Terra passed through the door she found herself in a white room, it's walls covered by childish drawings. But upon further inspection, each of the five drawings had one of her companions in them. Rydia was sitting besides an elder woman, Cuore on her lap and talking excitedly. Edge was seemingly in marriage clothing, it wasn't difficult imagining who he was with. Cloud was simply laying down on the field with Aerith. As for Shin, the painting was blank, except for him.<p>

"They are so lucky… getting to live the life of their dreams." The young, straight haired blonde girl commented, her voice drowned in a deep nostalgic tone. "I'm sorry you won't be able too." She continued. Wrapping up her paper and throwing it in the bin. "Neither will those three."

"Who are you?" Terra asked softly. She couldn't feel any bad intentions coming from the girl, only sorrow.

"Me…? I'm nobody, and soon enough, so will you." She replied, slowly getting up from her chair and staring at Terra with her water-blue eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Break a link, and you destroy the chain."

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><p><strong><span>Post-chapter note: <span>**Cliffhanger time. Okay fine, you don't have to be a genius to know who this is, and you probably saw this coming ever since I introduced Crono to the story, but don't freak out just yet. This IS and WILL always be a FF-centric story, but I can't help myself to throw in some other Square characters here and there.


	31. Reach Out To The Truth

**Author's note:**I wrote this in a day… Yeah, I was bored as hell! Good for you guys, here's the chapter and please, don't freak out at in the end, if you have anything to say, just review it. Enjoy.

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><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Thirty-One**

****Reach Out To The Truth****

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><p>"Damnit, where are they?" Crono shouted in frustration. As soon as they had traversed the door that lead them out of the Pandemonium they had found themselves in a small crystalline room. Most importantly, everyone but him, Layle and Zack had just vanished, except for Cloud's Fenrir, which had lost its rider. The most confusing thing about this is that there was absolutely no place where they could have gotten lost, the room was too small and they traveled instantly. "There's something very wrong with this place…"<p>

"You can keep talking to walls, but I'm gonna keep going." Zack stated, leaning the Fenrir against the wall. "You coming?"

"Do we have a choice? We don't even a way to comeback." Layle pointed out, referring to the space where the door they came in _used_ to be. They could only go forward, or what looked like going forward. There was no door, but the only exit from the room was through an opening on the wall, but it didn't lead anywhere but darkness. Not that it phased Layle, he just walked right off it. "It's solid."

"Thanks Captain Obvious." Zack grumbled.

"How did you know?" Crono asked.

"I didn't." Layle shrugged, turning and continuing to walk.

"_Zack, I'll be gone for a while okay?"_ Aerith whispered in his mind.

"_Get Cloud back, okay?"_ He thought back.

"_Of course!"_

* * *

><p>"You can't be serious Kuja." Zidane said astonished. "You can't possibly have forgotten Mikoto! Maybe you didn't know her name, but it's your sister Kuja! Didn't Garland show her to you?"<p>

"My sister doesn't have a tail!" Kuja spat back, shooting a concentrated beam of light against his sister. The beam was cut short when Lenna and Bartz jumped in the way, both supporting a training Gi, and kicked the energy back to its sender with a double roundhouse kick.

"Sister or not, attacking a defenseless girl is just wrong!" Bartz shouted as he returned to its freelancer outfit. "Zidane, what do we do?" He asked. After all, Kuja_ was_part of his family.

"I'll just have to beat some sense into him!" Zidane exclaimed, his hair beginning to get jagged. A flaring red light covered the genome and when it died down Zidane had changed. Red, spiky fur covered his whole body, thicker patches raising on the sides of his legs, arms and crouch. "Time to get serious!" He roared as he jumped at the flying Kuja. Kuja tried to out-maneuver his brother, rushing to the left. He didn't expect Zidane to be able to kick the air for another boost, before he could react Zidane was already face to face with him, grinning in triumph. "I'm not the same as last time!" He exclaimed, quickly joining his daggers into a junction-sword as he gathered energy, not even a second latter he let out a sudden vocal burst, dislodging the daggers and creating a blast of energy, sending Kuja against one of the violet walls.

"Curse you…" Kuja groaned as he recovered his breath.

"I don't want any help, this one's mine!" Zidane yelled as he landed on a nearby ledge. "Now Kuja, let's dance!"

* * *

><p>"You're not making sense. What do you mean chains?" Terra asked the girl, wanting to move but unable too.<p>

"These are the links…" The girl began, gesturing with her hand and creating what seemed to be miniature clouds. A few moments after they began to show images, all of them important moments in Terra's life. "The ones you hold dear…" She pulled a cloud detailing Terra's return after Kefka's defeat, being hugged by her kids. "The ones you despise…" She pulled a cloud detailing Kefka's murder of Leo, causing a shock of discomfort to invade Terra. "And even the ones you have locked away…" She finished, pulling a cloud Terra had been seeing time and time again. In it she and another nine warriors, some of them she could recognize, such as Zidane, Bartz, Cecil and Cloud, stood in front of something she could only describe as the devil. A four armed, dark winged beast, who stared at them with its red eyes, slowly lifting itself from its throne, its tail wiping the ground and his horns towering above them as he grunted unheard words beneath his razor sharp teeth.

"The links… are my memories?" She deduced.

"Correct, and you are the chain." The girl smiled at Terra's confused look. "Your memories _make you_, so to say. They define your growth and it is by their existence that you are what you are now, and that you believe in what you believe. Sure you might have good or bad tendencies, but when it comes down to it, what truly sets you apart as a living being is what you experienced."

Terra nodded in agreement, but she still had doubts. Should she even trust this girl?

"But what did you mean by breaking links?" Now that the girl had explained it, her earlier statement seemed all the more eerie, she couldn't… could she?

"Well, imagine if I take this memory…" She began, pulling a cloud containing her adored best friend. She then proceeded to blow on it, making it disappear. "Who is the person Locke is dating right now Terra?"

Terra was taken aback by that question. She had to be joking, how could she forget his best friend's… Wait, he had a girlfriend? _"Off course he did!_ _She's called… huuuuh…__ No way!"_

"Now do you understand? I can break your very existence in the blink of an eye. I won't however, I don't want to hurt you, and Kefka wants _you_, not some random body. But I will have to change some things about you. It's for the best, if I do, you won't feel apprehension when we take you with us." The girl had a genuine caring smile on her face, like she really believed there was no other choice. "You must realize that you are indeed, fighting a losing fight, just let yourself go, if it bothers you, I can even make you forget that you ever gave up. Tell you what, do you want to remember me as a long time friend? A sister? I can make it happen, it will be as if you lived all your life with me. You may even be happy that way."

"_Is she for real?"_ Terra thought, something akin to anger burning inside her. She knew she wasn't angry, but some inside her was. "Giving up? Do you really think I will bow down and accept my fate because some stranger pulls me into a room and tells me it's the best choice? Why don't you stand up and stop taking orders? You clearly don't agree with what's happening!"

"I knew you'd say that… It's okay though, the result will be the same." She said, raising her hand. "Leo." She said in an even lighter tone, and just like that, Terra had lost every memory connected to him. "I'll rearrange your memories, you have no choice but to comply, so please, don't make this harder on yourself… What?" She exclaimed as she found what seemed to be an iron wall in Terra's mind.

"We have to wake up Sunshine." Her esper side told her, for the first time appearing on her side.

"Wake up? How are you here?" She asked, confused at how the esper could appear right by her side, unless…

"You fell asleep right after you entered the room Terra, you are sitting on the other side of her table now." Her esper explained, turning its attention to the girl. "Now if you'll excuse us, this is a one person room shared by two, you're hardly welcome here." She said in a fake tone of politeness. "That is, if you value your insides, because if you push it, you're going to be trying to live without them when I wake up."

"You're on the brink between Memoria and the Crystal World, you can't expel me, and I won't let you, I have people I want to protect as well!" She yelled for the first time, dropping her emotional guard for once. "Maybe you want to hurt me, but can you hurt… them?"

* * *

><p>"Just let yourself go…" A voice whispered in Shin's ear. "How would you like your life to be? Do you want to be a hero? A peaceful life? An adventurous life?"<p>

"I want to live my life…" He mumbled back, not able to move a muscle.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't…" The voice told him and he felt his whole body burn. The voice screamed and faded, and soon, so did his conscience.

Shin slowly opened his eyes, at first being blinded by the clear white light. Memories of what had happened flashed before his eyes. He only remembered having passed through the door out of the Pandemonium. Noticing a weird, tingling feeling covering his body he looked down to notice he was floating. Alarmed he looked around him to find himself incased in a transparent pod. As his eyes got used to the luminosity he looked down to notice that the markings of his clothing were shinning like they never did before.

"Whatever happened, these saved me." He concluded, looking at his clothes and wondering what kind of surprises they still had in store for him. "I'd better get out of here." He told himself, reaching for his sword. It wasn't there. He then tried to summon it, something he had learned quite recently, after regaining a part of Shinryu's memories. The summon failed, he wasn't sure if it was him that failed or if there was something blocking it. He then tried to blast through the dome with a well placed blizzard, but nothing appeared at his call. _"There's always plan C… How did Sabin do it?"_ He thought back at seeing the man train what seemed to be neither magic nor a physical capability.

"_Concentrate, reach deep inside you and put your soul in your hands."_ Sabin's voice rang.

Taking advantage of Sabin's inherited knowledge Shin cupped his hands to his side, feeling energy flowing from within him and into the cup he had created. As soon as he felt the energy stabilize he thrust both hands forward, opening them and shouting: "Aura Canon!" The result was a whitish-blue energy beam that pierced through the glass like structure as if it was made of paper, continuing to make a not so small hole in a nearby wall.

"One more page on my book!" He exclaimed triumphantly as he jumped to the ground. Looking around he discovered that he was not the only one being held in this large, blindingly white, room. Next to his pod four more towered, one of them smaller than the other three, one that he guessed it would be Cuore's if they had all been caught.

"Correct." The cold, young voice responded. Shin quickly turned, finding the turquoise haired girl staring at him from bellow with curious eyes. The smaller pod had been breached on the other side. "How did wake up?" She asked.

"Well, I think this had something to do with it." He pointed at the marks on his jacket. "I'll explain later." He assured as he saw the girls eyes glimmer with even more curiosity. "How did you?"

"They tried to give me a perfect live… but I already have one." She bluntly replied, a smile creeping up on her lips. "Can you help me break the other capsules? They seem to be harder on the outside."

Shin nodded and turned to the nearest one.

"Aim for the top." Cuore instructed, obviously trying to protect the ones inside.

Shin quickly assumed position for another Aura Canon, it had worked the last time, so why not? By his side Cuore chanted some incantations so fast he couldn't keep up, he wasn't even sure he had ever heard them.

"AURA CANON!"

"SPELL FUSION: HOLY BURST!"

As Shin's beam made contact with the top of the pod, it seemed to explode with tens more strength than before, then he realized Cuore had a hand on it. He had never seen or even heard of what Cuore had done, and she was still a kid. Unfortunately, even with that newfound power, the pod remained intact, not even scratched.

"Maybe you have to open them yourself…" Cuore said, giving a resigned chuckle. "This is going to take a long time…"

"Why?" Shin simply asked.

"You can see how my Dad and my Mother are. It's so easy to create a perfect life for them it's laughable, and the worst thing by far, is that they could have that life, if Edge had a little more tact and Mother a little more confidence in her feelings." Cuore replied, a hint of disappointment in her voice. "But I doubt they'll be fooled for long."

"But we don't have time to wait! There's one capsule less here. One of us was taken away!" HE then got an idea, a very reckless one at that. He once again tried to summon his sword, but this time the Lightbringer graced his palm. There was only one thing that could break them. He pulled the sword back and let his power flow into it, surrounding him and the sword in a golden light. "Chaotic De…!"

"Can you even control that?" A calm voice asked from behind him, causing him to stop abruptly. "Thought so." Aerith said, giggling at the young man's try. "But I don't think those two need your help." She pointed out, grinning as the sound of two glasses shattering were heard.

"Like Rydia would ask me to marry her…" Edge mumbled angrily as he jumped of the pod.

"Like Edge would someday be a gentlemen… I believed the part of my mother being alive more…" Rydia grumbled at the same time.

Cuore shrugged and Shin couldn't help but feel sorry for her, her parents looked like a teenage couple.

"Now, why don't you go get us a way out of here? I'm going to wake Cloud up." Aerith said, going right through the larger pod.

"I guess we have to, don't we?" Shin muttered, opening the door. They crossed what seemed to be a research room full of similar pods, not one world being exchanged by Rydia and Edge, only constringed looks. They opened the second door to see a simple quadrangular room, finally, after opening yet another door they found a computer. Even though he had no experience with this, Shin felt like he knew how to operate computers, Shinryu came in handy sometimes. Most of the PC's information was corrupted, but he found one option to still be available, and just what they needed, a warp point. Pushing the button a flash of green light flooded the room. As the light dimmed, they looked to the right to find a giant green needle holding a small sphere of light. "Let's hope it doesn't take _too _long."

* * *

><p>"Where is this?" Aerith asked herself as she arrived at the inside of Cloud's mind. Inside there was a city she had never seen before, and she knew Cloud hadn't seen it, so how was this inside his mind? She studied the city. The whole city looked like it was being reconstructed, piles of wooden boards filling the ceilings, destroyed streets and fountains, not to mention the giant gap that she was observing right now. The gap led to a blueish landscape, full of cliffs and flaws but most of all, that unnerving castle. A malformed castle that seemed to emanate corruption stood in the middle of the gap, as to why it was there, Aerith had no idea. Still, she had to find Cloud, nothing more, and so she began to walk through the streets at a fairly quick pace. As she walked she began to hear screams of joy, familiar ones at that, she couldn't put her hand on it, but she knew she… And the answer had just turned around the corner while looking back, when it did look towards Aerith she tried her best to stop, little did she know that Aerith was immaterial, she couldn't, tripped and soared right through Aerith.<p>

Taking a closer look Aerith recognized the young ninja, she was surpised by it, but not nearly as much as Yuffie was.

"Aerith?" She yelled, her eyes almost bulging out. "But you are…" She began. Aerith thought she knew what Yuffie was going to say, but nothing could have prepared her for the next word. "…there." Yuffie finished, looking directly through Aerith and into… Aerith.

"Wh-Who are you?" Both chocolate haired girls asked in unison.

* * *

><p>Zack continued to run, clutching to his phone. He hadn't shown it to anyone but Tseng had gotten the results of the tests, results that had left Zack baffled.<p>

"_They don't match with Angeal, Genesis or even Sephiroth. They also don't match with anyone in SOLDIER or associates… to be more precise Zack, they don't match with ANYONE on this world… and Shinra has an extensive coverage on that." _He read in his mind. It just didn't make sense, how could he be a loose end if the guy wasn't even from his world, did they meet in Dissidia or something?

"Trippy." Layle commented.

Zack looked up and saw what he meant, they were no longer in closed space, they were in the midst of unending crystal. They were standing on crystal, there were mountains of crystal and on the horizon, surrounded by a ring, was the mother of all crystals, it was ginourmous. Zack couldn't help but feel that that was the thing whoever started this wanted. "This must be what Tron detected…"

"The Crystal World…" Crono mumbled. "I read about this… this is bad! If that crystal is destroyed, all existence will go down with it!" Crono exclaimed, bursting forward in a surge of speed. Noting the seriousness of it, both Zack and Layle followed.

It didn't take long for them to reach what seemed to be the end of the road, they were quickly climbing the stairway to a circular plateu of crystal. Just as they took the last steps, Zack saw him, the black cloak still covering the man's features as he gazed towards the crystal.

"Good girl…" He muttered as he turned to the group. "Sent the three rabbits right into the wolf's den."

* * *

><p>Aerith couldn't believe that she was staring at herself. If it was a replica it was way too well done for her tastes. Wearing the same flowery white dress she wore when she dated Zack was… her. Same height, same face, same surprised look. Before our Aerith could say anything, the other Aerith asked her quietly.<p>

"This isn't real, is it?" The whisper had a tone of sadness stuck to it, but it was expected if she had reached that conclusion.

"I… don't think so…" Our Aerith replied, still surprised at her deduction skills.

"I knew it… this felt odd. I felt odd, that Cloud isn't the Cloud I know. He kept asking about people we didn't know about and even preached about how Sephiroth had killed me… but he apparently did." She concluded, her hand traversing her other self's chest. "It was fun though… existing that is, don't feel bad, Cloud doesn't deserve being tied up on dreams, let's go get him." She offered, leading the way to a nearby house. She stopped at the entrance, took a deep breath and opened the door. "Cloud, someone's here to see you."

* * *

><p>"Just hold still for a minute!" Zidane exclaimed as he used the wall to bounce back at Kuja. The Genome dodged gracefully and put his hand on his brother's chest, creating a surge of energy that propelled Zidane against a nearby wall.<p>

"Zidane!" Garnet yelled, rushing to the scene.

"Oh, no you don't!" Kuja shouted, making the five spheres surrounding him join beneath his feet. "Dance in unison!" The spheres began to create large energy bombs that forced Garnet to stop in her tracks. "And now, the finale!" He exclaimed as he floated above Zidane. He dropped the bomb and Garnet could feel her heart sink with it, however, when the bomb was a mere feet away from Zidane, Bartz jumped in and kicked the ball skyward. Kuja managed to dodge his bomb, but just above him, Lenna was changing from a dragoon back into a monk. He didn't have time to react when the bomb bounced from Lenna's feet and into his sternum, taking all the air from his lungs as it exploded and sent him crashing into the ground. The crash was so strong that it created a small crater, its debris covering the tranced genome.

"I'd say you need _some_ help." Bartz mocked, pulling Zidane back into a standing position.

"Fine!" He fired back, his eyes rolling in disapproval. "I guess you can help."

"I… won't give up…" Kuja grumbled as he emerged from beneath the rocks.

"Stubborn aren't ya?" Zidane commented, shaking his head. "When this is over, we're going to have one hell of a talk."

* * *

><p>"My my, who do we have here?" An old man with a beard almost as large as himself asked as he stared into the newcomers. "You never told me you had a twin sister Aerith."<p>

"Aye, and she isn't shady as well!" A man that looked too much Like Cid Highwind remarked, the only thing that differentiated them was that this man had was chewing toothpick instead of smoking a cigarette.

"Cid, Merlin, this is serious!" She interrupted. So it was Cid. "Cloud, you probably know better than anyone here what's happening." She said, turning to the man who was sitting on a chair nearby, completely out of it. Cloud jumped off the chair and ran straight to both Aerith, and as tried to touch both, one of the hands slipped through and he knew.

"Where… am I?" He asked the real Aerith.

"Inside your head, you have to wake up Cloud, they… no, we need you." Aerith told him, trying her best to ignore the gasps in the background.

It all began to come back to Cloud now and with it, whiteness filled the room. Everyone was disappearing, but none of them felt angry. Just before he disappeared, the brown haired man that leaned against a wall in the background walked to them, punching Cloud's shoulder.

"Tell the real me to give you a beating for this." The man said before disappearing. The worst thing about it was... Cloud didn't even know who he was.

"You're awake." Aerith said, jolting Cloud's eyes open.

"You're… real?" He asked her, his hand going right through her.

"Yeah… But hurry up, we can catch up when this is over." Aerith said in a comforting voice.

It didn't take much for Cloud to get out, he just punched his way out. Just as he jumped outside he found Shin waiting to take him to the teleporter. He nodded and followed him, stealing glances of the floating angel that was beside him every time he could.

"Soooo, who goes first?" Edge asked, stepping away from the teleporter.

"Not it!"

"Not it!"

"Not it!"

"…" Cloud knew that being the silent type would come back to bite him someday. This was the day.

"I'll jump with you!" Aerith exclaimed. Somehow, having an already dead person say it wasn't quite as reassuring, but to heck with it, Cloud jumped straight through it at her mark.

A minute passed and no signal was given. Maybe there was no way back, that or…

"No use thinking about it, it's either that or being stuck here!" Shin pointed out, jumping straight through the portal, followed by Edge and soon after Rydia and Cuore did.

* * *

><p>"Why did you want all three of us her?" Crono shouted at the man, readying his repaired Dreamseeker.<p>

"You two…" He said, referring to Layle and Crono. "Shouldn't _be_ here, so I'll have to _remove _you from this world." He said bluntly. "But us…" He said, turning to Zack. "We have some unfinished business, don't we? But, if you…"

"I'm not in the mood for talk!" Crono shouted, suddenly lunging at the men, swinging his sword in an arc that was meant to intercept the man's neck.

"What a coincidence…" The man replied. Crono's sword cut him through to through, or it appeared to. "Neither am I!" He exclaimed as he appeared in midair on top of Layle, swinging his demented silvery blade downwards. Layle only had time to get his head out of the blade's trajectory, but it was too late to stop the blow. The sword carved an enormous road of flesh on his body, from the shoulder all the way to the foot. He tried to grown in agony, but his scream was cut short as the man took a hold of his head, silencing him and holding him suspended on the edge of the plateau. "Weakling!" He mocked, removing his hand from Layle's head and hitting his forehead with a vicious backhand, sending Layle's motionless body into the abyss, much to the despair of Crono and Zack, who hadn't been able to keep up with his movements.

"Damn you!" Crono yelled, slashing yet again at the cloaked man. This time the blade connected, but with his sword.

"Is this all you've got?" He mocked, hitting Crono's sternum with his foot. "You think you can change the future with that kind of power?" He shouted as he sent Crono flying backwards.

"Crono!" Zack called, trying to help his fallen friend.

"Where might you be going?" Zack felt his whole body come to a halt as his lungs were drained of all the air in one single impact from the back of the blade. "Submit!" He boomed, his free hand grabbing Zack's neck, taking his spine to its limit and slamming him against a nearby pillar, severely cracking it.

"Who… are you?" Zack asked as coughed blood. In desperation he raised his foot and kicked the man's face, causing the hood to flutter, but not enough. He could only see the dark yellow orbs staring at him, overjoyed with his suffering.

* * *

><p>"Zack's in trouble!" Aerith exclaimed, beginning to flicker. "Cloud, I'll be right back!" She said, disappearing.<p>

"Let's just keep going." Shin said, staring at the manor in front of him. "Something tells me this is the place."

* * *

><p>"Zack…" Crono called as he tried to get the dark arms from his neck. Dark creatures had suddenly risen from the ground, moving erratically with their huge yellow eyes staring at the time traveler. They were weak, but he was covered in them, all he could do was watch.<p>

"How… how did you get them all to obey you?" Zack coughed.

"Obey me? Each and every one of those you think that obey me are just looking for the right moment to stab me in the back." The man replied.

"Then… why?"

"Why should I tell you?" The man replied, growing tired of the talk. "I've learned from last time, I'll finish you off right now!" He shouted, his sword cutting the hair in the direction of Zack's forehead.

Another arrow of light came out of nowhere, piercing the man's sword and ripping his cowl, silvery strands of hair breaking free. Zack felt himself fall as the crystal behind his shattered, but someone got a hold of him. His eyes got a view of a portal nearby.

"_Cid finally did something right…"_ He thought as he looked up to see the old man. However, at the end of the long cape that his savior wore was blue hair.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>** What can I say? I know some of you will not like what I did right here, but hey, try and stick with the story okay? I promise it'll all turn out great… I hope. Anyway, I won't preview the next chapter, but for those who didn't get the memo yet, it's going to be called "Fragments of Sorrow".


	32. Fragments of Sorrow

**Author's note:** I updated early… this is truly the end of the world. It's just, this chapter came naturally, and I'd be lying if I said this wasn't the chapter I felt best writing. Granted, it may be because I'm writing this note 1 minute after editing it, but still, you're the ones that can judge it, so please do. Enjoy! But I do say, I feel like a prick after writing this one, read and find out why.

**PS:** Squall and Team 589 fans, rejoice, you're in for a treat soon.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

****Fragments of Sorrow****

* * *

><p>"I'll catch you." Edge stated with a sly grin under his mask as he looked up to Rydia at the top of the wall.<p>

"That's what I'm afraid off…" Rydia replied resignedly, jumping downwards. Surprisingly, Edge just caught her, nothing more.

"See? No bad touch!"

Rydia simply grumbled and continued to walk.

"Locked…" Shin stated shaking his head. He didn't really expect a free pass in, but still. He jumped back when he heard the large, resounding crash coming from his side.

"Not anymore…" Cloud said mater-of-factly, strapping the First Tsurugi to his back and calmly continuing inside.

"That guy sure got lively after Aerith left." Edge commented with another grin.

"Just get your mind out of the gutter for one second!" Rydia told him, quickly walking to the inside of the manor. "What the…?" She yelled, prompting the rest of the group to run inside. As they entered, they ignored the details and looked right to where Rydia was pointing. On top of the first half of the main staircase were them, or at least they looked like them. If it wasn't for their lack of expression and quietness, Shin might have even doubted which ones were real. He thought of asking who they were peacefully, but Cloud had other ideas.

"Whatever they are… I don't trust them." Cloud stated matter of factly, pausing for emphasis.

Feeling threatened by the SOLDIER, the doppelgangers began to emit a shrill laugh, or scream you couldn't tell, and began to lose their forms, their bodies becoming barely humanoid as they lost their hands and feet, a large cowl covering their heads, their body's thinning down to impossible stature and becoming almost completely white. They were identical, both in their forms and in the erratic way they moved. Without another warning they slid through midair in unreadable patterns towards the group. Whatever they were, they weren't friendly.

* * *

><p>"This is my world, you can't get out." The teen blonde told Terra, who was too busy staring at the figures that were protecting the girl. On her right, with her pale blonde hair fluttering away from her saddened eyes, was her mother, Madeleine. On her left, the green haired, tall and strong Esper Gatekeeper stood, Maduin was his name. Terra understood what the girl had meant when she told her about not being able to hurt them, and she was right, even her esper side seemed clueless about what to do.<p>

"I can't hurt them." Terra told the esper.

"Neither can I…" The esper admitted, much to Terra's surprise. "They're my parents too, she just pulled the one card I have no counter too… Our best bet is trying to get past them and hit her fast and hard."

"Hit who?" The girl asked. "I'm not here, we're not here. We're in my room, sleeping, you can't hurt me here! Please, if you fight it, you might lose sight of who you are! Your mind might break, do you really think it's worth it?"

"Shut up!" The esper yelled, lunging towards the girl with a distorted growl. Just as Maduin prepared to intercept her, she stopped abruptly, burying her foot into the ground and knocking up the debris. This was partly her mind after all, anything goes. That however, wasn't enough to confuse the Guardian as he launched his strong arms towards his daughter. Acting instinctively, the Esper grabbed both hands with her hands and locked them in a struggle for dominance. Taking advantage of the confusion Terra slipped through Maduin and continued forward. She already expected her mother to get in the way, so she quickly cast float on her and dove through the open space beneath her. She was but a few feet away from the girl. Willing the Apocalypse to her hand she jumped high, intent to end it in a single blow, but she suddenly felt enormous weight coming over her, pushing her downwards, not only missing her target but also being pinned to the ground. It wasn't until after that that she realized she was covered by the orphans she cared so much.

"Don't…" The girl begged, not even she liked the grim spectacle that was unraveling before her.

"Sunshine!" Her esper yelled, pushing Maduin back, but not enough to sway him. "Just give it up, leave it to me!"

"I'm tired…" Terra lamented, closing her eyes. "Tired of letting others do things for me! I'm tired of taking orders! I'm tired of everyone assuming they know me! " She exclaimed, her whole subconscious trembling with every word. She wasn't moving, but then again, she didn't need too. The girl felt a sharp sting on her whole body and she felt herself fade away. "GET. OUT. OF MY MIND!" Terra yelled, pouring every memory she possessed into the girl, overwhelming her and forcefully cutting the link. Terra collapsed as she saw everything around her go blank, her body still burning with power.

A large bang was heard from the top of the staircase, quite literally shattering the mansion. Not the building, but Shin and the others could see the world cracking and shattering like glass, taking the strange creatures with it. They were then blinded by an intense white light. As soon as the light disappeared they found themselves in a small, circular crystal room. Looking around, Shin found Terra collapsed on the ground and a small blonde haired girl leaned against a cracked pillar.

"You okay Terra?" He asked her, shaking her slowly to see if she woke up.

"I'll be fine…" She answered without opening her eyes. "What about that girl?" Cloud quickly grabbed the girls wrist to see if she had a pulse.

"She's alive." He stated.

"Good…" Terra replied, passing out completely.

"Terra, Terra, stay with us!" Shin yelled, shaking her.

"She'll be fine!" Terra replied in an aggressive tone. "She did surprise me back there, never thought she had that kind of willpower." Terra's esper side said, chuckling as she stood up and looked at herself on the mirror-like crystals. "Not too shabby, I like the green hue!" She joked as she stroked her green hair.

"Oh, it's you again." Shin replied in an equally aggressive tone. "What do you want?"

"Hold your horses, baby lizard. I'm just filling for her, it's a win-win, she isn't a burden, and I get to taste some blood." The esper replied with a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"You… did it." The blonde girl said as she woke up.

"What do we do with her?" Cloud asked.

"She might be useful…" Rydia pointed out.

"But can we trust her?" Shin divagated.

"Yes you can." "Terra" told them as she approached the young girl. "Tell me who made you do this, I'll personally make him disappear." She told the girl. Both she and Terra felt empathy towards the little girl. She had been used and cast aside, like they were.

"You… can't!" The girl replied. "He's too strong!"

"Try me!" The esper replied, cracking her knuckles. "And besides, don't you want to stand up for yourself?"

"_Stand up for myself… for what is right… he'd understand that, wouldn't he?"_ The girl told herself. "Okay… I'll help."

"Fine then, now what's your name?"

"Naminé." She replied. The young girl tried to pull herself back to her feet, but she soon discovered she had sprained her ankle in the blast.

"Here, let me help." Cloud offered, pulling the girl up making her sit behind him on the Fenrir."Lead the way…" He said, kicking the Fenrir's engine on.

"Just go ahead… the space is only an illusion, it's solid." Naminé told them as she pointed towards a crevice.

Without any further ado, everyone began running towards it, not even considering the chance of being a trap, something Naminé found it hard to believe.

"How can you trust me that easily?" She asked Cloud.

"I know what it's like… to be a tool." He replied, accelerating into the unknown.

* * *

><p>"Kuja… just stop!" Mikoto yelled. Kuja couldn't keep up with four adversaries, much less when Zidane and Bartz had become such a great team in such little time.<p>

"I won't… for my sister!" He shouted.

"SHE IS YOUR SISTER DUMBASS!" Zidane yelled, losing concentration for one bit, letting himself be grappled by Kuja.

"Shut up! Are you going to tell me my whole life was a lie?" He grimaced, his body beginning to shine in a violet light.

"That light… No! Everyone take cover!" Garnet shouted, remembering the one spell that had beaten them two years ago.

"Ultima!" Kuja called, throwing Zidane into midair, where he couldn't dodge even with all his mobility.

The ensuing rain of violet light pierced Lenna's leg, burned Garnet's right arms, grasped Zidane, making him fall into a deep crevice and knocked out Mikoto with the rain of boulders that ensued.

"My body has seen this all before." Bartz exclaimed as he emerged from the rubble unscathed, the crystals' azure light surrounding him. "I trust it." He continued as he looked at his crystal, summoning a spear he had never seen. "I'll trust my instincts, and my crystal!" He said, jumping like a dragoon, but still on his freelancer outfit. He delayed his lunge in midair, adding a feint of a certain blonde haired man.

Confused, Kuja let himself get hit by both kicks that came after it. "SOAR!" He shouted, piercing Kuja with his spear and sending him upwards. "Not done yet!" A spear-like sword appeared on his hand. "Illuminate!" He spun the sword in an arc, releasing a shockwave of light that pushed Kuja back, blinding him with the luminosity. Just as Kuja began seeing again Bartz was already on top of him, his fist gaining momentum. "Goblin PUNCH!" The fist connected with Kuja's chest, making him feel numerous, vicious punches on his whole body, ironic coming from a move called Goblin Punch. Kuja smashed against the ground near the crevice Zidane had fell. "All yours." He said with a smile.

"Alright!" Zidane exclaimed, jumping from the crevice. "I'll teach you to count! Stellar Circle… FIVE!" He exclaimed, landing near Kuja and pulling him in into a vortex of glyphs which exploded and sent him flying again. "My new one. Devilish Six!" Zidane leapt on top of Kuja, delivering three kicks to different parts of his body, linked his daggers with a chain of energy, surrounded Kuja with the improvised whip and slammed him into the ground. "Hope you're feeling lucky! Lucky Sevens!" He exclaimed, arcing his hand. "Lucky!" He exclaimed as four sevens lined up on top of Kuja, causing a massive explosion that put him on Zidane's level. "How's this? Booster Eight!" Zidane quickly used a nearby ledge for leverage, lunging forward and hitting with both his daggers. Kuja was still floating when Zidane threw both his Mage Mashers into the air and began controlling them. "Dodge this! Solution Nine!" Zidane began to move his arms erratically, his daggers following his body while firing multiple red glyphs of energy which kept Kuja in the air.

"And for the final touch…" Zidane joined his Mage Mashers into The Ogre and kicked the air once again. "FLY AWAY!" Without hesitation, he twirled around Kuja, creating a vortex of energy which burst into a flash of red light. "And that's… how it's done!" He finished, giving a victory sign.

"Is he alright?" Lenna asked Garnet who was examining Kuja.

"He's burned all over his body, he has broken bones all over it as well, not to mention the internal bleeding he might have… Can you heal?" Garnet asked. "I can't do this alone."

"I'll just change." Lenna replied.

"Kuja…" Mikoto called as she knelt down. "Don't you dare dying on me again, okay?"

"Shut up!" Kuja yelled, grabbing Mikoto by the neck. "One movement and she dies!" He threatened, struggling to pull himself back up.

"Seriously Kuja? You can't even fly now, just admit defeat!" Garnet yelled.

"Do you have any idea what they'll do to my sister if I… ugh!" Kuja fell flat on the floor as a powerful hand crashed into his neck, knocking him out instantly.

"Heal him." The muscled, white haired man almost ordered.

"Who're you?" Lenna asked.

"A friend of Terra's. You can call me Golbez. Now, where is she?" The man asked bluntly.

"After that." Bartz told him, pointing at the ruble that lead to the exit.

"Looks like we're going to need more man power…" Cissnei lamented. "It's a shame cell phones don't work here."

On one movement of his hand, the rocks rose from their place and surrounded Golbez, who dispersed them easily.

"Are you certain that it was this way?" He asked, seeing as there was nowhere to go.

"They did!" Lenna insisted.

"Then they're on their own…" Golbez commented.

"You did pretty well Zidane, almost as good as me!" Bartz flaunted, flexing his arms in front of the Genome.

"ALMOST? I beat that guy, not you!" Zidane fired back.

"Yeah, because I softened him up for ya!"

"Kids…" Golbez commented, shaking his head.

* * *

><p>"You… Heh… hehehe… HAHAHAHAHA! What the hell are you doing here? Did you decide to climb out of your little hole?" The man asked in the midst of a maniacal laughter. "Still, I would have thought you to be... different, you kept your hair and eye color I see... shame."<p>

"Just shut up… every word that comes out of your mouth disgusts me." Zack's savior spat back, a disgusted tone in her voice. That's right, her. It wasn't Cid that had saved him. The young woman, who didn't look more than eighteen, had unusual hair coloration, blue… now he had seen everything. His eyes trailed to the rest of his savior's body. She was wearing a matching blue armor, with shades of grey and silver covering the more heavily armored places. It looked like she had had a helm, since two stripes of metal covered the side of her head, surrounding her hears and a small spike coming from one of them. A cape fluttered to an unseen wind on her back. "Just… stay there." She told Zack in a much sweeter tone than she had used against the man. "I have to do this myself." A weapon appeared on her hand. Zack was honestly more horrified than surprised, she was going to fight… with a key? No matter how you looked at it, it was a giant, grey key. Its hold squared, a cylindrical "blade" and E shaped teeth at the end.

"Using that old has-been's weapon? Amusing." The mocked as he held his weapon to the side of his body and flexed his legs. "That didn't help him, all those years ago…"

"And that arrogance didn't help _you_ all those years ago…" The woman replied.

"You know by a fact that that wasn't _me_…" The man replied with sly smirk. "And this time, he won't help you." He banged the part of the chest where his heart should be.

The woman grimaced and lunged at the man, swinging her sword in an arc. The man jumped back to avoid being sliced in half but just as he was about to regain footing, the woman had already spun around and pointed the key at him "Burn!" Three Firaga balls shot from her blade at an amazing speed. The man jumped over them easily, but she wasn't done. "Freeze!" This time, three Blizzaga shads came bursting out of the key. The man, being in midair, could only guard himself with his weapon, what he didn't account for was that the fireballs had turned around and were pursuing him, just as he was about to defend against the ice shards, the fireballs connected with his back, making him flinch and take the full brunt of the assault. As the dust began to settle, the man saw a silhouette in it. He quickly stepped out of the way as the key cut off his hair, but he couldn't dodge what he couldn't predict, a second blade cut the hair and left a gashing wound on his chest. Still stunned, he tried to break away contact but the woman did that for him, slamming both blades in his torso, throwing to the edge of the platform.

"So, you got your Keyblade back as well, I you're better prepared than I imagined." The man scuffed. The woman's new sword, or "Keyblade" as he called it was much less key-like than the other, the blade was extremely light blue at the edge and the hilt while the shaft was a darker blue, both the shaft and the edge of the Keyblade were adorned by cresting waves, the hilt had two heart-shaped opening and in both the edge and the chain attached to the hilt was a star. "Still, do you plan on killing me that remorselessly? What happened to the "I'll save you Terra!" act?"

"_This guy's named Terra? If I wasn't like this, I'd be dying of laughter!"_

"Giving me the silent treatment eh? I'll take the initiative then!" Terra shouted, lunging shoulder first at the woman, cloaked in a dark aura. She jumped back to avoid it but he propelled himself further, hitting her with a backhand. He then tried to take advantage of the woman's flinching by trying to decapitate her, but when the sword reached her neck she suddenly disappeared, appearing behind him with a flaming aura.

"Command Style: Firestorm." She then began unleashing a ravenous flurry of blows to the man, who could only keep up by using both his sword and his dark-aura covered hand to block. Slowly but surely, he began taking blows and getting pushed to the edge. She let out a scream and slammed her Keyblade so hard into Terra's weapon it was sent hurling down the abyss. She then tried to cut him with the other one, but he blocked it with his hand. The woman smiled when she realized the man had no means to stop her next attack, but that happiness was short-lived.

"ENOUGH! COME GUARDIAN!" The man boomed, causing a dark distortion behind him. Moments after a black hand shot out from it, punching the woman away. "You don't know when to quit, do you? You're just like your master, look where that got him!"As he said that, the rest of his so-called guarding emerged, a grotesque sight. The black monster floated behind Terra, his eyes glowing in the same eerie yellow. The monster had a small resemblance to a muscular human being, except for the two giant antennas on its head, four more sprouting on the lower part of his head and torso. Its face bound by X-shaped bandages, just like its torso. A heart shaped dark blue hole loomed on his lower torso, and its dark tail connected to Terra's shadow.

"Tch…"

"You won't attack me? Should I go first?" Terra asked, vanishing into a dark shadow and reappearing behind her. The young woman managed to side step the ensuing sword slash and cartwheeled out of one of the abomination's arms, blocking the second one with her blue Keyblade. She then thrust her remaining one into Terra's chest, who roared in agony. "You **BITCH**!" He screamed, knocking her back with a colossal punch and pulling the Keyblade out of his body.

"_I'm here Zack."_ Aerith rang in his mind.

"_About time!"_

"Now die!" Terra shouted as he ordered his guardian to smash his fallen adversary. The fist met steel as Zack blocked the blow with his Buster Sword.

"Time for round two!" Zack exclaimed as he began to glow with a soft green light, pushing the Guardian back and landing a straight punch to Terra's jaw, making him loose his balance. Shortly after, Crono appeared behind him, slashing at his arm. The armor beneath his cloak broke and he felt warm blood rushing down his arm. Grimacing with the pain, he teleported to a safe distance to catch his breath.

"I told you to stay out of this…" The woman told Zack.

"Oh c'mon, you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours!" Zack said, beaming a grin at her as he offered his hand. "So, what's your name?"

"Aqua, and you haven't changed at all, have you?" She giggled, grabbing his hand and pulling herself up.

"Have we met?" He asked, surprised she would know him personally.

"Sort of…" She replied. Zack wasn't going to prod this a lot further, he had other business to take care of.

"Tch… useless shadows." The man spat, looking at where Crono stood, black liquid oozing down the crystal. "I tire of this, say hello to Eraqus for me!" Terra shouted, lunging directly at Crono, clashing blades with him and using the Guardian to grab Zack's neck.

"_Aerith, some help would be nice right now…"_

"_Okay, got it!"_ Aerith replied, quickly shooting the Holy Materia from Zack's pocket and into the Buster sword's materia slots. Both the sword and Zack burst in a flash of green.

"C'mon, let's do this!" Zack exclaimed, forcing his way out of the hold and slamming the Guardian with the Buster Sword, a shriek of pain crossing the air. Taking advantage of the distraction, Crono jumped back and infused his sword with energy.

"Luminaire!" He shouted as the swung his sword, creating an expanding dome of energy that knocked Terra back. Terra fumbled before feeling disturbance on top of him, looking up he saw Aqua point one of her Keyblades at him, a circle of light surrounding it.

"Ragnarock!" She exclaimed, unleashing rain of yellowish rays upon the cloaked man.

"GUARDIAN!" He called, the beast appearing from beneath him and partially shielding him from the onslaught.

"Alright!" Zack cheered, highfiving a reluctant Crono and Aqua.

"You… insolent runts!"Terra boomed, his cloak shredded to reveal his samurai pants, brown shirt with red sashes crossing over a heart emblem.

"You can't take all three of us! Just give it up!"

"Oh, you're wrong there…." He reached for his pants pocket, pulling out a darkened crystal shard. "To think you would push me this far…"

"What is that?" Crono asked.

"Stop him!" Aqua yelled, prompting both of them to race at the man, but it was too late. "Blade Charge!" She dismissed one of the Keyblades and created a giant sword of light with the other, swinging it down at Terra just as Zack and Crono were on top of him.

"Worthless!" The crystal began to shine in a violet light that covered Terra, his expression changing to a lunatic smile as he covered his face with his hand. As if acting for himself, the guardian created a wave of darkness that pushed Zack and Crono back, while grabbing Aqua's sword. "Now… who wants to go first? Maybe you…" He appeared right in front of Crono, his sword trespassing his abdomen with ease. Crono fell to his knees before passing out, bleeding profusely from the wound. "Return to darkness!" The Guardian lifted his hand, ready to crush Crono's dying figure.

"Ghost Drive!" Aqua vanished, reappearing just before the blow connected, grabbing Crono and vanishing again, the blow going through the after image.

"You can't run away forever."

"_He's too dangerous, we have to hold him out until someone gets here."_ Aerith told Zack.

"_Okay…"_ He replied reluctantly. He began running around in circles around the man, trying to find an opening and buy time.

"Seek and destroy." Terra commanded, the abomination leaving his back. Zack looked down to see a dark pool forming around his feet. Knowing better than to stand there, he dived to the side hoping to dodge the behemoth, surprisingly, nothing came from the dark pool and Zack found himself in another one.

"_A bluff?"_ Was all he could think before the Guardian came forth and wrapped his arms around his chest, squeezing the life out of him.

"Now we can finish our little match." Terra mocked, looking at Aqua. "Or are you afraid to do it alone?"

"I'm never alone!" She replied, clutching at a star shaped pendant.

"That's where you're wrong." He said eerily, disappearing and appearing right in front of aqua, but doing nothing but to stare into her eyes."In the end, you're always alone, alone… in the darkness!" Aqua flashed away, just in time to dodge a blow from his sword, but with his new found speed he was already nearing her, sword held high.

"Reflect!" She cried, creating a circular dome around her, one that was quickly crashed through by Terra, who delivered a devastating swing to the side of her body. Her armor prevented the worse, but she could still feel several ribs cracking with her armor. Still gasping for air, she tried to deflect the next flurry of blows, but even with numerical superiority, she was still being overwhelmed by Terra's sword, with his newfound strength and speed. She could even see his wounds closing, while hers were piling up.

"Is this the best you have? Some Master you are!" He mocked, swinging his weapon with such power that instantly broke the gray Keyblade.

"Master Eraqus'…" She cried before her own Keyblade was thrown into the wind, and chilling pain covering her body as she felt it being pierced. She fell to her knees, gasping for air, coughing blood as her vision blurred.

"Any last words?" Terra asked, taking a bone-chilling joy in her agony as he lifted his sword up.

"Aqua, get out of there!" Zack cried desperately, but he knew she couldn't.

"I…" Aqua felt tears coming down her cheeks, feeling as if all her life had been futile. "I'm sorry…. Terra."

"He says he's sorry too." The man replied. "Now, goodbye, the biggest thorn on my plan I ever met, it was _fun_ while it lasted."

Blood and tears splattered the pure crystal, a sudden and sad thud echoing through the Crystal World.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Post-chapter note:<span>**Yeah, I feel like a prick. Killing off a character in the same chapter she's introduced. But what can I say? It just felt natural to write this like that. Next chapter will end the "arc", so stay tuned.


	33. Only a Chilling Elegy: Terra Vs Terra

**Author's note:** This chapter… oh the pain it caused me. I never got satisfied with it, so I wrote it and re-wrote it and re-re-wrote it, until I came to this one. Compared to the last two I deleted, it's a masterpiece (hint: they sucked), now if it is any good, only you can tell. I also got a really carried away on the title, listening to too much DBKai OST does that to you, seriously, listen to it, it makes any vilain look even more badass.

**PS:** If you thought I was a prick on the last chapter, you will see just how much of a prick I really was.

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><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

****Only a Chilling Elegy: Terra Vs Terra****

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><p>"<em>Am I… dead?"<em> Aqua thought to herself as she opened her eyes. She couldn't hear anything, she couldn't see anything, she couldn't feel anything. Even with all those years in the World of Darkness she had never felt like this. If this was death, well, she had to deal with it, she probably would disappear any moment now.

A loud crash boomed in her ears. All of a sudden, her vision was filled with light as she started hearing footsteps, rushed talking and other sounds, neither of which she could identify, she was too confused. Then came the pain, would she feel the pain that she died with for eternity? Her eyes slowly adjusted to the light, becoming able to distinguish a silhouette.

"Where… am I?" She asked.

"Right where you were before." Zack replied. "Don't worry, Aerith will fix you up!" He said energetically.

"What? How?" She asked. She now noticed she was lying face up on the ground, surrounded by a lot of people she didn't know, some looking after her and some just staring. It was then that Aqua saw Terra's incredulous eyes. He was still lying on the ground, leaning over one elbow as he covered the side of his face. His cheek had been decimated, even with all his healing there were still very distinguishable gashes on his face, four total. For them to still be there, even with his wounds regenerating, he had to have literally lost his right cheek. Towering above him was a shinning pink figure, giggling eerily, its claw bathed in blood.

"Half a second." The thing said, looking at her with an amused smile. "That's how close you were to being bisected." It then turned to Terra, slowly taking her claw to her mouth, liking off some blood. It grimaced and spat it out. "Damn, your blood tastes worse than Kefka's. What are you doing to yourself? It tastes like its rotten or something."

Aqua was slightly disgusted at the behavior, but she shouldn't complain too much, whatever it was, it saved her.

"C'mon, are you going to stay like that for much longer? I mean, even half-dead girl over there is being less monotonous than you." Esper Terra mocked, still waiting for Terra to get up. She wasn't going away without a fight, not even if he begged her.

"Why does every time I'm close to accomplishing ANY goal, some wannabe hero HAS to step in?" He spat hatefully, levitating back into standing position. He ran his hand through his right cheek to check. Those gashes were going to leave a mark. "Do you have, ANY idea how much work was put into getting this body?"

A devious smile appeared on her face, clearly enjoying how riled up he was. "NOW!" Esper Terra yelled. Rydia nodded, closed her eyes and soon a roar erupted from the distance. The sound of waves filled the crystal world. Terra looked around confused, but then he saw it. A giant wave was closing in, ridden by a giant sea serpent, the King of Eidolons, Leviathan. The wave was too near for him to react, and he was swept way from the platform. The esper then quickly made her way to Aqua, kneeling down and putting one hand on her broken ribs and the other on where she had been impaled.

"Curaja!" She chanted, a massive explosion of green light covering both of them. When she was finished, not only was Aqua spotless, but she felt completely reinvigorated. Not sparing Aqua a single look, the esper ran over to Crono and repeated the process, waking him up in the process.

"Who is that?" Aqua asked Zack.

"Her name's Terra…. Yeah I know what you're thinking, but I'm not kidding, her name is Terra Branford." He replied, chuckling when he said her name. "It's hard to explain what you're seeing now; I'll explain what an esper is later."

"_So THIS is Branford?" _Aqua thought before being interrupted.

"Listen up! Nobody here can beat that guy by themselves…. Not even me, I hate to say this…. but I need your _help_ on this one." They could see her grimacing as she said help. "I need one solid hit, I don't mean a glancing blow, much less with that thing he has on his back, you HAVE to put him in a position where I can blast him head on. That's the priority, I'll help of course, and don't fool yourselves, after absorbing that much power, you can't do any noticeable damage to him, but doesn't mean you can't try." She paused and looked at Naminé. Who was still holding on to the Fenrir on the edge. "And don't let him get near her, we need her." Everyone nodded. "Good, he should be here right about…" Terra erupted from beneath the crystal, fury consuming his eyes. "…now."

Cloud was the first to try, jumping towards him and leaving the group behind, something he would come to regret. His Fusion Blade had been assembled preemptively and he tried to take advantage of both its power and momentum to drive it through the beast that was about to appear. The Guardian did appear, only to effortlessly grab Cloud's sword. Already expecting this, Cloud detached one of the back blades from the sword, leaving it on the hands of the abomination as he twirled around it, slicing directly at Terra. The man grinned as he blocked the sword with his hand and used it's free one to grab Cloud's wrist, fracturing but not breaking it.

"Do you think I'm useless without my guardian? Please. Now, why don't you go meet Aerith?" He lifted his sword but before he could finish the job an unknown force hit him on his left check, gashing into it in the same way as the last time and sending him hurling into the ground.

"Normally I'd let you die for a mistake as stupid as that, but I'm in a good mood today." The esper smirked, shaking the blood of her right foot. "Oh look, your cheeks match now! How cute!" She told Terra in a flirting tone.

"BRANFORD!" Terra boomed, his blood seaming to boil as he jumped on a crystal pillar and ran upwards.

"Not so fast!" Shin exclaimed, shattering the base of the crystal pillar. The momentary loss of focus that that caused Terra was enough as Ifrit crashed on the man without the Guardian's protection.

"Finish him!" Rydia yelled. The Eidolon quickly raised his claw, but it was grabbed by the guardian before he could crush Terra's skull. It wasn't the end for Terra however, as he felt various ropes flying around him, attached to boomerangs and shurikens, binding his legs and arms.

"Terra, now!" Edge yelled, doing his best to hold his target in place.

"Too easy… Ultima…" She thrust her arms towards Terra, forming a violet sphere in front of his hands, steadily growing bigger.

Terra groaned and used all of his strength to pull the ropes, lifting Edge from the ground and using him to obstruct the shot angle.

"Damnit!" Esper Terra groaned, cancelling the spell in an unheard act of care.

"Let's take this somewhere else…" He growled, appearing behind the esper and disappearing in a dark flash.

"Where are they?" Crono growled.

"Over there!" Aqua yelled, pointing at two dots on top of a faraway crystal plateau, dangerously close to the Giant Crystal in the center.

"That's the least of our worries…" Cloud remarked as he looked down their own plateau. One giant dark hand lodged itself on the edge, another one following suit. Before the baffled group a giant, tentacle covered head rose. The giant black monster towered even above the plateau, it's yellow eyes barely distinguishable as they were almost hidden away by the dark tendrils on his head. The body resembled one of a muscled man, albeit totally black and with a giant heart-shaped hole on his torso.

"A Dark Side…" Aqua mumbled. "Spread!" She ordered as the creature rose on his giant arms.

* * *

><p>The first impact of the one on one was made. The esper had successfully dodged a punch from the guardian, leaned towards the right, avoiding a vertical cut and sunken her claw in Terra's abdomen. She also noticed how Terra never attacked at the same time as his Guardian, then she understood, he couldn't split his concentration for the two bodies, he there was a gap where he was defenseless, and she had to take advantage of it.<p>

After a quick flinch, Terra rose his sword once again and swung down, but to his surprise the esper didn't back down and grabbed the sword. She had also realized that he had never summoned the Guardian at point blank range, maybe in fear of hitting himself in the process, she only had to stay completely glued to him. She then sliced with her hand, blocked by Terra's own hand.

"Oh you don't want to go that way!" She mocked, changing from her former calculated offense to her favorite one. A berserker-like frenzy, where she clawed at her opponent mercilessly and swiftly. It didn't take long for Terra to understand that he was way over his head up in a direct clash, so he grabbed one of Terra's claws, dismissing his Keyblade in the process. As if expecting this, Terra's other self gleamed with joy, spinning her body and burying her foot's claws into Terra's chest, slicing it and leaving the same mark he had on his face. Terra tried to break away by jumping back but the esper pushed the ground with her hands, diving after him and delivering another spinning kick on his neck. Terra fumbled backwards, too confused to use his guardian as the esper ran after him, swinging her left claw at his neck. Desperate, he quickly grabbed the claw. The esper swung her other, only to be caught again. With their hands locked against each other, it was a game of mercy none of them wanted to lose.

* * *

><p>There was barely anything left of the platform they once stood, and what was left was overrun by "Shadows" as Aqua called them. Every time that the creature's hand touched the ground a dark pool would appear, shadows swarming from it. Moments later the ground would collapse. This wouldn't have been half as bad if the giant didn't seem impervious to attacks.<p>

"Aim for the head!" Aqua yelled, using one of the last crystal pillars to jump high and above the platform. "Ragnarock." The ensuing rain of energy wasn't directed at the titan, rather it cleared the wave of shadows that covered the ground. "NOW!"

But before they could even think of moving, the Dark Side broke the platform, all of it, from the base to the top.

As they were falling, it looked like only Cuore would make it, the rest would just fall to whatever was bellow the crystalline floor, but then, all of them stopped in midair, including the fragments, surrounded by a familiar, but much more intense blue energy. The crystal fragments then pointed at the giant behemoth and shot towards it at a blinding speed, completely annihilating his head.

"What's the matter, cat got your _head_? I'm sorry… that was an awful joke." Layle said. As he slowly made them descend into a lower ground, the group couldn't help but notice just how much Layle had changed. The crystallization was now showing on the side of his cheeks, hands and even hair. Even his jacket and trousers were partially crystallized. His cheek had now a wing-like crystal floating close by and, much to their surprise, he was flying as he stood on a crystallized hover board.

"What happened to you man?" Zack asked, more excitedly than worryingly.

"Rule number one: Never fight a Crystal Bearer in a place full of crystals." He replied, now turning his attention to the two people fighting. "It's going to be a difficult shot…" He mumbled, raising his hand as an ethereal bow appeared on his hand.

"What are you doing?" Crono asked.

"Using my telekinesis to the fullest. Ever thought of pulling photons?" He replied with a grin. He narrowed his eyes and concentrated on the two fighters locked in a game of mercy. "Steady now…" He pulled one of his hands backwards while holding his bow sideways. Light seemed to be distorted where he pulled. "This should buy us time… Essence flux!" He let go of the distortion, which sped towards the two.

* * *

><p>The esper's nose twitched, a grin appearing in between her fangs. She swiped her left foot at Terra's leg, gashing it with her claws. Terra lost his balance for a second, that was enough for the esper to force on the opposite side, throwing spinning towards the distortion. Even upside down Terra noticed the blast, summoning the guardian to protect him at the last second. The guardian flinched heavily at the hit but Terra was much worse off.<p>

"Goodnight sweet prince." Terra whispered as she almost carefully placed her claws into his back. "Ultima." The violet sphere formed around the Keyblade-wielder, bursting into a flash of purple light that covered the crystal world.

* * *

><p>"Is he…" Aqua asked as she jumped to Layle's hover board.<p>

"Probably not." Layle replied.

"Take me there, now!" She demanded.

"Why are women so bossy now a days?" Layle lamented, gaining altitude. "Hey, this is NOT a taxy service." He shot at Zack and Shin as he felt a sudden rise in weight on the back of the board. "You're not letting go, are you?" He asked, getting a negative response. "Godamnit…" He lamented as he propelled the board forward. "I'll be back for you lot."

* * *

><p>"Don't tell me it's over." Esper Terra mocked, looking down to the cloud of smoke she had created. "Maybe I overestimated him. So much power, but no idea how to..." She was interrupted when the guardian slammed the back of his hand against her torso, but she did her best not to move from her spot. "Excellent…" She said as she licked her lips. Moments after, Terra appeared on top of her, brandishing his sword against her exposed neck. "Not so fast!" She exclaimed, turning and grabbing the sword and the punch that followed. "We're on it again aren't we?" She smiled. "Maybe not." She tried to knee her aggressor, a move that he mimicked, once again she tried, once again their knees clashed.<p>

"Aren't you a mage?" Terra roared, he hadn't planned for her to fighting him, and winning, at close range.

"Yeah, maybe so. If you're so eager, I'll do you a favor." She pulled her head backwards and then slammed Terra with a power-house's headbut. The shock stunned Terra for just long enough for her to thrust both her hands forward. "Holy Ray" A ray of light erupted from the palms of her hands, crashing into the man's sternum, pushing him back to the platform, crashing and burning on the orange crystal. "So, how was that?" She asked as she landed near the smoke, finding Terra laying down face first on the ground.

"Remarkable!" He exclaimed, grabbing the esper's leg. She tried to break free, but she noticed the dark pool growing around them.

"Shit…"

"Goodbye." The Guardian took a hold of her from behind and darted upwards, it flew until he couldn't fly no more, the Great Crystal itself being no more than a dot on the horizon. Then it turned, speeding downwards, carrying a squirming Terra with him.

"Pro…tect…." She managed to chant as her lungs were being crushed. But the crystal was unforgiving. When both she and the figure crashed, she could hear loud cracking sounds, and unfortunately for her, it wasn't just the crystal that was breaking.

* * *

><p>"TERRA!" Shin called as he saw the guardian crash into the platform, utterly destroying it. The platform collapsed upon itself, erasing any vestige of the ones that occupied it. After letting the debris pile up, they surveyed the platform in search of Terra, but they didn't find the one they wanted. The silver haired man lift himself up, dusting of his shoulder as he shot a grin upwards. Enraged by the smile, Aqua jumped from the overboard towards the man, brandishing her sword.<p>

"Aqua no!" Zack shouted, letting go of the overboard.

"They just keep on coming." Terra said, letting the guardian block the blow for him. "Why do you insist on standing against me?"

"What you did to my… no to OUR life. I will not let anyone suffer the same fate!" She yelled, disappearing and appearing behind him, ready to slash her past away.

"Really?" Terra disappeared in a pool of darkness, a dark hand grabbing Aqua's ankle. "I don't think you have the power to do so." He continued, beginning to pull Aqua into the darkness. Just as she was about to sink, Zack grabbed her hand, stabbing the crystal shards on the ground with his Buster Sword for leverage. However, slowly but surely he was being pulled in aswell.

"Don't! Why are you helping me?" Aqua yelled.

"I don't know! I just WANT to!" He replied, still trying to pull her, his feet now sinking in the pool. Suddenly, just as Aqua's lips touched the darkness, a blue force surrounded her and Zack, pulling them both to safety.

"You can thank me latter." Layle said as he jumped from his hover board. "I can take you on." He told Terra who had just arisen.

"Nonsense! Just because you absorbed some minor crystal's power doesn't mean you are more powerful than me." Terra replied.

"I don't HAVE to." He replied as he touched the ground with his hands and grinned. "Okay, let's go! I'll do this in three hits!" He flung himself forward, hitting the ground with an energy pulse, confusing the guardian as he appeared above Terra. "One hit." He began, shooting a clear white light burst from his hand. He landed on Terra's back and his hand began to shine. "Two hits!" He exclaimed, punching Terra and sending him flying. "And…" He began.

"THREE!" The esper exclaimed as she bolted from beneath the rubble. "RIOT BLADE!" She shot at point blank range, the blades of light ripping the Guardian to shreds before engulfing Terra in a rain of white light that continued as far as the eye could see. "Damn…" She gasped, falling to her knees. "I… thanks…" She blurted quickly, losing her esper form and returning to a green haired Terra.

"Don't mention it." Layle replied, waving it off.

"What the heck happened to you anyway?" She asked as she got a better look at Layle.

"Well, let's leave that for another time. Are you alright?" He asked Aqua, who was still coughing and a bit sick from all the darkness.

"I'll be fine… but it's hard to believe, it's over. It's been almost fifteen years…" She said with a tone that seemed to have sunken into the depths of the sea. "I… couldn't help him. I couldn't save ANYONE!" Tears began falling down her cheeks, "But it's over… Ven, Terra, Master… rest in peace."

Crystals cracked.

"What?" Zack exclaimed.

Blood splashed.

"No,no,no!" Shin looked to the edge of the platform.

Terra coughed blood, most of his body decimated by scars, but still alive. His Keyblade had changed. It's hold was now clear blue, the blade looked more like a key now, light brown with teeth appearing on both sides of the tip.

"That Keyblade… are you… Terra?" Aqua asked, slowly approaching the man.

"Aqua, what do you mean?" Zack asked, still accompanying her.

"Haven't I told you?" Aqua froze at the tone of his voice, still dark and grim, like looking at an endless abyss. "Terra has drowned in darkness!" He threw the Keyblade up, enlarging to almost ridiculous amounts, its tip begging to spin, gathering energy.

"RUN!" Aqua shouted, quickly turning back.

"Ultima Canon!" Terra shouted, blasting a giant ball of energy forward, the very air trembling at the recoil.

"We can get out of the way… but the blast will get to us." Esper Terra said, not even trying to move.

"Just leave it to me!" Shin exclaimed, pulling out his sword. "I may not be able to do anything more after this, but he seems to be on the ropes, you guys finish him off. Chaotic…" He pulled his sword back, his body beginning to emanate Shinryu's golden aura. "DELUGE!" As he swung his sword down three rays of intense golden light erupted, converging into one and clashing against the ball. They stopped it's advance, but the ball didn't budge, and it was threatening to explode.

"Get out of the way!" Layle shouted, holding his ethereal bow towards the ball, sideways. "I'll pull ALL of the light." He gestured as if he was pulling an arrow and the whole Crystal World began to lose luminosity. Just as they were about to lose sight, Layle cringed and prepared to fire. "Trueshot barrage!" As he let go, all of the light he had pulled back spearing towards the ball, crashing into it and taking it with her, traversing the Crystal World until it was but a point of light in a black sky, finally exploding in a deafening explosion that returned all the color to the dimension.

"You insolen…" Terra began as he turned back to them, freezing as soon as he saw Aqua floating in the air a circle of colorful light surrounding her Keyblade.

"This is for me! Prism rain!" She fired tens of rainbow colored rays of light against the man, who realized that his Guardian was all but gone. He looked in terror as the rays reached him, piercing his body as roared in pain. The impact sent him off the ground, a sense of relief overcame him, he would survive. "This is for Ven!" Aqua shouted, firing another stream of bolts that sent Terra flying further, his conscience slipping away. "This one if for Master Eraqus!" With the last bit of conscience he had left, he noticed he was going straight towards the Great Crystal, ironic, wasn't it? "And this one…. is for Terra! DIE XEHANORT!" She screamed, unleashing a maelstrom of bolts who closed in on the more dead than alive man, mercilessly ripping through him. The man crashed into the Great Crystal and did nothing more, he just laid down on one of ledges, his body not moving an inch.

* * *

><p>"Hey! Over here!" Edge exclaimed as Bahamut arrived at the broken platform. In it, only Zack and Layle were still standing, the rest was too tired to do it. "I don't know what you did, but it was awesome!" He said, jumping down from the dragon. "So, he's dead right?"<p>

"He took one shot too many to not be." Zack replied, still minding his own words, Aqua seemed to be devastated with what she had done. "But people dying isn't good… right?" Edge took the hint to shut up and did it.

"Well, I suppose this world WAS the signal, we can't take the whole world with us, can we?" Rydia remarked. "I think our work here is done."

"You have done a great favor to the world today. If the Great Crystal was to be destroyed, not even I know what would befall upon us." Bahamut told them, discarding his dragon form.

"Well… I guess we'll just have to see for ourselves!"

"That guy just won't give up!" Zack exclaimed.

"No… Layle, throw me, now!" The esper exclaimed as she saw Terra raise his Keyblade against the crystal. If he still had one thousandth of the strength he had, the crystal wouldn't hold. Layle didn't ask questions and propelled her towards him, but he soon realized that he couldn't do it fast enough. They all looked in awe and fear as the millenary crystal crumbled beneath the weapon of a former protector of the light.

* * *

><p>"What's happening?" Krile asked as she watched the heavens crack open.<p>

"Not again!" Tifa exclaimed, remembering what had happened not even a week ago. "What's happening in there?"

* * *

><p>As the debris from the crystal settled, Terra was surprised that the world still existed, let alone the lack of considerable damage to it. Then he saw it, the light orange miniature crystal that floated a few feet away from him. "So this is what makes this world tick… I think I'll take it, my research is not yet done." He said, grinning. He was so mesmerized by his discovery that he didn't feel or hear the air behind him being cut as he reached for the crystal. "What?" He reacted too late, as he turned he found the espers hands touching his chest once again. "What can you do? You can't kill me with that kind of power!" He flaunted, retaining his tall gaze.<p>

"I'll do something far worse… enjoying your one way ticket… to the VOID!" She exclaimed.

Just as he heard that he realized that parts of his body were slowly disappearing, leaving tiny quadrangular wholes on his body. They weren't wounds, he was being….

"BANISH!" She chanted, the rate of teleportation becoming insanely fast.

"You won't get away with this!" He shouted as his lower torso was no more. "I won't be swallowed by the void!" Almost all of his body had disappeared, his neck being transferred at a scary rate. "You will pay! I'll make them suffer!" Terra shot at Namine, who tried her best to keep a strong expression -"When I get back you will all drown in da…" His mouth disappeared, but his eyes stared at the esper's until the end, a rage not even the fires of hell could compare burning in them.

"I'm done with this… take it Sunshine." The esper said before leaving the control of Terra's body, she still being unconscious plummeted downwards but Layle quickly grabbed her. They didn't have time to breathe in relief however, as the pocket dimension began crashing down on them. Layle quickly grabbed hold of the miniature of the Great Crystal and surfed towards the group, suddenly he felt his powers failing as the world collapsed, his crystallization reverting just as he jumped to the platform, returning to normal as he landed.

"I really hope someone knows the way out!"He exclaimed. But no one knew how they had gotten in, they just "appeared" inside.

"It's risky, but I'll try it." Aqua said, pointing her Keyblade to the edge. "Open!" She ordered, a yellow portal appearing in front of her. "Normally nobody without Keyblade Armor would be allowed in, the strain to your heart may leave you insane, but we have no choice, just run after me as fast as you can. Ready?" She asked, Aqua was an easy person to trust, so nobody had anything against it. "Alright, go!"

Cloud loaded Shin and Terra into the Fenrir and hit turbo. As they entered the portal they couldn't help but admire the psychedelic scenario inside it as colors rapidly changed as they ran for what seemed like an eternity but also a mere moment. Their emotions flared and disappeared in irregular bursts, now they knew what Aqua meant.

"There!" Aqua pointed, shooting a beam from her Keyblade that unlocked an exit portal, we should be safe there!" Without a second thought, they jumped towards the exit, relieved at seeing the Blackjack just on the other side.

* * *

><p>"Wow!" Krile jumped back as the whole crew crashed on the Blackjack, Cloud's bike narrowly missing her head. "I want to do that someday!"<p>

"You did when we came here…" Faris told her.

"Ohhh right!" She nodded enthusiastically.

"Is everyone alright?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, think so…" Shin replied, sitting back up. "Didn't pass out, that's a record right there."

"Rub it in, why don't you." Terra replied as she woke up. "At least she had the decency to let me check her memories."

"Cranky aren't we?" He joked.

"Well, at least it all turned out for the best!" She said, her cheerfulness returning. "Right?" She looked at Tifa, who was talking to Cissnei with a concerned look on her face. "Right….?"

"You might want to look up Terra. "Cissnei told her, pointing to the sky.

"What in the world is that?" She exclaimed as she beheld the figure in the sky.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Post-chapter note:<span>**These are getting old really fast I know, but the next chapter is a surprise, so I won't spoil any of it. It should be up by the end of Saturday, if not then Sunday as usual, until then, cya later, and don't forget that I care about your feedback, any questions, I'll answer.

**PS**: Bonus points for the ones that spot the hidden Layle references.


	34. Silent Night, Peaceful Night

**Author's note: **Yeah, I just pulled this card. I wouldn't be updating until next year so I thought, "Why the hell not?", and here it is! Our very own… Christmas Special! Now with 10% plot and 90% Christmas joy! Now if you'll excuse me, Skyward Sword calls! Enjoy, I almost killed my fingers to get this one out in time.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

****Silent Night, Peaceful Night****

* * *

><p>"It's exactly what it looks like Terra, and I can't say I'm surprised." Rufus replied, resting his chin on his intertwined hands. "It wouldn't be logically possible for our planet to keep expanding like it did until now."<p>

"But still… How do we not collide." Cissnei asked.

"Our scientist theorize that we are just too far for the gravitational field to affect us, they also theorize that we might have approximately the same orbit, therefore never crashing into one another. But we'd have to wait years to have definite answers, for now, let's just keep our fingers crossed." Rufus finished, taking a big sigh.

Ever since they had spotted the giant, bluish circular figure in the skies both the scientists and the group were trying to figure out how was a planet so near them, more so, if it was inhabited. Terra thought it had to be, it wouldn't make sense that a deserted planet was being hidden by the Great Crystal.

After their arrival at the Blackjack, they found out about the reinforcements that had joined them. The Lunar Whale had diverted course from Midgar to Memoria in hope of catching up to them. They did, Cecil had saved Beatrix from a mortal blow from Tiamat, unknowingly sparking a one-rivalry between Beatrix and him. Golbez had brought Kuja back onboard, and he had been lying in a bed ever since at the request of Namine, who wanted to "fix things". Apparently Lezard had come up with the idea of replacing Mikoto with Namine on Kuja's thoughts, taking advantage of Kuja's newfound care for his family to control him. Namine said it only took an hour or two to do it, but it would be a long, arduous process to repair a broken chain, one that had to be taken step by step. She explained that she would move slowly, about half an hour a day, trying to let Kuja do most of the work, as it would be way too easy for her to make one mistake that could change Kuja into a completely different person.

Rufus had contacted them telling them to hurry back to Midgar for preparations for the expedition. The Lunar Whale was designed for outer space, so with a few minor adjustments it was set to go. But all of this didn't faze Terra in the least. What was really taking over her mind was the clothing on top of Rufus' head.

"Rufus… are you wearing what I think you're wearing?" She asked, not hiding her giggle as she contemplated the red Santa hat.

"And I curse myself for it… But since you mentioned it, how do YOU know what I'm wearing?" Rufus sneered.

"Who doesn't? Dude, that's a Christmas hat!" Zidane interjected. "Isn't Christmas like, tomorrow or something?"

"It is? Crap, I completely forgot!" Bartz exclaimed.

"Good to know Bartz… good to know." Lenna remarked sarcastically.

"At least Santa will give you something!" Bartz said, trying to save his relationship.

"You still believe him?" Cloud asked.

"Why not? He's a really nice guy, he was an old friend of my master." Aqua interjected.

"So wait… not only is this holiday shared among different WORLDS, but the old man that apparently uses flying reindeers to deliver presents to everyone in the planet… is real." Rufus said with a are-you-kidding-me look.

"Well, yeah, at least in our world there was." Terra replied.

"Ours too." Zidane agreed.

"Dito." Bartz remarked.

"Couldn't have said it better." Cecil finished.

"I feel as if I have been majorly screwed, all of my life." Zack lamented. "All those free gifts I'll never have."

"Does this mean there are five Santas?" Shin suggested.

"We _could_ just ask him." Aqua replied.

"Huh?"

"If he's like my Santa, he always stays for a chat with me." She explained.

"Then how does he…" Edge began.

"Are you REALLY going to try and apply logic to a man who owns flying reindeers?" Rydia interrupted.

"Point taken."

"ANYWAY, Fusoya said that he would need at least three days to get the Whale ready for the trip. That would make the departure… the 26th. I guess you're having a vacation." Rufus said, suddenly being tackled out of the way.

"Tifa! Get here fast, we have less than forty-eight hours to go shopping!" Yuffie exclaimed.

"Huh, Yuffie, the shops are all closed on the 24th, Shelke told her.

"LESS THAN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS?" Yuffie yelled.

"That's what you get for doing Christmas shopping so late."

"Don't worry Yuffie, we'll be there in less than an hour, it's still ten AM isn't it?" Tifa comforted.

"Okay…" She replied, handing over the screen back to Rufus.

"As I was saying, I'll see you soon, and I would advise you to wear something warm." He finished, cutting off the transmission.

* * *

><p>"Can't believe it!" Tifa exclaimed as they approached Midgar. She looked extended her hand and a tiny snowflake landed on it, dissolving into water. The formerly desert landscape now covered in a sheet of pure white. "It's snowing!"<p>

"It shouldn't be possible to snow in Midgar." Shelke remarked.

"Maybe the climate changed as the worlds united." Tron suggested from her back.

"As good of an explanation as anything." Shelke replied.

* * *

><p>"TIFA!" Yuffie exclaimed, jumping onto the entrance of the ship just after they landed.<p>

"I know Yuffie, I know. It's girl time!" She grabbed Terra and Rydia and ran of the ship, Aqua, Lenna and Garnet followed willingly.

"What about us?" Shin asked the guys.

"I think I'll have to go shopping, Christmas is always the perfect time of the year to make a move." Zack said, grinning and fist pumping Edge.

"Tifa will kill me if I don't get Marlene and Denzel something." Cloud lamented.

"You saw how Lenna looked at me. In my world, you give presents to the people your closest too, the rest is Santa's business." Bartz explained.

"I still don't believe in that Santa Claus business." Cloud remarked coldly as he got on his bike. "But I guess I'll just have to see for myself." And he rode off into Edge.

"And what are you going to do Shin?" Cecil asked as he left the ship.

"There's nothing I can do, I don't have any gil." He replied, lowering his head. Hearing a chuckling sound he instinctively grabbed the object thrown against him. He looked down to the bag that was in his hands and back at Cecil.

"Now you do. And before you say anything, consider that as a reward for the "boss fight"." He joked, calmly walking into the city.

"_He's a king, it's not like he has shortness of this…"_ Shin told himself. "Alright, time for some shopping… I'm going to hate this, aren't I?"

* * *

><p>As he arrived at the shopping district he counted his gil. Ten thousand, huh? Cecil was feeling generous. "Give a present to the people closest to you huh…? Well, I don't know about Rydia or Edge… Zack should be pretty easy though." He then looked at Katarin's pendant. "I'll get this fixed first though." He looked around, trying to distinguish shops in the midst of the massive crowd that existed in the shopping district and found jewelry nearby. Smiling he entered the store, a small bell tingling. He immediately noticed there was no jewelry on the shelves, this store was either popular or deserted. It was then that a he heard a woman's voice.<p>

"If you're looking for rings or anything like that you were a bit too late, we already sold them all, including the ones on the shelves." Said the taciturn woman. She had short, shoulder length red hair and an apathetic expression on her face, she appeared to be on her twenties.

"Actually, I was hoping you could fix this." He laid down the damaged silver pendant, fortunately the ruby was still intact.

"This one's… interesting." The woman remarked, picking it up and pointing it towards the window, getting a better look at it. "Got it by a bullet huh? Let me guess, it saved you."

"How did you?"

"Pendants are always in the chest area aren't they?" She asked stoically. "Anyway, I'd normally say no, but I'm in a good mood after our sales yesterday, and since I've got nothing to sell… be here tomorrow at 10 AM sharp, I'll have it fixed." She shot an almost undistinguishable smile.

"Sweet! How much is it?"

"I'd do it for free, but I need money for the silver… Three thousand gil." She replied.

"Thanks a lot." Shin thanked as he handed the money to her.

"Don't worry about it. Just make sure you point this store to the person who you're giving it too, okay?" She replied, putting both the pendant and the money in her pocket. "Tomorrow we're closed, so if my dad answers, just say you have to talk with Elfé. BUT, if you mention this to a Turk… you're dead, okay?" She finished eerily as she went through the door that lead to the inside of the store. "Put a closed sign on the door, will you?" She asked.

Shin left the store with a smile on his face, still plenty of money for the others.

"Hey, Shiiiin!" Tifa called from afar, running through the blanket of snow in her red coat. "Glad you're here!" She exclaimed as she arrived at his side.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Weeeeeell, are you playing on giving Zack a present?" She asked, giving a devilish grin.

"Fine, I'll pitch in. How much do you want?" He asked, retrieving the sack Cecil had given him.

"Two thousand should be enough, we're all pitching in for Zack, sort of like a welcome back present." She chirped, gathering the gil and putting it on an already hefty purse. "Well, see ya latter!" And with that, she disappeared into the crowd.

"_Now what?"_ He asked himself. _"I've got something for Zack, something for Katarin… __ and __I really have no idea what to give her." _He sighed. _"I'll just look around."_

* * *

><p>After half an hour of looking at, and he hated to admit this, <em>clothes<em>and other assorted female interests, he found too familiar faces with their faces glued to a shop's window.

"What are you doing here?" He asked Katarin and Dwayne.

"We found a present for Mama…" Katarin began with a disappointed tone.

"But it's too expensive…" Duane finished, also saddened.

"Okay, which one is it?" Shin was mentally thanking the kids for taking out of this hell.

"That one!" Katarin exclaimed happily, pointing at the price tag.

"Thirty THOUSAND gil? I've seen cheaper elixirs!" Shin exclaimed, dumbfounded at how it could cost that much.

"Yeah… and we only have Twenty-Five Thousand from that game we played with Edgar…" Dwayne said sadly.

"Wait a minute…" Shin began with a smile. "This must be our lucky day!" He exclaimed as pulled out his bag. "Five thousand right here!"

"Alright! Mama always wanted one of these!" Dwayne exclaimed, grabbing the bag and jumping up and down. Hard to believe he was a father.

"Let's go get it for her then!" Shin exclaimed as he walked into the store, the teens following suit.

* * *

><p>"What world are you from?" Aqua asked as she entered the infirmary after putting down her (and by her I mean Tifa's) shopping bags.<p>

"Yours." Namine replied quietly, taking her hand off Kuja's forehead.

"Doesn't look like it."

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously. Without warning Aqua slapped a red hat on top of her head and smiled.

"Tomorrow's Christmas! Be happy!" She exclaimed, putting a hat on herself.

"But…"

"No buts! I doubt you're much worse off than me, just let it go for one day! When I wake up tomorrow, I want a smile on that face!" Aqua told Namine. "I doubt anyone you knew liked to see you sad."  
>Namine smiled at the thought and nodded. "I'll try."<p>

"That's the spirit!"

The day went by like a flash, Cloud took care of informing Rufus, since he finished shopping early. Dinner was lively enough, I think we're becoming too many to fit in a Shinra's food court. The best part was seeing Edgar trying to get it on with our blue haired newcomer, she didn't even have to move a muscle, Sabin and Zack tackled him before he could open his mouth. Even Setzer tried to impress her with his "card skills", pity he lost to her. She sure was popular.

* * *

><p>"Morning already?" Shin thought to himself, looking at the lock. "Fifteen to ten? Crap crap crap crap!" He exclaimed as he quickly dressed up in his dark-blue jacket and ran out of his bedroom at Zack's house, Seventh Heaven had become too crowded. He raced through the snow and arrived at the shopping, sure enough, it was deserted. As he approached the jewelry he saw Elfé already waiting for him at the door, swinging the pendant.<p>

"You're two minutes late." She said stoically. "Here take it." She threw the pendant at him, landing perfectly on his hands. "Just don't tell the Turks, okay?"

"Why?" He asked, his curiosity picked.

"I have… history with the Turks." She replied.

"History is an understatement." Cissnei replied, appearing from behind a building. "How have you been Felicia?"

"Did you lead her here?" She asked aggressively, shooting a glare at Shin.

"I followed him, I had nothing to do really. And I'm glad I did." Cissnei said.

"Okay then, what do you want?"

"Why don't you, and Veld, come spend the night at Shinra?" She offered.

"No thanks, I've been through enough." Elfé replied harshly. It looked as if _everyone_ had been through a lot.

"Even the exiled Turks will be there, you know, Legend, him and company. It's not like you and Veld are any different."

"_What is she talking about?"_ Shin asked himself.

"We're going, I'd like to have a word with Rufus." A mature, black haired man with a scar on his face said as he exited the building.

"But Daddy!" Elfé protested, showing a completely different side of her.

"No buts Felicia." He said sternly. "I'd like to know what this situation is all about, besides, it's been a while since I've spent Christmas with my other family." He smiled at Cissnei, who was caught off guard by it.

"Okay then… see you tonight!" Cissnei said as she returned back to where she came.

"I'll be seeing you around boy." Veld told Shin, grabbing Elfé and disappearing into the building.

"I should probably get ready too."

* * *

><p>"DUDE! Where have you been?" Zack asked as Shin arrived at his house.<p>

"Finishing my shopping." He replied.

"Oh. I see…" He replied with a sly grin. "Who's the lucky girl?"

"WHAT?" Shin blasted back. "No one!"

"Oh… didn't realize you "swung that way"." Zack mocked.

"Haha, very funny Zack. If you really want to find out, just wait like everyone else!" And with that, the events for the day ended. It was only when the night drew near that things picked up.

* * *

><p>"Should I wear this?" Tifa asked holding a two piece Santa dress. "Maybe it's a bit too revealing…"<p>

"Can't you just decide? The kids left god knows when." Terra sneered, bored. She has just changed to her red dress and slapped a Santa hat and voila, done. If there was something she didn't get from the other girls, was how LONG they took to dress up. Eighteen years in the army will do that to you.

"Just because your last dress had the perfect colors for this, doesn't mean WE have dresses for Christmas." Tifa shot back.

"I'll be going then." Terra replied, jumping off the window and flying towards the Shinra Building in Midgar. She didn't take long to reach it, but then she realized just how late Tifa was. Everyone was already sitting down for dinner.

"I've heard of the royalty always arriving last, but this is ridiculous princess." Zack mocked after poking her from behind, which caused her to making a swirling turn backwards. "You do look… ravishing."

"Using big words isn't going to help you. Neither is speaking formally." She replied, crossing her arms.

"Slow down there! You're not the one I have my sights set on, at least in that sense… I'm watching you!"

Terra shrugged and continued inside towards the executive dining room. It was on another level completely. She normally didn't like this advanced architecture, but all those lights, the tree and the decorations bought her.

"Over here Mama!" Katarin called from her seat, bumping a chair right next to her. Terra nodded and joined at the table.

"What are you two giggling about?" She asked as she heard the loud giggles.

"You'll see at midnight." Shin told her, sitting right beside her.

"Oh great, I guess I'll have to sit here…" Zack "lamented" taking the seat next to Shin, which was incidentally, next to Aqua.

"Did he plan this so far ahead?" Terra asked.

"WE planned this." Shin replied.

"Men…" Terra sighed as two strangers got into the floor. Even more surprising was how Rufus immediately sat up and went to greet them.

"It's been a long time Rufus." Veld greeted, shaking his hand. "I'm grateful for the cover."

"It wasn't an issue. But I'll cut to the chase. Do you want your job back?" Rufus offered.

"Always serious aren't you? No I don't want Tseng's job, but I wouldn't refuse a job at the intelligence department." He replied, a slight grin forming. "But leave Elfé out of this, she already has a job."

"Let's talk business then." Rufus said, pointing towards their seats.

"Why hello there." An orange haired man greeted from behind Elfé. She was impassive. "Same as always huh?"

"What do you think Jack?" She fired back.

"Wow, calm down there. Is that anyway to talk with the guy that saved you from being an oversized summon materia?"

"So much for "legendary Turk" status…" Cissnei commented, shaking her head.

"Ciss! Been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Not enough." She replied. "Zack's over there if you want "bro talk"." She pointed out.

"I would never leave you!" The orange haired man told Cissnei, who dodged a hug.

"Get back if you value your head!" She yelled.

"C'mon babe, someone get me some mistletoe!" he exclaimed, before crossing paths with Edgar.

"These ladies do not enjoy your company, would you please leave?" Edgar told the Turk.

"You're just doing this because you want to get in our pants…" Cissnei sighed, pulling Elfé away.

"HEY, that's only partially true!"

* * *

><p>"Mama, when are we exchanging presents?" Duane asked after they finished eating. Between that and telling them about their adventures it was almost midnight.<p>

"Christmas isn't all about gifts Duane. It's about spending time with the people you care about!" Terra reprimanded.

"You only say that because you don't know what we have in mind." Katarin chuckled, but no matter what Terra said, she didn't speak anything else.

Eventually midnight came, but no sign of the fabled old man. They waited fifteen minutes in silence before Rufus made his point clear.

"As I predicted, he is but a legend, now let's exchange gifts so I can go to bed." He scuffed, a bit disappointed, not he would show it.

"You will do no such thing. Unless you want to get on my naughty list. Hohohoho!" A jolly voice echoed. No one could see anything, but before they knew, the fat elder was standing near the tree, his shoulder covered with his bag of presents. "Next time, please build a chimney, it's hard to get in here unnoticed without it."

"What matter of sorcery is this? That man is a master ninja!" Edge exclaimed, pointing at the old man.

"What, you never saw Santa?" Rydia asked him. "Oh… let me guess."

"He never qualified as a good kid." Santa confirmed as he pulled a box from his bag. "Until now."

"It's yours Rydia." Edge told Rydia.

"What is it?" Rydia asked amazed that Edge had given her his present.

"Didn't you say you wanted to have a dress to wear in formal occasions?" He asked. Rydia quickly tore through the casing, opening the box to find a beautiful light green dress.

"This changes nothing!" She yelled, running to bathroom with her dress in her embrace.

"And I got you a matching dress!" Santa exclaimed, giving another box to Cuore. "Now go after your mother!" He turned to Edge. "You'll get there someday boy, I know you will!"

"Santa! Why did you take so long? You're usually only five minutes late!" Aqua exclaimed, hugging the plump figure.

"It took a while longer to get the new route all written up."He replied.

"So wait, you're the same Santa in every world?" Terra asked.

"I sure am princess." He replied.

"How do you do it?" Shin asked.

"Magic! Hohohoho!" He replied, giving his trademark laugh. "For you Aqua… I have this!" He pulled out her master's Keyblade, completely spotless.

"Thank you Santa!" She cried, hugging him even tighter.

"And for you..:" He turned to Namine. "Your very own… art kit!"

"Thank you!" She replied, giving him a genuine smile.

"As for you, I already gave you." He smiled.

"What?"

"Cecil, my boy, have you given Shin something lately?" HE asked the king, who said no, confused. "Now do you understand?"

"It was you!" Shin exclaimed.

"I sure was, now why don't you share the joy?"

"Alright! This is for you Katarin." He said, pulling out the wrapped necklace.

"That's so sweet of you! You didn't have to repair it!" She exclaimed.

"And for my next act…" He took Katarin and Duane, who was babysitting Leo. They disappeared into the crowd. They came back soon after carrying a big red box, perfectly closed with a golden ribbon. Terra almost swore she saw the box move. "This is for our favorite esper!" He handed the present to her, who quickly untangled the bow, slowly pulling up the top of the box.

"It can't be…" Inside the box was a white and brown Cocker Spaniel, staring at her with his puppy eyes, squealing at the sight of his new owner. "I… I…" She grabbed the dog and squeezed it, receiving happy licks in return. "Thank you!" She exclaimed. She then left the dog with Katarin and grab Shin's hand, pulling him through the crowd. "And now it's time for mine!"

They ran for a bit and arrived at the balcony. Without saying another word Terra grabbed his shoulders and took off into the skies.

"A panoramic view?" He asked.

"Nah… close your eyes." And he did. "This is what it feels like when you fly. Memorize it, by the end of the day you'll be able to if you do." He memorized it all, the way the wind touched his face, how he felt his body being free, and how relaxing it was. "I'll do it in one simple step."

"One?"

"Yeah… survive!" She exclaimed almost evilly, letting go of the man.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?" He cried as he fell. "_Concentrate shin… now or never!"_ He noticed Terra was just watching. Just his luck. The ground was closer and closer, he was going to be a Shin omelet in second. _"What about a little help?"_

_"What is she smoking?"_ Shinryu exclaimed in his head. _"Pfft, fine, activate!"_

Just as the ground was about to smash him, he suddenly stopped. It took a while for him to realize that he was indeed… flying. Not like he thought though. He looked back over his shoulder and found a dumbfounded Terra staring at his back, two golden transparent dragon wings shooting from it.

"Jacket use number two?" He asked.

"This was… unexpected… but so cool!" She exclaimed, examining his wings.

"_I showed that chick some wings… chicks LOVE wings."_ A lone voice rang in his head.

"_Shut up…"_

* * *

><p>"Where are you taking me?" A raven haired woman in a blue dress asked the tall man in the leather jacket.<p>

"This is ours…" The man said stoically, pointing a new-looking house as he handed the keys to her.

"Squall… I love you!" The woman replied, jumping into his arms.

"You don't have to remind me every day…."

* * *

><p>"See? I told you Santa was real!" A boy told a taller boy.<p>

"Pffft, the ONE thing you were ever right about." The other boy replied.

"Will you two just shut up for one second? It's Christmas!" The girl interrupted.

"Fine…" They both replied, crossing their arms.

* * *

><p>"What are you laughing Jack?" Zack asked Faris' crewmember.<p>

"I spiked them all…" He replied with a wide grin.

"What?"

"ALL the drinks!" He exclaimed. "Even Santa's milk… serves him right, naughty boy he said!"

"Oh this is going to be fun to watch!"

* * *

><p>Before sipping onto his milk, Santa looked out of the window, where no one was, and he said.<p>

"Now I know what you're thinking. What about us? Well, for you, and yes, I know you're watching. Have a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year! Hohoho!" He raised his glass and drank it, the snow covering the window.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Post-chapter note:<span>** Well, I don't know if this was crappy or not, if it was, sorry, if you enjoyed it, good! I'm all up for criticism as you know. This story has now officially reached its halfway mark. Next chapter: King of the Jungle! Yeah you heard it right!

Merry Christmas! See you in 2012!


	35. King of the Jungle

**Author's note:**First chapter of the year heh? Sorry for the delay, finals are here, so you can imagine, things will slow down in January. I'll try to make up for it mid-February, so yeah. About the chapter itself, Squall just won the lottery, he's promoted to temporary main character for two or three chapters, it's purely a matter of keeping the pace, I could make two really boring chapters with Terra as the main character or show Squall's side of the story until we can put Terra back in control. Zero, you asked for Squall didn't you?

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

****Part 3: The Lion's Kingdom****

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

****King of the Jungle****

* * *

><p>"<em>These guys need to toughen up. They look like they are about to wet their pants… and the fight hasn't started yet…"<em> The man monologued to himself as he surveyed his surroundings. Even standing on the balcony the amount of people surrounding him was too much for his eye to see. He recognized them all, Travia, Galabadia, Balamb. All the SeeDs were there. Not only them, the Sorceress Knights had managed to get through their crisis and were now a force to be reckoned with again. But he knew most of the people he saw were not those elites. They were simple infantryman, many taken from retirement, maybe their new enhancement suits would help them, but they sure as hell weren't motivated. And then came what he was more cynical about, he sneered as he looked at the newly developed mechanical soldiers, being carefully inspected by the engineers. He weaved his hand through his hair, he had to cut it, it had already gone past his shoulders.

"Hey, no time to be cynical pal! The headmasters are finishing their speech." The raven haired man energetically told him, patting him on the back. "Go get 'em tiger!"

"_My father is a moron…" _He lamented as he headed to the edge of the balcony, nodding at a middle aged man and a black haired woman. "I've never been good at speeches…" But he knew that he had to do it, he couldn't just walk back with all those people watching him, not that he cared, but that would destroy their moral.

"Alright, listen up!" He exclaimed, his voice being amplified by the miniature microphone on his ear. "As you all should now, my name is Squall Leonheart! And as most of the ones close to me know, I don't usually do speeches, so I'll keep this short!" Every person on the plaza was silenced like when the alpha male addressed the pack. "As Cid said, our cloaking system is downright useless against those things, and while we managed to hold them off until now using only machinery, most of our airships lack ammunition, and those mechanical soldiers can't do it for themselves. If we want to save our hides, we better do it ourselves!" The plaza seemed to quake at the sheer magnitude of his conviction. "Now, I'm not going to force you to come, but I'm not going to stop you either. If you think you can fight, I WILL let you fight, man, woman, like I care. But remember, if you stay here and hide your head in the sand, don't complain when it gets chopped off! And I'm talking to the ones cowering in those houses too!" He boomed, the sound of automatic windows opening filling the air. "Can we run away? Yes, but to where? Esthar is the only city standing, all else is a wasteland. I will NOT spend the rest of my life hiding in caves! This is our last chance to make a stand, this is our last stronghold! They may enslave me, may take away my life, but they will never take away… MY PRIDE!" This time, the air quaked as his voice filled the city. "I am PROUD to be a human, I have PRIDE in our race, I will not let those bastards walk in and destroy it. Those crystal fakes, those dark insects, and those glyphed impostors, they don't know what they messed with. We are the lions, they are the gazelles! It's about time we showed them who are the kings of this jungle we call our world! This is humanity's last stand! Now who's with me?" He boomed, raising his silver sword into the air.

The ovation was deafening. It only took one man to turn a band of cowards into fierce warriors. The once outcast Squall had just given his world a last chance, and for that he would get what he deserved. The screams were muffled by an explosion of light that filled the air in front of Squall, slowly dimming down to a shinning sphere in front of his hand. He felt an uncontrollable urge to touch it, and he did, inside it he felt a glass-like structure, vibrating like it had a heart. Just as he grabbed it, another explosion occurred, this time dimming down completely, revealing what he had on his hand. The spiked crystalline structure resembled a silver feather, one that gave Squall a nostalgic, but reassuring feeling, like this object had already been with him in a major struggle of his life.

"I don't usually believe in signs…" He began raising his crystal to the air so that everyone could see. "But this IS one! Say your goodbyes, in three hours… we end this." Squall turned back and left the balcony, being followed by the sounds of the crowd's renewed hope every step of the way. And, for a fraction of a second, he smiled.

* * *

><p>"I can see unicorns…" The intoxicated teen blurted as he fumbled out of his carrying position.<p>

"Yes, yes, Duane, now get to bed." Terra sighed at the sight of the kid, tucking him under the covers and turning to the perpetrators. "Now, who's left?"

"Well… Duane, check. Katarin, check. Shin should be getting her to bed so, Tifa, check. I think we're only missing five more people." Zack scratched the back of his head, he was guilty by association. Jack however, was the one who needed to be more scared, considering what they found Rufus doing when they came back.

* * *

><p>Last night; 1:30 AM<p>

"We should go tell them what happened!" Terra exclaimed, pulling Shin down the stairs. Little could prepare her for what was behind the door.

"Is… that Rufus?" On top of the table, mic on hand, the top part of his suit gone and with wobbly movements, Rufus was trying to sing, keyword:trying.

"Woahh, wear half wey thar! Woahh, leafin' on a prayah!"

"What. The. Hell!" Shin blurted at the sight of completely destroyed hall. "We've only been away for half an hour, what the heck happened here? And… is Tifa pole dancing?"

"We have to find someone that's sane!" Terra exclaimed, pulling Shin's wrist into the crowd.

"I think you're going in the wrong direction…" Shin replied before catching a flash of Zack. He seemed perfectly fine, no woobly movements, he had his clothes on, and seemed all around sane. Aqua on the other hand, seemed to be off, not sure how. Regardless, he pulled Terra's arm and pointed towards Zack's direction. She nodded and they were off.

"And that'sh why I owe you a da..hic…date." Aqua finished just Shin and Terra arrived. She was going to regret that in the morning.

"An interesting story…" Zack told her as he noticed Shin and Terra standing there, arms crossed and feet beating the ground, looking for an answer. "Soooo, you're still sober huh…?" He immediately turned back and darted towards the door before feeling his right foot being incased in ice.

"You're not going anywhere until we understand what is going on, _mister_." Terra added a passive aggressive tone on the last word.

"I didn't DO anything okay? This was already out of my hands when it started!" Zack was waving his arms like there was no tomorrow, and there would be no tomorrow if he didn't… _"Oh crap…"_

"Mama! Duane's acting weird!" Katarin cried, trying to get a tomato colored Duane off her.

"Don't sssshay dat baby! It'sh only you and me!" He blurted, as he tried to cling to his de-facto wife.

"Okay… okay… deep breaths…" Terra muttered to herself as calmly as she could. "Zack… who did this?" She was eerily calm. She was so mad that her emotions came a full circle.

"I don't always sell out bros…" He began, shivering when Terra took one step in his direction. "BUT, when I do, it's because my neck is on the line… Jack did it."

"Jack? Jack Sparrow?" She asked.

"Yes…" Zack gulped in relief as Terra turned away.

"Good… I'll have no regrets." She said eerily before bumping against a plump figure.

"Now now little girl, no need to get yourself on my naughty list."

"But he…"

"I already gave that misguided boy a good scolding, and I believe his captain will do more than enough to bring him back in line, now why don't you and the others try and fix this mess?" The old man suggested, looking around to see the mess. "Maybe you'll even be able to catch some sleep if you start now."

"Okay Santa… I'll see you next year then." She replied, repressing her angry thoughts.

"Stay nice and stay jolly. Hohoho!" And with that he disappeared, at least for the moment, he would always come back.

"That guy has the alcohol tolerance of an elephant… his milk had more rum than milk! And I dare say, he drank more than any of my mates ever did!" Jack exclaimed as he came into view. "Now, as much as I'd like to get freaky with some of the lasses here, I'll help you clean up this mess. That is of course, if you find it in your heart to let me keep my genitals, otherwise, I'll just run away like a wee lass, savvy?"

"I'll access your performance and take it from there, don't you think you're off the hook yet." She was bluffing, but he did deserve it.

"Damn, who knew that old man could handle that much?" Zack mumbled.

"Well, if you shaw him during his drinking gamesh with mashtah, you would know… he didn't loshe one… I'm completely drunk, aren't I?" Aqua asked as she leaned on Zack's shoulder.

"It's that obvious, huh?" Zack was fighting a mental battle there. _"Keep your eyes off her… stop staring at her boobs. Bad Zack! Don't grope, don't grope!"_

"I'll get some sleep…" Aqua said, trying to shake off her state, still woobling down the hall.

"Do you need any help?" Zack asked.

"Nice try, but I won't give away my room's location to you that easily." Aqua let out a small grin and disappeared into the elevator.

Zack thought about following her but then he heard a cough from behind.

"We have a lot to do…" Terra lamented as he saw the poor state that most were in. She smiled when her new puppy came running towards her leg, whining until he got to be carried. She had to name him sometime soon.

"If you think their bad, you haven't seen Bahamut yet." Cuore remarked from behind them. They never got around how creepy she could be. "He never gets drunk, oh but when he does…"

A shadow crossed the ceiling as a black cloaked figure landed in the middle of the sober group, a black mask covering his head.

"Do you know who I am?" The gruff, imposing voice obviously belonged to Bahamut, and He didn't seem drunk, but sometimes, the ones who seem the most sober, are the ones that got it worse.

"Bahamut." Shin replied matter of factly.

"No! I'm Batman!" The god exclaimed, rushing to a nearby window, jumping through it and opening his cape, gliding through the air.

"We aren't getting ANY shuteye, are we?" Terra lamented, leaning her head downwards.

* * *

><p>"Squall!" A brunette called as she raced towards the silent man. "I didn't know you could give speeches!"<p>

"Tsk… It's not that hard." Squall loved her, but there were times where her cheerfulness wasn't called for. _"I should be concentrating on the battle, but noooo…"_

"That's ridiculous! That's the hardest part of being a public figure! You should run for president!"

"_Here she goes again…"_ He shook his head. "We already talked about this Rinoa, just because that sad excuse for a father of mine is a president, doesn't mean I want to be even NEAR the seat."

"Boooo!" She inflated her cheeks and made a quick turn.

"_Just like a kid…"_

"That said… do you have to go?" When she turned her head her face told a different story from before. Sadness, fear, worry.

"I need to go, if I don't people will just believe I'm a hypocrite, that and the troops will probably fall apart."

"Then I'll go too!" She shouted.

"NO!" Squall burst, putting his hands on Rinoa's shoulders and staring at her eyes intensely. "Considering the state you are in, you can't! More importantly, WE have a responsibility now, I'm going to be frank, I might not come back, but both of us CANNOT die."

"There's always Laguna…"

"I'm not going to let him go through the same I did." Squall stated. Rinoa began fuming at the answer.

"If you die, he'll go through the same I did! And let me tell you, it's not the most pleasant feeling!"

"One is better than none, which is better than being dead!" Squall's tone turned harsh.

They were at each other's throats when a cheerful, black haired man in a blue armor suit pulled them apart.

"Oh c'mon, don't go assuming the worst, will ya? I'll keep my boy safe!" He assured.

"Fine! I'll believe you this once." Rinoa sped to the exit, stopping as she opened the door.

"I'll be back, don't worry." Squall told her quietly.

"You better do it!" She smiled and went through the door.

"Ever thought off, you know, not going on the front line?" Laguna asked his son.

"Never." Squall replied as he grabbed his gunblade and began to go down the stairs.

"Just like your mother…" He remarked with a small smirk.

* * *

><p>"Well Lezy, what do you have for me today?" Kefka yawned as he appeared inside Lezard's lab. "Lezy…?" Seeing as nobody answered he skimped further into the lab, gazing at the man's cold hearted experiments. What really caught his attention was that his favorite display wasn't there anymore. "That weasel!" He exclaimed as saw the two empty tubes that were supposed to contain the homunculi.<p>

"I was about to summon you, you know." Lezard replied as he passed besides Kefka, carrying two sets of clothes. "They're ready as you may imagine."

"Can I, _examine_ the girl?" Kefka asked devilishly.

"Make your own homunculi, my research is not something for a jester to play with."Lezard replied, not even sparing a glance.

"Tsk, party pooper." Kefka spat as he followed the man into the room where Namine had been locked.

"Good morning. Are we feeling a bit more cooperative today?" Lezard asked the boy and the girl, who were hidden in the shade by the end of the room. "Here, I even got you some gifts." He threw the clothes to the naked teens. "Now, have you considered my offer?"

"Yes…" The male replied almost emotionlessly.

"And?"

"We will do it…" The female replied with a saddened tone.

"Good, now you should leave soon, if that man somehow returns I doubt he would be as generous as I am." He lifted his hand, opening a portal to the outside of the Rift. "Take your time, you have my full trust." Lezard then closed the door, much to Kefka's surprise.

"You left me in the dark Lezy, what have I done wrong?" Kefka whined. "How do you know they won't just run away?"

"Trust me, I'm certain my plan is foolproof. But there is something you would want to know, something about your pet." Lezard could see Kefka's eyes lighten up at that statement, he smirked and began explaining what he had deduced.

* * *

><p>"Are we really going to go through with this?" The girl asked as she slipped inside the battered cloak. They both looked like Lezard's apprentices, you could see that Lezard's wardrobe wasn't that diverse.<p>

"We do not know the people we'll meet, it'll make the killing easier." The boy replied coldly.

"But they're humans like us!"

"Really?" He asked, as if pointing out an obvious mistake.

"Oh…" The girl's eyes watered and she went through the door without a word.

* * *

><p>"What are waiting for? Let's get to it!" Kefka exclaimed impatiently, opening a portal to the outside, only to have it closed by Lezard.<p>

"I did not obtain my godhood on a whim, I carefully planned all possibilities, or at least I thought I did, this time, I won't take chances." Lezard stated with authority, only to be met by an annoyed look.

"Well "I" for one, did whatever the hell I felt like and not only did I become a god, I maintained it for one year! That's a record inside this little group."

"True, but be patient Kefka… I have another homunculus in the making." Lezard replied, instantly satiating Kefka's hunger to go outside.

"Elaborate." He asked with a gleeful smile.

* * *

><p>"Yo, Captain!" Squall turned, slightly annoyed at the name.<p>

"You're just saying that to annoy me, aren't you Zell?" He asked the tattooed man that had just arrived.

"No sir! Just being militarily correct!" He mocked, laughing to himself. "Never thought you would actually command an army. You were always the lone wolf kinda guy."

"Whatever, it's not like I'm doing this because I have too…"

"Well, just to let you know the gang's all here, problem is, you and I are the only ones on the front lines, the girls are on mage duty and Irvine wants the easy kills." He pointed at one of the airships. They were heading for vantage points for the snipers, the cowboy, as Selphie called him since they started dating, should be in one of those. "What about your pops?"

"In the Ragnarok, I hope we're enough." A dark skinned man joked as he joined the young men. They both looked to be on their forties, but that still didn't stop the burly man with a spear and the man with the katal from being threatening.

"Oh c'mon Kiros, it's not like we even needed you, old-timers…"

"Of course not, I'm the only one you need." A smug voiced proclaimed. The army behind them opened up, whispers of fear, disgust and surprise filling the air as a familiar white caped man walked through the crowd. His scar a reminder of his past with Squall, one that he'd rather not repeat. "If they told me I would willingly ally with you two years ago, I'd call them retarded." He smirked, putting his hand up. "But things change, the way I see it, I have a debt to pay."

"Forget it." Squall turned his back at Seifer and said. "With that kind of motivation you should just stay fishing. Are you here to fight or to pay a debt?"

"You still have your edge. Good! How about a bet? Let's see who gets the most." He pulled out his Hyperion model gunblade and pointed it at the man with his back turned. Squall quickly turned, unsheathing his Revolver in the process and crashing into the Hyperion.

"Are you here to steal my preys?"

"They're not yours until they're under your paw. Are you going to decline a challenge, mister "lion"? Afraid to lose the head of the pack?"

"Bring it Seifer, I need a challenge after all, something those guys can't give me." He smiled as he nodded towards the dark wall in the distance.

"On your marks…"

"Hey, they aren't going to…" Kiros began.

"Get set…" Squall turned towards the dark wall in the distance, followed, being soon joined by Seifer.

"They will." Fuu coldly remarked, having just sneaked into the front lines.

"Seifer been waiting for this ya know?" Raijin pushed through the crowd to see the start of the _race_.

"GO!" Seifert and Squall exclaimed at the same time, dashing at a blinding pace towards the enemy army.

"What are you waiting for? A speech? GO ALREADY! Kick their ass!" Laguna cried the Ragnarock, taking flight. Some president they had. Never the less, the army did move, invigorated by how Squall and Seifer ran towards the battle with their heads held high.

They didn't know what they were getting into, unfortunately.

* * *

><p>"Attacking that giant army head on? Just what are they thinking?" The blond girl asked the group, confused.<p>

"Sometimes you just follow your instinct." The blue haired man cracked his neck. "Ready guys?"

"Ready!" The three teens exclaimed in unison.

"And you?"

"Always… mate." She giggled at the last word, pronounced in a very strong aussie.

"Just get serious once in a while." The man rolled his eyes before jumping down the slope.

"That would be no fun, now would it…." She filled her lungs with air. "COWABUNGA!" She screamed, jumping down herself.

"God, am I who isn't a lovesick idiot?" The taller teen mocked as he followed the duo.

"HEY!" His two companions yelled as they jumped down in chase.

* * *

><p>"Two down…" Squall swiped through two shadows with one swoop, landing on top of a manikin of Bartz. "Three." He smashed the manikin's head with his gunblade, even with the gnarling feeling he had seen his face before. Just then he began to hear the ground trembling as the rest of the army clashed with the enemies, clatter of steel and crystal filling the air. He nodded and cut through two more shades, mentally counting his kills. If this was the hardest stuff he was faced with, he would need a distraction.<p>

* * *

><p>"They really saved us the trouble. Maybe that boy isn't as pesky as I'd imagine." The self-absorbed time-witch jested, letting a small chuckle escape her mouth.<p>

"We agree, getting them out of that city would be such bother." The nearly clothless woman remarked as she pet one of her snake attachments.

"Should we play with him? We've got time…" Ultimecia's voice became sadistic, amusing the non-entity by her side.

"Maybe… it's been some time since we had a decent… "She let a small chuckle escape. "Killing." The snakes jolted forward in excitement.

"Shut up you old hags." A black haired teen spat as he looked down from the cliff. "That guy over there has the crystal, right? He's mine, you can have your fun with the rest." Without another word, he jumped from the hill, landing on top of his weapon and riding towards Squall.

"We can't wait to sever his head from his body." The cloud spat hatefully, her snakes rattling in unison.

"Don't worry, with some luck, that SeeD will do that for us. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some acquaintances to meet." She glared at Seifer and disappeared.

"Now, what shall we do?" She joked as she slowly turned to the blue haired man who had just fallen behind her. "Tell me, how would you like to be one of the first to taste the new world I bring?"

* * *

><p>Squall was just finishing some would-be challenging Super battle pieces when he heard the rattling of what seemed to be metal objects. He looked up to see hundreds of weapons flying up in the sky, but his ears were the ones that tipped him off. He quickly leaned forward, dodging a sideward swipe from the black haired teen. He then swiped his sword at his torso, scraping it as he jumped backwards.<p>

"Well, well, well, I have to say I'm surprised, you're much tougher here than you were back then…" The sarcasm tinged his voice. "Or should I say… less of a waste of air?"

"With all that mysterious talk, you probably thought that I would want to know more…" Squall leaned his gunblade against his shoulder. "Sorry, but at this moment, I have people waiting at home. I don't want to be late."

"Oh, we've got a badass over here, uh? Don't worry, I'll be sure to take at least _some _part of you home."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Like hell I will!"_

_"Hey Van! You suck!"_

_"Time's up."_


	36. Savannah of Darkness: Lion vs Red Eyes

****Author's note: ****Massive chapter warning. Okay, it's like this, next week I have 3 final exams, so you won't be hearing from me in a while, so as an apology, here's the biggest chapter I've ever made. We've got a rain of characters here, some expected, some not expected. Anyway, a quick note. I'll just make the time lapse the Shinra building and Esthar planets be of about six hours, okay? Okay. Enjoy, and don't forget to give your thoughts or ask if there is any doubt.

**Ps:** I hate the title charecter limit.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

****Savannah of Darkness: The Lion vs The Red Eyes****

* * *

><p>Shinra building 1 PM:<p>

"Goddamn it my head hurts!" Faris was clutching to her head, face down on the table. "When I get my hands on Jack I'll…"

"Food's ready!" Terra announced as she placed the turkey on the table. "We'll go get the rest now."

It wasn't a secret that nearly everyone was still recovering from Jack's little "prank", but in the middle of the confusion, headaches and laughter, the ones who would normally be the light of the party were not themselves.

"Bartz, you're not eating! Are you sick-slash-dying-slash-mad?" Lenna was freaking out, so was Garnet.

"Zidane too! It's an epidemic!"

"Chill out… something's just… off you know?" Bartz scratched his head as he tried to explain it. "I've had this feeling that I'm forgetting something since I got my crystal… and then I used all those weapons and attacks at Memoria… how?"

"Not just that, I mean, when I grabbed this thing over here." He waved the miniature Great Crystal that had bonded to him recently. "It's not just forgetting stuff, it's that feeling that someone out there needs my help."

"Can't say I feel the same, except for the whole forgetting part." Lenna nodded at Garnet's statement.

"I can work a way around that…" A small voice creped from behind them. They turned to see the young blonde drawing on a table near them.

"Sweet! When can you do it?" Bartz had already jumped off his seat, positioning his head way beyond Naminé's comfort zone. The girl panicked and threw the first thing she got a hold off into Bartz's face, her plate.

By this time, even before any word had been uttered, it was way too obvious what was going to follow. Just before it took place however, Naminé said. "After lunch, ask Aqua where my room is." And then she threw herself beneath the table as the fated scream arrived.

"FOOD FIGHT!" Zack yelled.

Mayhem was unleashed.

* * *

><p>Interesting how a battlefield could change so much in so little time, irrational or not, both man and beast steered away from Squall's and the teen's fight. They circled, analyzing each other as the sun set in the distance. Squall had been in combat for several hours now, but he still felt as fresh as he was when he began.<p>

"_What's with that way of holding his weapon? No, what the heck IS his weapon?"_ Squall asked himself as he analyzed the situation. The teen was holding his weapon above his eyeline, pointing the tip towards its opponent. The weapon itself looked like a hybrid between a sword, a cog and a key. It's tip seemed to be made of a half of a red cog, an ominous azure eye plastered on the center, the sectioned shaft was composed by a gear in the middle that connected both sections, which were covered by black chains. The handle was also sectioned, the top part was made in a dark tone of grey, with another azure eye tainting the middle, the bottom was a red and gear like, finally the key chain-like extension resembled a gear at the tip.

"What should I call you?" The boy asked in a disgustingly smug tone.

"Why should you care?" Squall spat back, still analyzing his movements.

"You see, I don't want to get your name wrong, the look on your wives' face when she hears it will be priceless."

"Squall, Squall Leonheart. Just because the look on your face when you hear it from now on will be priceless. "

"You sure can talk, but Leon could too, didn't help him, not one bit." Those words stung Squall, they stung him deep inside.

"Leon…" He cringed as he said the name. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO LEON!" He shouted as he lunged towards the teen.

"What?" He screamed as he swiftly retaliated with a quick arced slash, one that was easily blocked, Squall's leg reaching his sternum and knocking him away. "Are we talking about the same Leon? Cause I'm sure as hell you can't have met him."

"If you say so, I guess we're not." Squall shot a quick, cocky smirk at the teen. Not that he felt the need to, but the flow of the battle was now with him. The boy had doubts, he didn't.

"Dammit, then who were you talking about?" The boy started to lose his composure, just what Squall needed. Squall sprinted through the field, his sword grinding the dirt as he rapidly approached the teen. Still confused about what had happened, he jumped upwards in an attempt to dodge. It was only in midair that he remembered who he was fighting.

"You make this too easy… Rough Divide!" Without further warning Squall bolted out of the ground directly below the teen, a trail of blue light following his revolver's trajectory, a trajectory that clashed right with the boy's chest. "What the…" Squall got a grinding feeling as sparks flew when the sword made contact. He quickly kicked the teen away, lading at a safe distance.

His pace was broken. And both fighters knew it.

* * *

><p>"One thousand." Seifer cut down a Soldier, mentally congratulating himself for not losing too much of his edge. It worried him that the numbers didn't seem to go down, but he wasn't getting tired soon. It was then that he felt it, <em>that <em>presence.

"Greetings." Ultimecia faked a bow as she appeared from the midst of the confusion. Unfortunately for the Galabadia SeeD, they were overzealous as they saw their scourge, and rushed to assault her. In what seemed to be no time at all, arrows were craved deep into their bodies, falling lifelessly on the floor. "I kannot help but feel that I am not welkomed here. Why is that?"

"You? You're as welcomed as it gets, you can't imagine how much I wanted to be the one to cut that head off."

"Bold statement, but I was expekting to rekruit you again, what do you say? Sorkeress Knight?"

"The hell I will!" Seifer lunged forward, ready to make some debts be paid.

* * *

><p>"<em>Is the bodysuit giving him that resistance? If it is, how can I get past it?"<em> Squall now observed the black, almost organic suit. The mixture of black and crimson was ominous, especially combined with that weird symbol, but that didn't matter for Squall, what mattered is that the whole body was covered in it, the waist even had a crimson cloth around it, extending to the knee section. _"The only place I can hit him…"_

"Is my face." The teen finished. Squall realized it, he was being read, and there was nothing he could do about it. "Be careful though, try to avoid the chin, it's protected." Okay, now he was just messing with him.

One shot.

"BOOM HEADSHOT!" Irvine screamed from the rock he was in. He had hit him straight in the temple, piercing it through and through. But he was still moving, not that Squall was shocked by it, he had seen much stranger things. He mentally thanked his friend, jumping towards the teen as soon as the bullet made impact. When he reached him, he unleashed a barrage of blows onto him, he could see the sparks of the rebounds, but he continued to wail at the opponent, who was incapacitated by his flinching. Soon enough, the teen was on the floor, Squall still mercilessly assaulting him with his Renzokouken. If he wasn't going to cut him, he was going to bruise him.

"Get… off me!" The teen exclaimed as he disappeared into a pool of darkness. Almost immediately after he burst out in flames. To counter it, Squall blocked his blade as he rose, turning in mid hair and landing his heel onto the teens face. As he fell, Squall fired multiple orbs of magic around him as he spun his gunblade. He then pulled the trigger, sending 360 degrees shockwave that managed to cut through the arm and chest portions of the cloth.

"Not as tough as you thought, huh?" Squall taunted as he landed on one knee. The teen was still laying down on the ground, arms stretched wide and his golden orbs glassed. _"Is he __dead?"_He slowly approached him, but when he was inches away from the dark clad boy, he erupted in a maniacal laughter that even made him flinch.

"Yo lion…" He jumped back up. "The jungle might be your territory, but it's night now… the darkness is our territory." He smiled evilly as it dawned to Squall. It had really become night, what he didn't understand was what that would do to benefit the person in front of him. "Ever had that feeling you're being watched? You ever seen things that weren't there? Imagine… if they were…" Various screams filled the air, being quickly and sickly muffled. "If you stick around long enough… you might even get a look at death's… cold, red eyes."

* * *

><p>"Seems our fun here has been kut short…" Ultimecia let out a dark laugh. "Why don't you reconsider my offer? That is, if you don't bekome food for our little pet." She finished as she disappeared into the darkness.<p>

"Run for your lives!"

"Those eyes! It's death!"

"Retreat!"

"TO WHERE?" Seifert shouted, pausing the panicking crowd. "Look around you… the bastards formed a circle around us. We're trapped in their arena…" A roar resounded through the dark night, several screams arising and disappearing in moments. "And the beast is out."

"What do we do then?" The soldier still had an hateful tone against Seifert, understandable.

"We hunt it… before IT hunts US!" He replied, running into the darkness, the soldiers grudgingly following him, he _was_ the best chance they had after all.

* * *

><p>"It's getting darker…" The blue haired teen looked around. This wasn't night anymore, this was pure darkness.<p>

"True… it was entertaining, but we must leave…" The cloud disappeared onto the encroaching darkness as the rattling of chains filled the darkening air.

"Serge, duck!" Was all he heard before being tackled to the ground by his blonde companion. For an instant he saw it all, it went so fast. Two streams of red. One large violet claw, as dark as the night, rattling the chains that were attached to it, barely missing Serge's back, to be more precise, it slashed his clothes, but left the skin intact. As the rest of the body hit the ground it trembled. The darkness still shrouded the beast, but they could see it, those blood red eyes. Serge could almost feel the icy gaze from the creature as he stared at him from its demented vision, seeing only two hearts, ready for the taking, in the midst of the redness.

A dark fireball crossed Serge, crashing right between the red eyes. The beast screeched, for a moment his fangs being visible between the darks flames, his eyes turning from the bright red into an equally eerie yellow.

"You okay Serge, Kid?" The silver haired teen asked, as he helped both his companions up.

"Been through worse." Kid shrugged.

"Never saw one of these before but…" The teen inspected it, and seemed to be smelling the air. "It's a heartless alright, and a mean one at that."

The creature roared in indignation before laying his eyes on the crest on the young man's shoulder. He immediately calmed down and turned, shrouding himself in darkness as he left.

"Damn, he's heading back to that guy… Can you move?"

"Really? Are you asking that? He didn't even touch us!" Kid stuck her toungue out at the guy.

"Okay, then MOVE!"

* * *

><p>Bartz and Zidane had just come back from their bath when they decided it was time to pay Naminé a little visit.<p>

"Yo Nam, you in there?" Zidane called as he knocked on Naminé's dorm room. They decided to peak in, they looked through a small creak beneath to see Garnet's boots, they decided it was safe to come in. They entered to see Naminé talking to Zidane´s wife and Bartz's girlfriend.

"I assure you, there's no risk at all, I just don't know if they WANT to have those memories back." Naminé was talking to a somewhat unconvinced Lenna and a worried Garnet, she was obviously explaining what could happen with her _intervention. _"Oh, you're here."

"Watchu talking bout?" Bartz interrogated as he looked at the bed Naminé was sitting in. "So, any progress?" He asked as he watched over Kuja's sleeping figure.

"Very slow… It's one thing to create memories or to lock them, but I changed his, it'll take some time. Unlocking is easy, but do you _really_ want to do it?"

"What do you mean? Off course we wanna do it!" Bartz couldn't just put aside that void in his mind, he wouldn't just walk away from a chance to get some answers.

"The war may have caused you a lot of suffering… do you still want to revive all those moments?" She began twiddling with her fingers. "Sometimes… I wish I could just forget it all, don't you?"

"What are you talking about? If life was all unicorns and rainbows, would you value it?" The straight and clean answer took Naminé off guard. "Yeah, life can be a bitch sometimes, and I've been down a lot of times. I never had a biological father, and there was even times where I almost gave up on life…" Zidane remembered his escape from the pandemonium, where it took just about everyone to make him realize that live was worth living. "But I wouldn't trade them for anything, it's what makes you _somebody_… you understand where I'm coming from, don't you?"

"So memories make you somebody?" Naminé started giggling uncontrollably.

"What? What did I say?" Zidane started squirming uncomfortably, trying to find a flaw in what he had said.

"No, nothing, you just remind me of a boy I knew." Naminé replied, a tinge of melancholy tuning her voice.

"Was he as hot as the Bartzinator?" Bartz asked as he put his hands on his waist.

"You're not… spiky enough!" She gestured from her head outwards.

"Wha…"

"Enjoy." Naminé interrupted, laying her finger on Zidane and Bartz's head. They heard what seemed to be a key unlocking a door and feel flat on the bed, completely passed out.

"Is this normal?" Lenna asked in a worried tone.

"Perfectly, they'll be up in minutes!" Naminé reassured, returning to her treatment of Kuja.

* * *

><p>Squall and the teen clashed in the arena of darkness that had formed around him. As the swords grinded against each other Squall couldn't let go of the feeling that he was playing right into his game.<p>

"_It happened when it got dark… but why?__ Unless…__"_ Squall his eyes twitch, it was enough for him to sense something was going to happen.

"Kill." He calmly said, a maelstrom of wind appearing as claw erupted from the darkness. Already expecting something, Squall barely dodged, getting his left arm cut as he jumped right to avoid the gargantuan monster. "Look who has come to play…" The teen jumped on top of the beast, now in full display, leaning onto the dark magenta spike on his back. A black liquid oozed from his mouth, as if he was hungry for something, or someone. "Let me introduce him, I call him Red Eyes, catchy I know, much better than the boring name my master gave him… pfft Hunter of the Dark my ass! Anyway, why don't you get to know each other? I'll help of course." Just then, the air was cut by a projectile, one that he parried with his sword. The projectile turned to be giant key of some sorts, as it was deflected back to where it came, landing on the out stretched hand of its owner.

"Hey Van! You suck!" He yelled from the distance. "Can't take someone one on one so you just sick your dog at it? I'm embarrassed to look like you." The kid spoke the truth. It was almost creepy, were they twins? Besides the black hair differing from his brown, and his eyes being sky blue while Van's were golden, they were the exact copy from each other.

"Still alive? Really? Never send a machine to do a man's job." He jumped from the monster and slowly walked in the hill's direction. "Have it your way. One on one. And I don't mind if that annoying princess helps that guy out, I'm just that nice."

"That guy annoys me to no end!" The red haired girl mumbled. Squall had no idea of what was going on, but the situation seemed to be getting worse, not better. "Be careful."

"You know me, always careful!"

"Riiiiiiight…" The girl sighed as she began descending the hill. True to his word, Van let her pass right beside him, with no dangerous moves, it wasn't long before she joined Squall near the beast, who was eerily calm.

"No offense, but I'd rather have you staying back." Squall told her. He didn't trust strangers, much less a teenager like her, yeah he was a great fighter when he was seventeen, but that didn't magically make all teenagers have master skills.

"Just, don't underestimate me okay? I've been working hard. I'll help you and I won't take no for an answer." Squall could see that there was no way around this, so he just decided to play it safe to evaluate her skills before doing anything rash.

"Fine, I'm Squall." He looked at her surprised expression, why was he introducing himself now? "You can't cooperate if you don't know what to call your partner, right?" He explained dryly.

"R-right! I'm Kairi. He's…" Squall had already left. He quickly stepped to the left, giving the impression he was going attack from the right, but he quickly darted left. The beast realized it quickly and claw at the young man, who skillfully blocked the claws with the edge of his sword.

"_She got the memo…"__ He_ remarked as he saw Kairi land on the monster's head, her right hand shinning in clear light and slamming it in one of the eyes. The creature shrieked and knocked the girl off it, cloaking itself in shadows and disappearing. _"Not bad…"_

"Did it… run away?" She asked as she relentlessly tried to find the creature.

"Don't think so… Damn!" For a moment, Squall saw two red trail, acting instinctively, he dove towards the girl and propelled both of them upwards with a bolt of fire from his gunblade. Milliseconds later a giant shadow swopped the place where Kairi once stood, grunting in displeasure as it disappeared.

"Thank you Squall." Kairi told him with an honest smile.

"Don't worry about it…" He landed safely and started scouting for more possible attacks. "We need to figure out a… what are you holding?"

"My Keyblade." She replied flatly.

"_A Keyblade? That's a damned floral arrangement!__ Is she really going to fight with that?" _Squall asked himself as he observed the flowery dent that the edge was, light orange and red shaft with vines adorning it and the heart like hilt, a wave covering the right side. To make it worse, it had a STAR attached to it by a cord. "Listen I…"

"It cuts." She swiped the seemingly harmless Keyblade at a rock, flawlessly cutting it in two.

"Okay… forget I ever said anything…" Squall tried to keep a straight face after what he saw, but her giggle made him realize it didn't work as well as it should.

"Behind you!" She exclaimed as she pointed at Squall with the blazing tip of her Keyblade. Squall immediately jumped to the right, dodging the fireball that went on to make the Heartless jump to avoid it. While the enemy was in midair, Squall knew it was his shot. He raised his gunblade upwards and concentrated all his power on it, the gunblade grew to at least ten times its original length, its blade being replaced by pure energy.

"How about this, big guy?" He asked as he slammed the blade onto its back. The beast wept as its body was whipped to the floor, landing with a resounding crash. Kairi then threw her weapon at it, lodging itself right into its hurt eye, ending his vision from it. The heartless squirmed before coming to a halt, resting seemingly lifeless on the floor.

"Is it dead?" Kairi asked as she walked over to hit, plucking her Keyblade from its body.

"Looks like it…" Squall commented. He jinxed it. Without a warning, the beast burst out in a somersault, ignoring both the girl and the man and landed near a pile of Shadow heartless, beginning to devour them. As both stood in shock, the beast locked back at them, eyes cured and returning to its crimson hue. It was time for round two.

The Red Eyes somersaulted forward again, crimson flames covering its tail, slamming it right between the two. Kairi barely dodged it, but Squall was already countering. He jumped towards the eyes, now obviously his weak point, but it just spun in the same manner of the somersault, knocking the man back. Squall landed safely on one knee only to discover the heartless jumping around in a circle around them, his eyes never once leaving his prey. It was just waiting for one slip, one opening. It eventually locked on to Squall's left side, now that his left arm was badly injured. Without warning, he lunged forward, swiping his claw at the young man's left side.

"Damn!" Squall cursed as he realized that he couldn't react fast enough because of his arm. But before the word was even finished Kairi had already jumped in front of him and blocked the claw. They never expected being outsmarted by a heartless though. The heartless somersaulted yet again forward, it's tail wiping both Kairi and Squall, smashing them to the ground.

"KAIRI!" The kid yelled from the top of the hill, making a run for the floored red hair.

"Where do you think you're going?" Van sunk on the ground, reappearing in a burst of red flames right in front of the teen who cut through the flames and faced the aggressor.

"OUT OF THE WAY VANITAS!" He yelled as fury took over his sky blue eyes.

"Didn't you say you wanted a one on one?" He reassumed his fighting position with a mocking smile.

Slowly but surely the Heartless closed in on the duo, his mane fluttering to the unseen wind. He smelled Squall's chest area first, then Kairi's. His eyes jolted as if he had found a banquet.

"KAIRI, OPEN YOUR EYES!" it was no use, she was out cold, and so was Squall. The cavernous maws that they called that Heartless' mouth began to open, and wrapped around the girl's body.

* * *

><p>Bartz's brain was having difficulty assimilating all that information at once. The 12th cycle, Kuja's betrayal, along with Kain's farce of a betrayal. Cloud, Tidus and Terra being Warriors of Chaos. The 13th cycle and his struggle to get out of the trap the forces of Chaos prepared for him, rescuing Zidane, defeating Exdeath two times, albeit he wasn't alone on the second one, and seeing Chaos fall by Terra's hand. He even remembered his mano a mano with Gilgamesh, now bursting in laughter to how both acted. But there was something he couldn't forgive himself for…<p>

Zidane was in a similar situation, his memories of Kuja, now seemingly enhanced to the point where he could see his brother secretly trying to help him made grit his teeth at how useless he had been. He felt useless even when he got knocked out early in the fight with Chaos, trying to protect the young Onion Knight. He only woke up to see Chaos explode. But, how could he forget…

"SQUALL!" They both cried before splashing face first on the shallow water. Confused at how they could have water on their room, they quickly jumped up and looked around. The calm, shallow water covering the white landscape that housed polished white remains of a sanctuary couldn't fool them. In the midst of all the white and azure lines was a throne, a throne where the person they once called goddess sat upon.

"Welcome, Bartz, Zidane… my warriors." Cosmos greeted in her serene and calming voice, it was like an orchestra played the beautiful sounds that came out of the mouth of the Goddess.

"Cosmos! You're alive?" Zidane gapped as he ran up to the throne, kneeling when he got near it.

"I returned after you defeated Chaos…" She began, slowly lifting herself up, she appeared to be very debilitated. "But I chose to remain here. The outside world is not my own, I am just a manikin of Cid's wife. I belong here." Bartz and Zidane jolted up to counter argument but Cosmos waved at them to stop as she continued. "You are not _here _so to say, your bodies are more like material projections that my crystals are maintaining, this causes me to be exhausted in a very short time lapse." She began to cough, falling to her chair once again. "The reason I called you here is… Squall will not make it." She gestured her hand and a small circle of water in front of Bartz and Zidane showed a beast slowly mouthing both Squall and a girl they didn't know.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Bartz asked desperately. He even began trying to punch the water the beast was in, obviously doing nothing but obscure the vision.

"I can only maintain your form for a few seconds, now listen to what I have to say…"

* * *

><p>"I wonder how strong it will become after eating two succulent hearts like those." Vanitas taunted as he blocked yet another escape from the teen. "C'mon Sora, you can do better than that!"<p>

"Just shut up! I'll get through even if it's the last thing I do!" He lunged forward, diverging in three images, in an attempt to get through. Vanitas smirked and divided the eight, two of them cutting through the fake ones while the other six piled up on the real Sora, who could only watch helplessly.

"Don't worry, I'll end you just after you see her die."

Sora watched as the beast was about to shut his jaw, time went too slow. He couldn't do anything!

An inhuman shriek. A cross of flames. Squall managed to open his eyes in time to see the heartless jump back, sliding his head through the ground in an attempt to douse the red hot flames.

"Debt paid." Seifer told Squall as he landed in front of him.

"Captain!" A soldier cried before getting blocked by a manikin. "We'll handle these guys!"

"Fine, get up Squall." Seifer ordered.

Squall did his best to get up but his body was all sore from the whip.

"Curaga!" Kairi chanted, filling both her and Squall with a burst of green light.

"I'm a bit tired… but this should let us move."

The beast roared in fury as the flames subsided. The light around its body began to distort and as it moved its body erratically, red, blue and green afterimages were left behind.

"Get ready!" Seifer shouted, pointing his blade at the monster. In a flash, the monster jumped towards him and clawed at him. Seifer avoided it by jumping backwards but he didn't expect a green afterimage to detach from the body and swipe at him, and it was real, way too real. He blocked the blow, and then another from the red one, and then another from the blue one. The beast was then already on top of him, but Squall and Kairi were there to intercept. The monster screeched as they plunged their blades on its right leg, but then sent the three afterimages on different directions, knocking them all back.

It began running around them, leaving afterimages behind as he sped up considerably. He continued to increase his speed further and further until he was nothing more than a multicolored blur rotation around them. Without warning, he lashed out from the circle in a charge, hitting Kairi and sending her body flying like a ragdoll.

"Damn!" Seifer cursed as he jumped to avoid one of the clones, but in midair he didn't have ground to propel himself from the second one and was too knocked against a rock, cracking both his ribs and the rock.

Squall was left alone in the typhoon of darkness. He closed his eyes and tried to feel the charge, not see it. He jumped up like Seifer, but just enough to land on the clone, stabbing it's back and destroying it, he then dodged the second one, stabbing the side of its body and propelling himself upwards. He finally decapitated the red clone, ending the cyclone. But there was something missing. Still in midair he looked up. "No!" The real one crashed on top of him, cracking the earth as both him and Squall landed.

The lion's heart stopped.

* * *

><p>He found himself drifting through the darkness. His whole life flashed in front of his eyes, it all felt so pointless now…<p>

Bump…

He saw a blonde woman appear in front of him.

Bump.

"Just a little longer Squall." She said.

Bump.

"You have people waiting for you." The calm voice serenaded his ears. "You promised them."

Bump!

"You can have my power, now go! All will be clear soon."

BUMP!

The crystal he had stored on his right pocket flared, restoring every ounce of energy to his body and more. He felt his conscience come back as his heart was flaring with confidence.

"Wait for me, Rinoa, Leon…"

* * *

><p>As Squall opened his eyes he began emitting a pure silver light, the heartless screamed in pain and jumped back, staring at the prey who had come back from the clutches of Hades.<p>

"A lion's heart never stops until it accomplishes what he's doing. Even if it does, I'll just make it beat again! LIONHEART!" He raised his gunblade upwards, its blade growing a few inches and becoming clear blue. The hilt now black, a silver lion adorning its top. With guttural roar, Squall disappeared into thin air, reappearing right bellow the creature's jaw, unleashing a flurry of eight blows upon the creature. It lost any notion of where it was as Squall capitalized on it, hitting it's chin with such force that it sent it flying, more than fifty feet on the air. He then slashed, stabbed, and ripped through the monster seventeen times, each attack stronger than the last one. He finally stopped the assault as he concentrated every bit of power he had on his sword, flaring up in a star-like shine. "End of heart!" He cut through the Red Eyes with one fell swoop, leaving a trail of stardust in its wake. "Mission accomplished."The ensuing explosion cleared out the darkness, the sky returning to a beautiful night sky.

Squall landed on the ground, looking at Vanitas and signaling him to come.

"That was a pretty impressive lightshow, but I'm afraid I'm not the one who will kill you." Just as he said that, the Red Eyes landed on his feet right next to Squall.

"Maybe I was wrong, if you were on my league, you would see."

"What are you talking about?"

Squall passed right besides the heartless, who made no reaction.

"It's already dead." And the heartless vanished into the wind.

"How the…" Then Vanitas saw what he wanted. Squall fell to one knee, Kairi was unconscious, Seifer couldn't move, neither could Sora. "Guess I'll just have to finish the job!" He sunk into the ground, a puddle of crimson and black darkness forming, quickly darting towards Squall.

"Squall, move!" Zell shouted before being pinned down by two manikins.

"This is as far as I go, huh?" Squall lamented as Vanitas rose in front of him.

"You know, I really liked my pet. Guess I'll just use your heart to make me another one!"

"Five seconds." Squall heard. Just then two figures bolted from god knows where, cutting through the black haired teen, leaving an X-shaped scar on him. "Time's up, see ya in a bit Squall!" His saviors told him as they disappeared. It was too fast for Squall to perceive who they were, but the voice felt familiar.

"Can you walk?" A silver haired teen asked him, pulling him up.

"Don't worry about me…" Squall replied as he forcefully kept himself up, even if it seemed the whole world wanted to bring him down. "Who are you?"

"An ally, now let's get out of here, call off the attack."

"Why, we're almost winning."

"On the contrary." The teen pointed to the squirming Vanitas, with every scream he let out, more blue-ish abominations came out from his body, and as if it wasn't bad enough, Heartless Behemoths roared in the distance.

"Laguna, this is Squall, call it off! Last resort!" Squall said to the intercom. "ALL TO THE CITY!" He ordered. Kairi managed to get up and Sora helped her run. Seifer refused any kind of help, even from Fujin and Raijin.

* * *

><p>"Activate our reserve power generator! I want a shield around the city!" Laguna shouted to the intercom at the Ragnarock.<p>

"But Mr. President, that shield will last one day, two max!" One of the engineers replied.

"That'll give us two days to think of something! Now, when I say to do it, you raise the shield!"

* * *

><p>"Are we going to let them eskape?" Ultimecia asked.<p>

"The rats are only cornered, they will have to come back to us… Besides, we have visitors." She looked back into the portal that had just opened, analyzing Lezard's homunculi. "That "Lezard" sent you, we presume?"

They simply nodded with blank expressions covering their young faces.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Vanitas asked as he arrived and saw the two homunculi, they exchanged looks, Vanitas was downright disgusted at them.

"Language boy." Ultimecia mocked.

"Watch it witch!"

"Your master isn't here anymore, you'll be the one "watching it" boy!"

"Are they allies?" The girl asked the boy.

"I don't care, we have to put up with them." He coldly replied, looking at the dome that was raised around Eshtar.

"Who were those guys?" Squall asked himself as he saw the dome close, their enemies trying to break it in vain.

* * *

><p>"Guys!" Bartz yelled as he jumped out from his bed, startling everyone around him. "We gotta go!"<p>

"But the ship's not ready." Lenna told him. "What happened Bartz?"

"I'll explain latter." He said, putting Kuja on his back.

"What are you doing?" Naminé asked as she tried to figure out what they were doing to her patient.

"You have to come, so we'll bring him with us, don't worry, he can take it." Zidane told her, grabbing her by her hand.

"The ship's ready you know."Garnet intervened. "But shouldn't we rest?"

"No, let's go!" Bartz said bluntly, running up to the halway.

"Obligatory main character appearance… I mean… Where are you going Bartz'" Shin asked as he saw him go down the hallway.

"The same place you're going."

* * *

><p>In the middle of nothingness a body slowly floated, heading nowhere. Suddenly, a giant shadow appeared over the body. The man's amber eye opened.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"A suitable proposal."_

_"The emoness in the room is intoxicating."_

_"I…was on their side?"_

* * *

><p><strong>Post-chapter note:<strong> For those who don't know, I'll save you the trouble. Serge and Kid are from Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger's sequel, they'll just have the same kindof part as Crono really, unless I change my mind. And you can guess who Leon is, can't ya? Finally, End of Heart is Lion Heart's original name, and let's face it, it's cooler.


	37. The Imprisoned and the Metal of Legends

****Author's note:****Yo, been a while huh? I'm partially back, I still have two more finals, but they are this weekend, so next week I should be back on track. I wrote this chap a bit every day, and it turned out to be bigger than anything I ever put out, yes, even bigger than the last one. That aside, I hope you enjoy.

**Pseudo-Blackmail:** Reviews make me work faster.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

****The Imprisoned and the Metal of Legends****

* * *

><p>Fusoya hurriedly lead the scientists around the engine room, making the final preparations to what was going to be the longest voyage the Lunar Whale had come across. Normally, the flight would take at least four days, since the Lunar Whale wasn't conceived to be fast, but the crystal that guided the Lunar Whale only lasted for three, and to make it worse, Bartz told him that they had two at most. Luckily, Fusoya and Tron were already on track for a solution. He looked at the plans one last time before finishing the machine. When he examined it, there was not much to see. From the outside, the pedestal that held the motor crystal seemed the same, but it had been reinforced so it could take a greater pressure. Now he only needed to test it, and unfortunately, there was no time for a test drive, the test was going to be the flight. Nodding to himself, he called the scientists and pulled out Terra's crystal.<p>

"Tell Cecil to get ready, would you?" He told Shelke as he put the finishing touches on Tron's program.

"You're actually sure that the engine won't blow up on before we get there?" Shelke asked with a cold glare. Fusoya coughed and looked at Tron who smiled very clumsily and looked at Shalua for help.

"Kind of sure…" Shalua finally replied.

"That's the best we're going to get, isn't it?" They all nodded. She scuffed and left the engine room.

* * *

><p>"What are we waiting for?" Bartz was running around the bridge, examining it like a kid. "Uhhhh what does this button do?"<p>

"Don't touch anything Bartz!" Lenna warned.

"Okay…"

"Anyway, why the rush?" Zack asked as he arrived on the bridge. "I HAD plans for today you know?"

"I'm not even going to ask…" Cloud shook his head as he arrived.

"You!" Zidane exclaimed as he jumped of his chair, landing on Cloud's shoulders. "You're coming with me chocobo head!" He began pulling strands of his hair like he was trying to drive him, all while Cloud desperately tried to get him off, thinking of what could have triggered this sudden change of behavior, he barely knew the guy and he suddenly treated him as an old friend. "You have to let Naminé touch you!"

"_Bad choice of words!"_ Bartz mouthed as he waved his arms at Zidane to warn him.

"It was all like, she touches you, then you feel in heaven all of a sudden, your life flashes through your eyes! Then it's like, you're friends with everyone and the world's a better place and she's going to kill me isn't she?" He slowly turned his head back to see Zack slowly backing away from a red tinted Naminé, mouthing RUN as Zidane noticed that his Buster Sword now resting on her small hand_. __"__She __can't__ pick it__ u…__ OH GOD NO!"_With a shriek she swung her sword at Zidane, who backflipped out of the way. "Crap crap crap crap crap!" He was running around in circles, Naminé wailing the Buster Sword as if it was made of paper, her face fuming from embarrassment and anger.

"Stop destroying my ship!" Cecil exclaimed, grabbing Naminé's hand just as she was swinging at the steering pad.

"Sorry…" Naminé and Zidane immediately replied, even though Zidane was apologizing to Naminé, not Cecil.

"Cecil, the engine is _ready_." Cecil felt a pang of mistrust on Shelke's ready.

"Do I detect some doubts?" The Lunarian asked.

"It's as ready as it will ever be." Shelke dismissed, turning her back and returning to her room.

"I guess we're set then…" Cecil sat on the control chair, slowly hovering his hand the ignition key. "Here goes nothing!" He closed his eyes, expecting the worst as he pressed the key.

Silence.

* * *

><p>"Did we screw up?" Just as Shalua finished Terra's crystal began emitting a pale blue light. It began to take the form of a small blue flame as the engine slowly cranked up.<p>

"All systems operational, take off in: Three, Two, One. Ignition!"

"Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Everyone on the bridge was catapulted backwards, forming a dog pile on the wall as the ship.

"The engine ain't gonna last! Get your ass to the bridge and slow down!" Cid yelled.

"Tron! Tell Cecil to slow down!" Shelke yelled.

"Acknowledged!" Soon, Tron's face appeared on the bridge's monitor finding Cecil already climbing towards the controls. "Cecil, Shelke asked me too…"

Cecil finally managed to reach the controls, quickly returning the speed to reasonable levels.

"This should suffice, we are sorry, we did not expect the crystal to have THIS much power, for now the engine can only handle this much."

"Don't… worry." Cecil was still trying to catch his breath after all of that, he was even more surprised when he looked out of the window to see they had already left the atmosphere. "We're going a lot faster though…"

"True, if we are really taking advantage of our engine's capabilities, we should arrive tomorrow morning."

"So soon huh? Alright, you have my thanks." Tron disappeared from the screen and Cecil decided to help everyone up.

"Alright, we're all here!" Zidane exclaimed.

"Define "all"."

"The ones who fought at the last cycle!"

"Terra's missing." Bartz pointed out. "That's strange… where could she have gone?"

Just then Zack slowly began to back out of the bridge.

"What did you do to them?" Zack heard from behind as he touched something soft.

"Nothing BAD." He told Tifa, turning his eyes. "And what do you mean them?"

"Shin's missing, and really Zack, this is just your kind of deal, don't try to hide it."

"I may, or may not have done them a favor."

"Just go get Terra so we can get this over with…" Tifa was already with her hand on her face when she said it, she knew Zack's definition of favor.

* * *

><p>"So, you are awake."<p>

Terra had just regained consciousness and was slowly trying to figure out what had happened to him. He scuffed as he remembered being sent to the Void by that girl, but then he realized it, if he was in the Void… Who was talking him?

"I thought you to be brighter, Xehanort." There was no body from where the voice was emanating, just a pair of giant yellow eyes. "You are in my realm now."

"You're the one who created the Void? Then you must be Enuo." Xehanort turned in midair and faced both yellow eyes. Their presence was frightening, a normal person would go mad at the mere sight of the amber void inside those spheres.

"You are wrong Xehanort, I did not create the Void, I was once a wizard of great power and immortality. For reasons time has erased I gave it all up for control of the Void. The rest, is history."

"They sealed the Void here, in the Rift wasn't it?"

"I still don't understand why you insist in that ignorant farce, I've been watching you for much longer than you imagine!" Enuo boomed, its echo shaking the very existence of the Void. "I only ask you how you were sent here, I was handling "other businesses" when you appeared."

"I'd be happy to share with you all I know, if you promise to send me out."

"One does not simply walk out of the Void, but I'd be content to oblige, if we find…. A suitable proposal, one that both sides can take advantage of."

"Terra Branford banished me here." Xehanort replied harshly, his pride still sour from that particular moment. A planned loss was something, but an utter defeat was completely different.

"That girl banished you this far… I should not be surprised, should I?" The entity chuckled in a heart chilling way.

"Do you know something about her I don't?" Now this was new, Xehanort was only looking to force him to let him out of the Void, but the Void Master kept getting more interesting by the minute. It wouldn't hurt to have a pseudo-ally.

"Let me tell you a tale, a thousand year old tale…"

* * *

><p>Shin slowly regained consciousness. He remembered talking to Bartz and walking halfway to the ship, but the rest was a blur. He grunted and tried to lift himself up, until he realized his hands were bound to the other side of an object. Was he captured or something.<p>

"What the heck happened."

"Hum, wouldn't it be a lot easier to know if you opened your eyes?" Terra's voice ushered.

"Wait, wha… how…when…" He realized that the object his body was attached to was Terra's.

"Explaining it would be hard enough… just read it." She swiftly rolled over, inverting their positions. Shin then noticed the paper that was glued to the ceiling.

"You will thank us when you're older. Signed: Zack & Edge Inc."

"OH YOU MOTHER-"

* * *

><p>"In the cargo haul?" Really Zack? Really?" Tifa was used to Zack by now, but he still managed to impress her from time to time.<p>

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERS!" Echoed through the corridor.

"Can you hear that?" Cecil asked.

"I can FEEL that…" Zack lamented.

* * *

><p>"Can't you just get your arms over my head?"<p>

"No, already tried. My left arm is tied under your right, and your right under my left." She explained.

"_Clever bastards…"_He mentally cursed ever having called those two his friends. "Sooooooo… I guess we're stuck here." He said as casually as he could.

"Pretty much." She replied.

"Anything you wanna do? Until, you know, we have a chance to kill those two?"

Just then a cheeky squeal was caught by Shin's left ear. Before he could turn his head to see what it was, the small puppy he had given Terra jumped on his face, isn't it for leverage to get to Terra's.

"I've been meaning to ask, what should we call him?" Terra asked as she dodged from his tongue.

"Let's see here, how about…"

* * *

><p>"GOD! The emoness in the room is intoxicating! Say something! ANYTHING!" Sora began banging his head on the table, but not even that broke the tension in the environment. Ever since they arrived at the Presidential residence Laguna had instructed them to stay at the meeting hall until he finished calming down the populace, something he was better at than Squall. The only problem is that Squall and Riku were left to stare at each other, making all the room awkward.<p>

"He's right you know! Whadaya say? Let's get to know each other! I'll start, name's Kid!"

"Why introduce each other when we'll have to do it again when Laguna and Rinoa get here?" Squall replied dryly. He knew what kind of person Laguna was, if he was taking so long, he HAD to have gone and get Rinoa. He insisted Squall was ten times easier to talk with when Rinoa was around, mostly because she was one of the few persons alive with the nerve to proud information from him.

"For once I agree with him…" Riku nodded.

"WHY ME!" Sora yelled, starting to cry on Kairi's shoulder, who smiled weakly to hide her embarrassment.

"_Where is she…__" _Serge asked himself, his foot rhythmically beating the blue carpet. "_Maybe I shouldn't have let her and that dragoon wander off, his attention span's the same as Kid's and he's VERY overzealous when he gets his head on something… I'm talking like an old man again…__"_

* * *

><p>"We should probably find Serge now, don't you think?" A red haired girl asked her blond companion, who was more preoccupied with his dazzling white blade than with her.<p>

"Never thought the Einlanzer needed to be sharpened… I guess that deep down, it's still sword." He mumbled as he admired the steel. It had lost some of its shine and the edge seemed worn down.

"Are you even listening?"

"Pardon?"

"Why do I get stuck with the blockheads…? First Serge and now this."

"I wonder if this one needs sharpening as well…" He now stared at an identical sword that he had pulled from his sheath. It was as if they were the same sword.

"WOULD YOU STOP STARING AT THOSE SWORDS?"

* * *

><p>"How about… Star?" Terra suggested.<p>

"Too girly, he's a boy." Shin replied. "Hazel?" He suggested as he saw the color of his eyes.

"Not bad… But it lacks the oomph." She gazed onto the puppy that was now fast asleep on their side. How did he manage to fall asleep so fast, she didn't know. "What's his color again?" She casually asked as she analyzed the brown puppy. He wasn't quite brown though… he had several clear brown patches of fur, but some of his fur was white, with brown fur mixed in between.

"If I remember well, the color is kinda rare. Chocolate roan was it?" It the crossed both his and Terra's mind. Simple, corny, cute, perfect.

"Chocolate!" They cried in unison. As if to answer it, the newly named puppy jumped awake, again using Shin's head to get to Terra.

"Get of my…" He tried to order before getting a mouthful of paw.

* * *

><p>"So you locked them both here." Cloud said in a monotone voice.<p>

"Yeah."

"Why?" Ceodore asked. He had to beg Cecil to come, but his father finally caved in.

"You'll understand when you're older." Zack told him, reaching for the door.

"You like it don't you?" He heard Terra say.

"I think I'm going to stick around for a bit." He mocked, gluing his ear to the door.

"You're so cute!"

"He's a master…"

"I just want to hug you! But I can't… so I'll just kiss you."

"WOAH! ALREADY?"

"Oh, the things I'd do to you if I had my arms free…"

"What have I done? I must stop this before it's too late!" Zack yelled, bursting into the room. "STOP! IN THE NAME OF BIRTH… control?"

Chocolate stopped licking Terra to take a look at the intruder. Terra on the other hand realized what her last sentences seemed to be building up too and almost blew up in a red hue.

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, I thought we had gotten here in time for the good part…" Aerith lamented inside the crystal. "Nothing to see here girls." She dismissed various spirits of young girls that were watching with her.

"Ah, it was just the dog… nothing to do here!" He tried to make a dash for the exit, leaving a completely flustered Terra and a slightly confused Shin behind.

"Zack… don't make this worse than it has to be, just a friendly advice." Tifa told him as she blocked his way.

"Fine…" He walked up to them and carefully cut Shin's ropes, then Terra's. He then slowly backed away, quickly jumping behind Cecil, he had nothing to do with that, they wouldn't risk hurting him.

"Bartz wants you, Cloud and Cecil to go see Naminé, so let this poor fool be for the moment." Tifa explained.

"Okay… why?" Terra asked as she massaged her wrists, trying to get some blood flowing.

"Beats me."

* * *

><p>While on the corridor Shin took Zack's side, pulling him from the center of the group.<p>

"What was that about?" He asked in a low tone of voice.

"You know what that was about." Zack replied with a broad smile. "And it worked like a charm."

"Heh, prove it." Nothing had happened… right?

Zack's face was tainted by a cheek to cheek smile as he said in the calmest tone possible. "Either you or Terra could have just ripped through those ropes, even I Cuore could without magic. They were severely weakened by Edge, they would snap when you pulled them apart, provided you TRIED. Now I ask you, why didn't you?" And with that he accelerated towards the crowd.

"Well played…." Shin said dumbfounded as he looked at his hands. "Well played indeed."

* * *

><p>"Why did you want to see us Bartz?" Terra asked the young freelancer, er mystic knight uh, Mime, whatever.<p>

"Well Terra, we found out that Nam here can get your memory back!" He exclaimed, giving Naminé a slight push. She stumbled forward nervously and nodded.

"What memory?" Unless they meant…

"The one of the war!" Zidane exclaimed. He tried to remain cheerful, even with Kuja lying down beside him completely motionless.

"And the best part is, it doesn't take more than a couple minutes!" Bartz finished excitedly.

"That's… interesting." Cloud was… curious about that "war" everyone was talking about.

"It might be an enormous asset for all of us." Cecil punctuated.

"I doubt that you will discover something I don't already know… but it is worth a try." Golbez finished

"But… are you sure you want too?" Naminé asked.

"Oh, don't give me that Nam, did something bad happen to us?" Zidane interjected, being quickly cut off by Naminé.

"Some…" She looked at Cecil. "Have a better past than… others." She tried to hide her glance over Cloud and Terra, to no avail.

"I'm used to that kind of crap…" Cloud told her.

"It's not THAT bad." Aerith said.

"On your standards… nothing's THAT bad."

"Phoey!" She spat at him.

"My life's never been easy… I can take it." Terra told Naminé resolutely.

"Okay, but be careful… I don't know how." She snapped her fingers and they were out like a light. But not only the ones she had planned though.

"Bartz! You alrigh…" Zidane fell on top of him, just as knocked out.

"Was this supposed too uhhh.. "Casualty number 3, Zack Fair.

"Are you al…" And Shin bit the dust.

"I doubt I'll stay awake for much longer…" Sure enough, Golbez leaned against the wall and slowly sat down, fast asleep, as if he knew what was happening.

"Naminé! What happened?" Lenna asked desperately.

"Whoever it was, it wasn't me." She replied, crouching besides the ones that shouldn't be asleep. "But they seem alright, in fact it seems they are in the same kind of coma… If they don't wake up with the rest, we'll think it over, I'm not that used to using my powers on an area, maybe I flopped." Nobody seemed entirely convinced, but she had another thing she had to take care of. "By the way, does anyone of you know what this is?" She reached out from her drawer to pull out a shinning blue stone.

"No way…" Aqua gasped as she entered the room. "Naminé, how did you get this?"

* * *

><p>"Crono…" A faint voice called to him. Familiar, like a remnant of his former life. He woke up, sitting on the side of his bed and analyzing his surroundings. No one was there.<p>

"Crono!" The voice grew stronger, as blue light filling the room. He didn't feel hostility from it, but he grabbed the Dreamseeker and slowly walked in the direction of that light.

"Are you seriously going to point a weapon at us?" Just as he turned the corner he could see it. The wrapped cloth he had brought with him from the end of time. The one heirloom of his world. He didn't know how it got there, but he found it near the Epoch, wrapped in the same cloth it was now. He never got around using it, it wasn't his…

"Yeah Crono! Aren't we pals?" Two yellow creatures appeared beside the item, tiptoeing in the same place.

"We are the wind!" One exclaimed.

"We are the legend!" The other exclaimed.

"Masa, Mune…" Crono called as he approached the two. "I'm glad you're safe."

"Of course we're safe, the sword's safe isn't it?"

"If you were… why didn't appear up until now? The sword had lost its shine, I thought that since Frog…" He stopped at the mention of his late friend.

"Glenn might have died Crono, and I'm not gonna lie, it hit us hard." Masa or was Mune? Anyway, one of them started.

"But we are here to honor his last request, we are sick of moping around." The other one finished.

"Last… request?" Crono stumbled at the thought, no, he wouldn't. Just then, a badge appeared out of nowhere and started floating in front of him.

"From Cyrus to Glenn and from Glenn to you, the hero's badge." Masa explained.

"And of course, who better to wield us, than the man who crossed time to repair us?" Mune finished.

"Together! MASA!" Masa started spinning around, approaching the mid terrain between him and Mune.

"MUNE!" Mune did the same, and has they collided in the middle, a sudden flash covered the room. Where both of them stood, a big, burly yellow creature was floating, flexing his arms in an over the top way.

"We are… Masa&Mune, MASAMUNE!" The creature shouted, the cloth around the sword burning as the sword of legends started floating in front of the giant. "And you Crono, and our wielder!"

"I'm no hero…" Crono dismissed, walking away from the fused being.

"Now that's where you are wrong." The being teleported itself in front of him. "Didn't Glenn tell himself the same thing? Didn't he loose what was most important to him, and suffer an humiliation beyond death? But YOU helped him back on his feet, that was his last wish, to get even with you."

Crono grimaced at it, it was true, he was being just like Frog was… "But, I'm no Frog…"

"Correct, you are better." The being replied with a burly laugh. "And I don't say this easily, it's almost an affront to my late masters, but you are the best swordsman I ever saw."

"Heh, I don't know where do you get all that trust…" Crono lowered his head and slowly started laughing. "But you're on!" And without a moment to spare, he grabbed the badge, pinned into his right side, turned around, grabbed the sword and the scabbard, threw the sword in the air as he tied the scabbard to his back, just to have it fall right into it, resting on his back.

"That's what I like to see, you're the Crono I know. Now, when you get to firm land, just make a pledge like Glenn did, just to seal the deal. Until then, go show off!" Masamune split into two light, both entering the sword.

"Showing off was never my style… but I'll make an exception this time." With a smile that seemed to have been lost forever on his face, Crono left the room and went to look for the others. _"Somehow… someday… everything will be alright."_

* * *

><p>Terra instantly knew what Naminé meant. She was ready for bloodshed and death but not for what she saw. Just like her whole childhood, the place where she vehemently covered with her ribbon was again stained by that damned crown. She saw herself taking orders from him like a dog, worse even. She pummeled Firion, she beat down Yuna and she obeyed every single of Kefka's commands.<p>

"I was… on their side. Again…" But then the rest of her memories started reappearing. She saw Kuja casting a spell on her, somehow freeing some of her freewill. She fought Vaan and regained even more, enough to say no to Kefka. She then remembered the time she passed with Vaan and how he promised to comeback for her. She had to admit, the teen reminded her a lot of Locke. She then saw herself standing alone against dozens of manikins just to stop them from reaching the Sanctuary. Then Cosmos recognized the good in her heart and let her be one of her warriors. Then her heart sunk. On the next cycle… Vaan wasn't there, Yuna wasn't either. She shook it off when she remembered that deaths weren't permanent on that battle. She was now paired with that kid, the Onion Knight. He was still an insufferable rascal at that point, something she would never tell in his face, mostly because she was different… she was so insecure. Obviously the lack of memories reverted her personality to the one at Narshe. She didn't like it.

"Oh, here comes my FAVORITE PART!" The esper exclaimed with glee. "Fine, I wasn't quite myself back there, but that's what being imprisoned for so long does to you." Just then she saw herself lose control of her esper form and destroy the kid. She was horrified, of because of how she was beating on him, but because she had never assaulted a friend.

"Why did you do this?" She shouted at the esper.

"I didn't, as I said, you know how espers can lose control when their emotions flare up, remember when you opened the door to the esper's world?"

"That was because it was the first time they entered the human world in long time and…"

"And they had a lot of hatred stored, right?"

"Right…"

"And remember, this was the first time I entered the human world in a long time. As a side note, I'm a rose with thorns girl, you can't just assumed I'm the same as you, I just didn't hurt your "friends" because it would be conter-productive, capiche?"

"Somehow, I doubt that, at least right now…"

"Shut up and watch the rest!" And the esper was gone. Terra was rubbing too much on her.

After waking up, rescued by the kid, she noticed that he had become a lot more… interesting. It's almost as if every man around her had "Locke syndrome". Maybe she looked like a girl that needed protection, but what mattered was that the kid became a much more hero-like figure. And then she saw Kefka putting his hand on her path again. She saw the Onion Knight sacrifice himself to save her, she saw her solo quest to find him, which seemed to end prematurely when her esper tried to take over. Luckily Cloud rescued her, and by rescue I mean accepting to be her personal punching bag. She traveled with Cloud and found Kefka and the boy, along with the Cloud. The rest was history. She received her crystal, she saw Cosmos's "death" she fought Kefka again, gaining a new perspective of him, maybe he was a monster, but he had some reasons to be one. Up until the fight with Chaos. It felt unfair. Everyone fought better than her, she just had a superior body. Managing to hurt Chaos while he was a giant almost felt like cheating. Finally, she remember when she was called once again, on the 20th cycle. Not much happened, she and her friends followed the instructions of the moogle that they discovered to be Cid, he explained much of how the world they were was only a dream and how they could escape it. Then she saw Feral Chaos. She never felt so useless. Esper or no Esper, she was just a rag doll on the monster's path. Then Vaan died and…

* * *

><p>Splash. Terra felt all her body cool down as she fell onto cold water.<p>

"Wha…?" She slowly lifted herself up and saw that she was in the Order's Sanctuary.

"It's okay guys, she's awake, we can start now." Surprisingly, Aerith helped her up, like she was… you know, alive.

"Start what?" Terra asked. She looked around to see Cloud and Cecil, expected. Bartz and Zidane, not so expected. And what the heck were Shin and Zack doing here?

"I can answer your questions…" A melodic voice, one that Terra immediately recognized as Cosmos resounded. "I may not be able to participate in this fight, but I'll do my best to help you succeed."

"Cosmos, I would question why you brought me here, but I'll jump right on to business. Are the crystals that we have gathered yours?" Terra hadn't even seen Golbez, but he was the one with the most opportune question.

"No… my crystals were, in a sense, a copy of those crystals. Your crystals are the "heart" of your world, as manifested by its champions. Their form is a representation of you, such as its powers." Just as Terra arrived at the crowd she noticed Cosmos was a mess. Her normally pure blond hair was unkempt and full of dirt, she appeared to have not slept for days, or at least was very tired, she probably didn't need sleep. She would have to ask why. But first.

"Their powers reflect ours?" Cloud asked, just before Terra could.

"It's amusing you of all people would ask that Cloud, your crystal is…" She looked at Aerith, who started giggling. "Unique."

"So my power is to summon a really clingy Ancient?"

"Did… did Cloud just tell… a joke?" Zack and Aerith were awestruck, but as much as they wanted to enjoy the moment, the conversation was serious.

"I…" Cosmos started coughing violently, as it subsided, she looked at her hand and quickly hid it from sight. "I might be able to hold you here for much longer, so I'll be quick. I don't know Cloud, I don't know what your crystals DO. You have to find them yourselves."

"How? We don't exactly have a map, or an instruction manual." Bartz pointed out, observing his crystal with one eye.

"Be yourselves, I can't say anymore."

"What about Cid, have you seen him?" Cecil asked.

"As a matter of fact, he has been here several times recently. He told me what he was trying to accomplish, but at the same time, he made me swear secrecy until he told me otherwise, my apologies. But do not doubt that he is on your side." Her eyes seemed to twitch as she shook her head.

"Cosmos, I can see you can't hold us here for much longer, why have you brought us here? It surely wasn't for "a talk"." Golbez was all business.

"I have three gifts for you. First, this." She signaled Bartz to come forth and handed him an orange crystal. "We all know how Squall can be, this teleport stone will send you to Esthar, use it to make Naminé return his memories before the ship arrives… he's in a troubled state, earning his trust could be difficult."

"Yes m'am!" Bartz grabbed it and joined Zidane where they started bickering.

"The second one is…" Cosmos lifted her hand, with it all the crystals surrounded her, she muttered some incantations and then returned the crystals to them. "Now the crystals should shine if there is one in the same general direction. And finally, a sliver of information. You may not know who he is, you may even think of him as one of the ones that want to destroy the world, but inside the net of chaos, there is still a warrior that fights for us."

"Who?" Terra asked.

"Deep down, you know." Cosmos told her before starting to cough again. "I'll have too… let you leave now… But first… thank you Zack, for keeping the crystal safe."

"Dawwww, don't mention it." Zack playfully replied, even then flirting with her.

"And Shinryu… Everyone makes mistakes, don't martyr yourself over them."

"Not to be rude Cosmos, but I really don't care about my so called mistakes anymore, they aren't mine, I'm just helping to fix them." Shin replied in the most respectful tone he could muster.

"I was not talking to you Shin." Cosmos said weekly.

"Oh… sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, you've done a lot, to fix things that no one would hold against you, I'm grateful." Then they started to fizzle out as Cosmos had a serious attack of cough. This time she couldn't hide it, she was coughing blood. "Now we must part, until next time… my warriors."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure Elfé?" Shin could hear Aqua ask. He slowly got up to see Elfé sitting in a table with a magnifying lens, analyzing what seemed to be a big blue chunk of metal.<p>

"I can't be sure, I never saw a truly purified one, but this is by far the most pure I ever saw. Not that this comes easily, but even if I hadn't seen one before, just looking at it makes it obvious."

"What are you talking about?" Shin asked, getting closer to the center of attentions.

"You all sure took your time." Luso said.

"Yeah, I mean, now we'll have to explain what is this, all over again." Adele just pouted and took a seat.

"Well, you see, Lezard seemed to be investigating a pile of metal like this back in his lab, one day, he left them in my room, so I took one and hid it on my dress just before elaving, I don't know if it'll be any help, but…" Naminé was in the middle of her explanation just before the piece of metal bolted from the table in the door's direction. Grabbing it was Cid Lufaine.

"One hundred percent pure Orichalcum… Never thought I'd lay my eyes on a piece of metal like this. But this is strange, due to radioactive decaiment it should be impossible for metal this pure to exist on this day and age… unless…" He said as he stroked his beard, his deep blue eyes completely fixated on the piece of metal. "If we could find a smith that could work this…and a bigger supply… anything made from this would cleave Omega in half easily, left in the right hands. Pity no smith alive can do it." He slowly sent the rock floating towards the table and turned back into the portal he had come from. "But hope is the last to die, isn't it?" Just before anyone could interfere, he vanished into it.

"Did he just come here to tell us that?" Shin thought out loud.

"Seems so… but for now, let's think on our next step, it's obvious that this metal is something important, and may open a path towards our end goal, but for now, and until we can get a suitable amount, let's focus on sending Naminé to Esthar." Cecil advised, much to Naminé's surprise.

"Huh? Me?" She asked nervously.

"Yeah, we need you to get Squall's memory back!" Bartz exclaimed.

"No time to explain, up up and away!" He grabbed Naminé and Bartz and activated the crystal, god knows how he knew how to do it.

"Take me with you!" Edge shouted, jumping towards the group as an orange light surrounded them, the four disappearing in a orange colored blast.

"EDGE!" Rydia shouted as she entered the room. "Not another word." She warned as she left the room with a dark aura around her.

"She and dad had a disagreement." Cuore explained.

"Thank god she was taken…" Zack mumbled to himself.

* * *

><p>"I must say, that was an interesting tale, I trust you left nothing out?" Xehanort asked, still trying to digest what he had just heard.<p>

"I have no reason to lie Xehanort, you only leave the Void if I choose." Enuo said in an almost threatening manner, of course anything he said would threaten most people.

"But I'm too valuable to keep here, isn't that right?" Xehanort asked smugly. The incandescent yellow orbs closed for a second, only to reopen and simply stating.

"Yes."

"As I thought, now, would you hear my proposal?" If only he could pull this off, it was a guaranteed victory.

"I am listening."

* * *

><p>"This is going to be way too easy." Bartz and the others had landed on Esthar, it was night, enough said. A team that consisted of the king of ninjas, an highly proficient one and a master thief could enter anything at night.<p>

"Still, how do you know where to go?" Edge asked, he seemed to be relaxed, one would be if he had gotten rid of a life and death situation, this was going to be a stroll for him now.

"Like this!" Zidane excitedly extended his arm, holding his crystal, and slowly started to rotate. Sure enough, partway through the crystal started pulsing. "that way!" He exclaimed, jumping to a nearby roof.

"Get on princess, Uncle Edge airlines, last call."

"Thank you." Naminé climbed onto Edge and they were off.

* * *

><p>"This is it huh?" Bartz and the gang were all standing on the roof next to the Presidential residence. Using his crystal, Bartz pinpointed the window were Squall was. "That one." He pointed out.<p>

"Mid length brown hair and about one point eighty meters tall?" Edge asked, much to Bartz's and Zidane's surprise. "Skills of the trade boys, he's also asleep… do you really need me here?"

"We could send you back to the ship." Zidane bluffed.

"You wouldn't!"

"Don't try my hand." Sure enough, Edge immediately shut up.

"Fine, but let's do this my way." He said, grabbing a smoke bomb.

"What are you going too…" before he could finish, the smoke bomb exploded and he felt himself be pulled at an amazing speed. Between the jumps, the changes of altitude and the sudden bursts of speed he was sure he was going to hurl, but it didn't last for long, when he regained awareness he had been thrown into the carpet. When he managed to get back to his feet he saw Edge putting back one of the window's big, quadrangular pieces. "How did you do this so fast?"

"I've been a ninja for thirty-five years kid, I know my stuff. Now Princess, do your thing." He laid down Naminé right next to the unsuspecting Squall, nothing could go wrong, could it?

"Hey Zidane, check it out!" Bartz exclaimed with a… baby on his lap?

"Wow! Is it Squall's?" Zidane tried to get a better look at the baby, but just getting near it screwed him over. The baby woke up, crying and bawling as it was being kidnapped. This was enough to wake Squall up.

"Who are yo…" Edge quickly applied pressure on his shoulders with one knee and one arm, silencing him with his spare hands.

"Naminé, now!" He exclaimed.

"Damn Zidane, you're so ugly even a baby cries when it sees your face!" Bartz joked.

"Well, why don't we put a smile on yours?" Zidane replied playfully as he reached for his dagger. Bad move.

Just then, the door shot open, Seifer and Rinoa entering to see a complete stranger holding the baby, as another reached for a dagger and a cloaked man holding Squall down as a small girl touched his head.

"Huh… we can explain?"

* * *

><p><em><span>Next Chapter:<span>_

_"Dissidia's best team is back!"_

_"I was hoping it held out for a while longer…"_

_"It's not the sword that makes the owner, it's the owner that makes the sword!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Post-Chapter Note:<strong> Crono's officialy not emo anymore, I replayed Crono Trigger during the Winter Break, and it bugged me how I had portraited him, even if he WAS a silent protagonist, so there. R&R.


	38. Golden Trio: Assemble!

****Author's note:**** Next week I'm back on track… if FFXIII-2 doesn't hold me back. If it's anything like… that sorry excuse for a prequel, it won't since I'll have to force myself to finish it. Here's hoping that it isn't. Enjoy.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

****Golden Trio: Assemble!****

* * *

><p>"C'mon guys, we're all civilized people here, aren't we?" Bartz pleaded as he slowly backed away from the door.<p>

"Put. My Leon. Down!" Rinoa growled with flames in her eyes.

"Okay okay! See? I'm putting him down…" He slowly laid down the baby onto the cradle. "Now, can we talk?"

"Hands off the looser." Seifer spat, still pointing his Hyperion at Zidane's throat.

"Sorry, but that's the one thing I can't oblige!" Edge exclaimed in a very over the top way.

"_Oh what is he doing…"_ Zidane mentally facepalmed as he saw Edge jump off the window, tying Squall midair, okay that was impressive but still…. Why did he just do that? Realizing their lack of choice now, he grabbed Naminé and followed him, just as Bartz threw a smoke bomb to cover their escape. It was then that they realized that there were no accessible roofs near the Presidential Residence, at least not close enough to jump to them, that meant they were in the open… when the whole city would probably be alerted in minutes. "Edge! What the hell?" He shouted as he caught up to the ninja.

"Do you really think that they would let us do something very similar to brain washing to Squall?" Hearing that Squall began flaying his legs, trying to get up, but with both his arms and mouth tied up, he wasn't going anywhere. "Now, hurry up Naminé!"

"But we can't!" She exclaimed. "Think about it! If Squall just returns talking about an inter-dimensional war and how he knew Bartz and Zidane there and god knows what else, are they really going to believe it? How do we prove that we didn't just brainwash Squall to get near them?"

"Well, whatever you want to do, do it fast. But let's get outta here first." Bartz pointed in the direction they were running, the gate.

"Oi,oi! Where do you think you're going?" Zell asked, jumping to block the gate.

"Turn left!" Zidane exclaimed before looking.

"Oh, do you like me that much?" Selphie flirted.

"Scratch that, right!"

"I wouldn't try that." Unsurprisingly, the young teacher was already blocking the right path.

"And before you ask, we're here." Rinoa stated as she and Seifer approached from behind.

"What now genius?" Zidane shot at Edge as they slowly backed into the middle of the formation.

"Don't go blaming this on me, who woke up the baby?" Edge glared back.

"Will you just shut up and try to find a way out of this?" Bartz shouted.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I personally don't want to shoot you down, but I can't say the same about those snipers." Seifer pointed out.

* * *

><p>"What the heck is Seifer saying? Like I want to kill people…" Irvine lamented as he heard Seifer from their intercom.<p>

"Just shoot for the knees idiot." Selphie told matter of factly.

"Well, why don't YOU do it? I mean, "shoot the knee Irvine, it's easy Irvine, it's just ten centimeters wide and you're at merely five hundred meters from the spot!". Shooting the knee ain't easy Selph, you've been playing too much Skyrim."

"HAVE NOT!" She shouted back.  
>"Selph, I'm your boyfriend AND the owner of the console you play with, I KNOW you are."<p>

"Define, _too much_."

"Selphie! Stop distracting Irvine!" Selphie jumped back to avoid the following whip. Did Quistis just try and hit her? She must be PISSED.

"Kay kay!" She replied, faking off the pure fear she felt.

"Okay then… I'll just shoot the old man… or maybe one of those two… definitely not the cute gi…. The girl." He quickly corrected himself just as Selphie was going to burst, and oh boy could she be annoying.

* * *

><p>"You can't hit what you can't see!" Edge exclaimed, throwing smoke bomb into the ground, covering the four in a wall of smoke.<p>

"Do it…" Seifer said gloomily.

"Right… but how?" Irvine didn't want to do it, but they couldn't take any chances, whoever they were, they were professionals, they couldn't waste this chance. He played close attention to the smoke, ready to shoot even the most faint shadow. After a brief moment, he saw it. A small shadow, one that seemed to be a leg. Without thinking twice he shot. Just as he pressed the trigger however, the three males emerged from the smoke, one of them carrying Squall, but none of the carried…

"NAMINÉ!" Zidane shouted, cursing not remembering to pull her up with him.

Clank.

A rather unexpected sound for everyone present, Irvine wasn't one to miss. But he didn't, even through the smoke screen. Still fuming from the impact, a crimson blade was covering Naminé's knee, the silver haired teen kneeling right beside her.

"She's with us." Riku said stoically as he got up.

"NAMINÉ!" Kairi shouted, glomping the poor girl, flooring both. "You're alive!" She exclaimed with tears in her eyes.

"I guess…. You know each other?" Rinoa asked.

"Oh yeah, she's me!" Kairi replied as she happily shook the tears of her face. Not surprisingly most people didn't know what to say, or how to respond even, they even forgot that they were supposedly chasing the three guys that had just landed from their jump, or that they should probably untie Squall.

"Rewind a bit please…"

"Long story." Riku dismissed, cutting off the ropes that bound Squall's hands and freeing his mouth.

"How long?"

"Oh you don't even want to get me started!" Sora exclaimed, jumping on top of the two girls. "But I'm glad you're safe. Riku's glad too, but he's emo, he doesn't know how to show it."

"Ever since Sora heard emo it's just like they had given him a new toy…" Kairi tried to explain.

"More importantly, does that story help us in any way?" Squall asked stoically as he rubbed his wrists to increase the blood circulation.

"No, but it's a really good sto…"

"Then you'll tell us when we're out of this mess." Squall interrupted. "Now, if you know each other, and assuming that you are on our side, why would you tie me up and sneak in the residence?" The look he shot made it impossible for Naminé to look back, and worse, how was she going to explain this?

"W-well, I didn't know Kairi and the others were here… or alive… we got separated." She began, stealing glimpses of Squall as she moved on.

"Fine, I get it, I'm not going to ask for details, but the whole kidnapping me needs to be explained."

"W-we didn't think you'd trust us, knowing the situation you were in. What I was going to try to do was unseal some memories you have stashed deep inside your mind, memories about a war you were called for, outside of this world, and that nobody that was inside remembers. That doesn't sound very believable, does it?"

"After what I saw yesterday… I don't really know, but you're right in the department of me being suspicious of you." Squall crossed his arms and closed his eyes, in deep thought. "Can you verify what she said?"

"She can do stuff to your memories alright! About the war-stuff, I have no idea!" Sora replied, throwing his arms behind his neck.

"And can she… put things that never happened?" Seifer interrupted.

"Oh, she can alright, she can mess you up so bad you need a year to reco… and I shouldn't have said that, should I?" Sora could feel the back of his head being burned off by his friend's glares. "But she's different now! She won't do that aga… I need to learn to shut up!"

Squall was still trying to decide if he was going to trust that girl with his mind or not, before remembering that there were other parts to the picture.

"And the three of them, do you know them?" He asked as he checked the group out. He didn't know them… but he felt he should. There was something about that kid with the… tail? And the one in the blue vest that felt… nostalgic.

"Nope, maybe Naminé does." Sora replied.

"Seriously Squall, if it weren't for us, your ass would be forfeit! Remember when we saved ya yesterday?" Bartz intervened, frankly, he was tired of standing there, doing nothing. "The story we have to tell, well, you're gonna hear it, because you need too."

"Yesterday…? Fine, get inside." If they were telling the truth, Squall wanted to hear the rest of it.

"Okay then, I'll go make some hot chocolate!" Rinoa exclaimed, running past everyone and into the kitchen.

"Sir! We caught two suspects observing the residence!" Squall heard a guard call.

"Get your hands off me!" The redhair shouted as she tried to shake off three guards.

"Unhand me! I am a member of the Acacia Dragoons!" The blonde was much feistier, they needed the rest of the squadron to slow his movements.

"Friends of yours?" Squall asked Bartz coldly.

"Nope."

"They're also with us." Serge said as he walked past Squall, who waved the guards to let the go. "So, you actually managed to find your way here Glenn." He joked, patting the blonde on the shoulder.

"Very funny Serge. Next time, why don't you try and look for us?" The redhaired girl complained as she got the guards off her.

"I was busy Leena, c'mon, at least you had company!" He said, trying to defend himself.

"He spent more time obsessing about his swords having scratches more than he kept me company! This the last time I hold on to this for you!" Leena shouted back, slamming a covered object against Serge's chest.

"Thanks Leena."

"Pfft, save it!"

"Women…" Glenn commented.

"Yeah…" Most males agreed.

* * *

><p>"Now, where is everyone?" Crono asked himself as he walked through the Whale. The damned ship could hold a country worth of people inside, how was he supposed to find anyone? Luckily, he was passing by a room when he heard some noise coming from it, it was worth a shot, he thought. So he opened the door.<p>

"LOOK INTO MY EYES!" Just as Crono entered he had to dodge a controller that Zack had thrown into the air.  
>"Oh c'mon!" Zack shouted, ruffling his hair. A strange, chilling sound followed, finishing with an explosion.<p>

"Have a nice death!"

"HYPER COMBO K.O!"

"Girls are not supposed to beat men in videogames!" Zack snorted.

"Still _l__etting _me win, _Master_ Fair?" Aqua mocked as she ruffled Zack's hair further. "Five-zero, I guess we're even then! No more dates. "

"You're wrong there missy. Whoever lost would get the wonderful prize of getting a date with the one who won." Zack said with a mischievous grin.

"I didn't agree to that!" Aqua shouted.

"As a matter of fact, you did." Zack pulled out a… contract? "You signed this, remember?"

"I did not!" She hastily replied, reading it and seeing her signature in it. "You just made me sign it when I was drunk, didn't you?"

"Hum, hello? Did I miss something?" Crono asked with a light hearted tone, kind of look he gave them was enough for Aqua to realize how close her head was to Zack's.

"Crono! Didn't see you there!" Aqua fumbled between sentences, till trying to mask her deep crimson cheeks.

"I don't doubt it. Where is everyone?" Crono asked with a smirk.

"They said something about going to get a snack." Zack replied.

"I'll go get them!" Aqua hastily said, leaving the room in five seconds flat.

"Never thought I'd see you pull a stunt like this Crono." Zack joked.

"I don't see what you mean." Crono replied as he shrugged.

"Keep talking hotshot. What happened to you anyways? You seem awfully cheerful if you ask me."

"Tch, just… you know… stuff." He replied, fiddling with his badge.

"So, can I assume it has something to do with that badge and that sword?" Crono should have known it would be too obvious.

"Tell you what, you tell me what this is, and I'll tell you what happened." Crono suggested, pointing towards the black box bellow the television.

"Crono, you had time travel! How do you not know what are video games?" Zack looked genuinely dumbstruck at his friend.

"Video games… Oh, that thing Luca invented… never thought it would catch on like this though! It was just a bunch of squares when I saw it." For the first time in a very long time, Crono actually managed to grin at memories of his friends. "Mind if I… give it a try?" He asked, holding the controller.

"No problemo dude, just don't get better than me okay? I got this for Christmas, but Aqua's enough to make me want to just stick to my new bike…" Zack joked, grabbing his controller.

* * *

><p>"Are you telling me Crono was actually… happy?" Aya asked, still not believing what Aqua had told her when they bumped in the corridor.<p>

"He did look like it, why?" Aqua asked, not knowing Crono for more than a few days left her unaware of his mental state.

"Boss never opened up to us!" Luso began.

"And when he did try and give a smile, it was forced!" Adelle continued.

"It looked like he had always the weight of the world on his shoulders." Marche finished as they reached the door, slowly opening it and peering through the creak.

"X-factor!" Was the first thing they heard, well, it wasn't Crono or Zack.

"That's not so bad…" Zack's voice commented, the sound of nervous button mashing accompanying it.

"OBJECTION! I've got all I need!"

"Oh for fudge's sake!" And that… was a remote flying.

"The one who actually committed the crime…. Was you! No alibi, no justice, no dream, no hope! It's time to pay for your crimes! Take this!"

BOOM!

"Hyper combo K.O!"

"Screw this, I need a snack!" Zack was this close to punch through the screen, but screaming angrily was all he did.

"Oh, don't be a sore loser Zack, maybe I can give you some tips!" Crono joked with a large smile plastered on his face.

"I'm glad to see that you were right Aqua…" Ramza said with an equally big smile tarnishing his lips.

* * *

><p>"So…" Squall began, taking a sip of his mug of hot chocolate, the one with a little teddy bear drawn in it, he had already mentally cursed Rinoa for that. "We have reinforcements coming?"<p>

"Yuppers!" Zidane replied, pulling a marshmallow from the bag and throwing it in the air, only to have it being grabbed by Bartz just as it reached his mouth. "HEY! Rinoa gave that to me!"

"Still Squall, it's all business with you aintcha?" Bartz continued as he munched on his marshmallow, as if there wasn't a monkey boy clawing at him the whole time. "I mean, we just told you the most mindboggling story you will ever hear, and the only thing that interested you was… the reinforcements."

"_It's not like I'm not surprised, it's just that I don't like showing it."_Mind monologue, Squall's most treasured possession, where would he be if he couldn't talk to himself? "Yes."He said stoically.

"Oh, that's not true Squally! Stop faking it, you're actually craving to know more!" Rinoa exclaimed, quickly snatching Squall's mug and drinking it in one gulp.

"Rinoa…" Squall said, in his equivalent of embares… who am I kidding, he was just annoyed.

"No hot choco for a liar liar pants of fire!" Rinoa replied in the most childish voice most of the room had ever heard. Odd couple that was.

"Do as you like… You set a great example for the kid."

"At least I'm honest!"

"Will you two just get a room? On second thought, scratch that, the last thing we want is a another kid." Zell's commentary was enough to not only cancel the discussion, but also cleaning up any signs of stress the group had leftover.

"_Mental note: Zell has to go."_

"Sooo, back to important-ish things, what do you say about getting your memories back?" Edge asked.

"_Well, __it's a risk__ but… Those two really take me back, I just know where. Besides, if something goes wrong, __Rinoa will notice."_ Squall nodded and got off his seat, leaving his mug on his wife's lap. "Fine, just do it quick oka-" Out like a light.

"You got better at this!" Sora complimented, more scared than happy.

"Practice makes perfect."Naminé replied happily, still locked in a conversation with the girl who could very well pass as her twin sister.

"Look, if I can ask, what did Leena give you Serge?" Kairi asked out of the blue, her violet eyes focusing on the object covered by a thick brown cloth that Serge was carrying.

"This? Well, it's hard to explain exactly what it is, but I'll try." Serge replied, slowly unwrapping the object. Just as the last layer of cloth was about to disappear a tremor shook the residence, followed by a flicker of the lights.

"What was that about?" Zell asked, quickly moving outside. Even in the night sky it was easy to distinguish the giant cloud of dust and smoke that began covering the layer of the shield.

Suddenly, Rinoa's phone rang, she quickly reached out for it, not even sparing the caller a look.

"Rinoa here." She said, holding the phone close to her ear as she paced around the meeting room.

"Rinoa, where's Squall?" A distressed voice asked from the other side of the line.

"What happened Laguna? He's asleep right now." She lied. Not that Laguna would be against it, but it saved time.

"The Horizon Bridge… it was destroyed…" Just as Laguna said that, RInoa dropped the phone, her body shivering all over.

"We're trapped… with them." She said before letting herself fall onto the couch, staring blankly at the window, the smoke clearly visible.

"Can someone explain?" Bartz asked.

"The city is linked to the Great Salt Lake, the place where we were fighting, by just one bridge, the Horizon Bridge. Up until now, none of the monsters had dared to try and cross it, since it was our terrain. But now that we shielded the city completely, they knew we couldn't stop them from crossing it. Now that they destroyed it, and assuming they crossed it, as soon as the shield breaks, they will be inside the city. Even worse is that our backup plan failed with that regard." Seifer explained, crunching his fist in fury.

"What was it?" Bartz asked.

"Last case scenario, we would use the airships to send the civilians out, and lure the monster in, blowing up the bridge in the process." Seifer snorted at such a desperate plan. "At least it would buy us sometime."

"Three things. One, that's stupid and suicidal. Two, a broken bridge would not even slow them, they can move through the Rift and bam. Three, it will never reach that point." Zidane said determinately.

"What makes you think that?"Quistis interrupted. "Have you seen the rate those things appear? You kill one, three more crawl out. Worse, if they kill one of us, they either get a new member or get stronger!" Just them she saw a flash of silver, a giant key appearing right in front of her. She traced it right to its spiky haired owner.

"Then it's simple, just don't die." Sora said matter of factly. "When I was fifteen I destroyed more than one thousand of those things… in one afternoon! If you people can keep up with the Master here, it'll be a sinch!"

"One thousand? You're joking kid, Seifer killed the same amount ya know?" Who invited Rai?

"From where I come from, Seifer's a pushover, I'm surprised he can pull his weight around here." Aaaaand the cockiness got to his head. Before he even finished the sentence, he was already chocking at Seifer's glare. But he quickly regained his composure and turned the situation to his advantage. "Of course, feel free to beat me, if you can."

"I see what you want to do… and I like it. Fine, let's all make a contest, of who can get more of those and come back alive!" Seifer offered.

"I'm in!" Sora replied.

"We are too!" Zidane said, grabbing both Bartz and Edge, who shrugged.

"You'll always act on impulse, won't you Zidane? Fine, I already did have a bet going on, I can let more people in." Squall pointed out as he got back to his feet.

"Well, that was fast." Bartz commented.

"I went straight to business, Cosmos just upgraded the crystal and sent me home with my memories." He explained, twirling his crystal. _"Speaking of which…"_ He quickly grabbed his phone and dialed a number. _"I'm going to regret this.__.__."_

"Squall! I need to-"

"I know already, but I need you to come here… right now!" He demanded. Laguna moaned and said that he was going as fast as he could. What did we learn kids? Sons should order fathers around. This is such a kid friendly story!

"What was that all about?" Rinoa asked.

"Remember Laguna? Twelfth cycle?" Squall asked the duo.

"Yeah so?" Both asked in unison.

"He's my…" He took deep breath and sighed. "_Father_." He almost spat.

And they laughed and laughed.

"Th-that guy is your dad?" Bartz managed to ask in the middle of his burst of laughter. "Oh the irony of this is too much!"

"So he had reasons to stick onto you like glue!" Zidane commented.

"Remember when he tried to pluck your tail?" The two seemed completely unaware of the mess they were making in the room, or the awkward stares from nearly everyone.

"Hey! Not cool man! He almost tore it off!" Zidane tried to seem angry, but his face said otherwise.

"_Are they going to reminisce very… single… moment?"_ That's why Squall didn't want to call Laguna. He saw this coming from a mile away.

"Am I the only one who wasn't called there?" Rinoa shouted in a mix of childish jealousy and annoyance. She did manage to shut them up though.

"_And that's why I married her…"_

"Beats me. You should ask Crono that." Zidane replied as wiped off the tears and fixed his blond pony-tail that had been undone from rolling on the floor.

They all failed to see Serge's cringe as he heard that name.

"Cro-what now?" Laguna had just walked into the room. "Sorry, got lost in the hallways!"

"_How does he get lost in his own hallways… Nevermind."_ Squall shook his head at his father's capability to get lost in his twenty year old house. "Naminé, can you give this guy a piece of your medicine?"

"Watchu tal…"

"Thanks." Squall said quickly as he saw his dad hit the ground face first. He had to admit, it was amusing.

"Sooo, does this mean we can be a team again?" Bartz asked excitedly. He seemed a little too into it for Squall's tastes, but it was just Bartz being Bartz.

"Whatever."Squall said in defeat. They would just stalk him either way, it would be less creepy this way.

"YES! Dissidia's strongest team is back!" We gotta a find a name for us! How about… the Avengers!"

"Seriously Bartz?" Zidane asked with a "are you retarded" look staining his face.

"But Zidane… think about it. AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!" He yelled in a very over-the-top way.

"Next time you get near a TV, I'll smash it. I promise." Zidane said in a cold tone.

"_And they're at it again…"_Squall covered his face with his hand as the two started bickering about a "team name" and how retarded the other one's was.

"So Sora. Pretty nice sword you got there. Is that… watchama call it? Keyblade?" Edge asked as he looked at the silver key with the gold rectangular handle.

"Yup! But how do you know what that is?" Sora asked confused. It's not like his weapon was the most ordinary thing in existence.

"You wouldn't happen to know about this tall, blue hair and… how do I put this… HOT!" Edge asked, receiving a confused stare instead.

"How do you even GET blue hair?" He asked.

"Soooo, you don't know her. Weird… you have the same symbol as her." He pointed out, pointing at the crest that Sora had on his shoulder.

"This, nah, you must be confusing it with something else. Only Keyblade MASTERS get this, and we only got ours a few months ago. I think Master Yen Sid would have warned us if there was another one of us."Sora replied, shaking off any doubt. And he got hammered for it. "What was that for Riku? That hurt!"

"What if she's a Keyblade master from this world?" Riku pointed out.

"I don't think she's from our world." Edge replied.

"AHA!" Sora exclaimed, raising his hand like Riku had done.

"Don't. You. Dare!" Riku threatened.

Smack.

* * *

><p>"Damn bridge sure took a while." Vanitas spat, kicking a pebble down the abyss.<p>

"So impatient. We have all the time in the world my _dear _boy." Ultimecia said in a mocking tone. "These bugs have to way out now. I will enjoy squashing them."

"Yeah, then how do we get in old hag?" He asked aggressively, hitting the barrier with his foot. "This crap's sturdy."

"Watch your mouth around us fool." The Cloud slithered, her snakes approaching Vanitas a bit too much for his tastes.

"Whatever. You got a plan or what?" He asked, taking a step backwards to put some distance between him and the snakes.

"One might say so." Ultimecia said as she proceeded to pull out a lion shaped pendant. "An old memento from the time I spent with that lion kub."

"Just get on with it, I just want to get these meat shields of my back so I can finally suppress my urge to throw up." He finished, spitting on the teen's direction. "What? Get those faces out of my sight, especially you pretty boy, you make me sick!"

The boy cringed his fist and teeth and stepped towards him.

"You sure you wanna go that way?" Vanitas asked quietly. The teen just shook his head and turned his back.

"Don't get on their bad side…" The girl warned him.

"A bit too late for that." He replied, still irritated.

"At least don't get on their "to kill list", okay?" She asked with a very preoccupied tone, she had just seen Vanitas gesturing a decapitation sign at them.

"I'll try, if we're not in it already."

* * *

><p>"Woah… I got a complete new vision of the world now! Thank you son!" Laguna exclaimed as he got back from his induced coma. "Oh, and the monkey kid too! Sorry 'bout the tail."<p>

"No probs Laguna." Zidane shook off. "Now, will you just tell this guy how "the justice league" is corny and thoughtless?"

"You've been watching way too much TV kid." Laguna reprimanded playfully, letting off a heartily laugh. Pity that entire atmosphere was thrown out the window when the blackout ensued. "What the…?" Laguna quickly got his phone out and dialed the head engineer's number. "What happened Frank?" He's the kind of president who's on casual terms with everybody… how unexpected I know.

"The barrier needs the power Laguna!" He replied in a very tired and desperate voice.

"But didn't you say that…"

"There's something hitting it! Something… massive! I hoped it lasted longer… but you've got to get the troops ready!"

"Okay, thanks Frank, keep her up as long as you can!" Laguna said, disconnecting the line. "We have work to do."

* * *

><p>"So now you use a talking sword. Pfft, cheater." Zack joked as he munched on a piece of bread with Nutella. "GOD, this was the thing I missed the most when I was dead!"<p>

"HEY! It's not the sword that makes the owner, it's the owner that makes the sword!" A voice from Crono's back yelled.

"Feisty one at that. Still, Masamune? Wasn't that…" He looked around to see if Cloud was around and whispered. "Sephiroth's sword?"

"Same name…" Crono began.

"LAZY PRODUCERS!" Locke shouted, jumping into the kitchen."It has been too long! Time to get some ACTION!"

"What is he on?" Crono sighed.

"I told you Terra, you can't give Locke free reign on the kitchen!" Celes yelled. "Look at how he gets when he's had too much sugar."

"Dude, Locke, calm down." Shin slapped him on the back of the head, snapping him out of his excitement.

"Did you get tied up to a bed for… what is that light?" A strange pulse of energy flooded the ship. It felt like Terra and Cloud's crystals but it was different. It wasn't as calm and peaceful as the last pulses. It was a stream of bright flashes that tingled inside, just like it was trying to warn them. They suddenly had a feeling that they needed to go faster.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Terra said, looking to the dark space outside.

* * *

><p>After their fair share of bumping into walls, Squall and the group finally managed to get to the outside of the residence. And they weren't pleased with what they saw.<p>

Complete panic.

People screaming, running around like headless chickens, obviously needing a leader. Squall quickly grabbed a bystander to snap him out of it.

"Calm down man! What happened?" He shouted. The terrified man mumbled uncontrollably, his eyes never meeting Squall's as he pointed upwards.

"T-that!" He screamed, pushing Squall away and running into the crowd.

"Griever…"

* * *

><p><em><span>Next Chapter:<span>_

"_Two on one? Fine, come on!"_

"_We're late!"_

"_Sorry, I really didn't want to have to do this…"_

* * *

><p><strong>Post-Chapter Note:<strong> Okay, okay, not the most interesting chapter. But this chapter was really that chapter that I HAD to make, not that I WANTED to make. Don't kill me just yet. Next three chapters will be special, I promise.


	39. Puppets

****Author's note:****Hello and welcome to my one month special! That's right, this is going to be one HUGE, non-stopping arc. We're talking about three, maybe four parts here, aiming for four atm, but we'll see. Now, onto this chapter. I can honestly say, for me, this chapter has to be one of the ones I put most effort on. So dig in!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Thirty-Nine**

****The Battle for Esthar Part 1: Puppets****

* * *

><p>The summoned creature growled as it continuously pounded the unseen barrier with its violet claws, each hit resounding more than the last. The sheer force of the beast was enough to cause tremors all around Esthar, contributing even more to the panic.<p>

"_The barrier won't last more than a few more minutes…"_Squall deduced, still trying to figure out how was Ultimecia able to summon this Guardian Force. He remembered her making a replica of her junction with Griever, but how did she summon it without his pendant?

"You know, how 'bout we make that guy worth… One thousand?" Bartz suggested out of the blue.

"Maybe that's a bit _too_ much… eight hundred." Zidane said, scratching the back of his chin. "Quick question, is this guy on Bahamut's level?"

"_Are they really going on about that?"_ Squall asked himself, stunned at their lightheartedness.

"Well, yes…" Rinoa replied, scratching the back of her head.

"Maybe one thousand's about right."Zidane finished.

"Okay guys, that lion…bat… angel thing is worth a whooping ONE THOUSAND kills, the one who finishes it gets it!" Bartz announced, preparing himself for a sprint.

"Wait!" Squall exclaimed, stopping him in his tracks. "We need a plan…. Laguna, you need to get all civilians as far away from the Horizon Bridge as possible… maybe the military HQ. Just take Galabadia's SeeD to help you out."

"Sure, but what about you Squall?" Laguna asked rhetorically.

"Tell Cid to send Balamb Garden to hold off to smaller ones, I'll take Griever." He stated. "Oh, and take care of Rinoa for me."

"But Squall!"

"No buts! Two weeks ago you were on labor, you're NOT in condition to fight." He told her sternly, not even sparing a glance. "If you really want to help, get the innocents to safety."

Rinoa felt her heart sink but she still nodded weakly, tightening her hold over her son.

"I've got your backs." Edge said. "Can't let you two just go without a bodyguard."

"Thank you. See you in a bit Squall!" Laguna exclaimed, running and shouting towards the plaza.

"Leena…" Serge began just before having the object removed from his hands before he could continue.

"I know, I know." Leena replied, running after Laguna. Serge shot a look at Glenn, who nodded and smiled before running off.

"We'll go get the SeeDs!" Zell volunteered.

"I don't see why not." Irvine said, Quistis and Selphie nodding.

"Guess it's you, me and the numbskulls." Seifer joked as Zell and the rest left the group. "So, we take down that guy and hope the army gets here fast enough?"

"That's the plan." Squall replied stoically, summoning his gunblade onto his hand and resting it on his shoulder. "Got a problem with that?"

"On the contrary, a nice lead will do nicely." Seifer replied as he reached for his Hyperion. Just as he reached it, a noise that sounded like a million glasses shattering filled the city as Griever's claw finally bore through the barrier. "The hunt is on."

Soon after, the beast crashed into the middle of the plaza, roaring in defiance at the group that stood before it.

"GET OVER HERE!" Laguna shouted, signaling the remnant of the crowd to follow him. The lion seemed annoyed at its escaping prey and quickly turned to chase it. However, just as it was preparing to leap, its jaw was pushed down by an unknown force, planting it face-first into the pavement.

"Now then, who's a bad kitty?" Kid joked a lot more light-heartedly than she should, pulling out her daggers. "Guess I'll teach ya a lesson!" She exclaimed, carving both daggers on Grievers snout. "Wha-"She gasped as the monster ignored the gashing wounds, sending the upwards with a quick heave of his head. "Really gonna do that?" She exclaimed, putting her hands behind her back. "Red Pin!" She trust her hands forwards, hailing daggers on the lion. It roared fiercely, scattering them like mere distractions… and they were.

"Hey numbnut, over here!" Serge shouted as he made dashed towards the lion, delivering one swift, clean slash onto its hip, leaving a silver trace behind. "Dashing and slashing…" Griever's hip exploded in a crimson rain, roars of agony filling the skies.

"Well, this is turning out to be a disappointment." Sora lamented, leaning on his Keyblade. "They don't even need us at all."

"Don't jinx it!" Kairi exclaimed, playfully slapping his shoulder.

"_Why do I always wind up with this kind of people?"_ Squall lamented just before he saw Griever shine in a familiar glow. "Triple! Get away from him!" He shouted, remembering that he lacked the dispel spell in his inventory. But it was already too late, Griever was rapid-firing flame bolts everywhere. One got Kid right on the abdomen, the other was pushed back by a joined effort of the three Keyblade wielders, the third one… was heading right for him. He flexed his legs to improve his attrition to the ground and waited for impact. Just as the fireball connected with his gunblade he could feel his skin begin to burn just from being close to it, but he kept calm and pulled the trigger. The sword began to vibrate at an enormous speed, cutting the fireball in two. Both halves then went to collide with a nearby building, severely damaging it. But Griever wasn't done yet, the first thing Squall saw after cutting the Flare was it creating a concentrated mass of energy, the Shockwave Pulsar. Before anyone could react, the miniature star was hurled towards the SeeD, disintegrating the ground bellow him and almost taking him with it, if it weren't for a quick Shell. Instead, Squall was thrown back towards the damaged building. As he slowly got himself up he realized something… there was another one coming.

"Hey Squall, watch it!" Seifer exclaimed as he slammed his foot on Greiver's mouth, diverting the would-be-mortal shot into the building, which began to collapse.

"Get outta there!" Kid shouted. Squall didn't need to hear it twice, he tried to run towards the plaza, but there was a stream of debris coming down in that direction, so he could only run away from the plaza and hope to find a way back. He ran as fast as he could, and just as the building was about to make Squall-pancakes, he jumped out of harm's way by casting haste on himself. Seconds after the whole building collapsed, raising a smoke cloud that blocked any vision towards the plaza.

"_Now, let's work on getting back there…"_But before Squall could do anything about it, from the dust came spinning a silver object, right on his neck's direction. He deflected it with a quick arcing slash and had it fall right in front of him_. "Why is this here?__This__… wasn't this sword Sora's Keyblade? __"He_ asked himself as he saw the golden key-like sword. "Sora! Are you there?" He called. He heard a stoic and forced laughter and turned to see a figure forming in the midst of the dust.

"You could say that…"

* * *

><p>"We have to help Squall!" Kairi yelled, running towards the building.<p>

"Not so fast little girlie." A taunting voice commanded, and just like that Kairi froze in place, not breathing, not moving, like time for her had stopped.

"Ultimecia!" Seifer growled, jumping towards the witch. But, before he could slash at her, she had disappeared, she was now in a different place, floating to his right. "Quit playing with time and fight me head on!" He shouted.

"It will be my pleasure, now that my pet will deal with the minors."

"Minors?" It was then that the group noticed Griever had vanished. She had stopped time long enough to give Griever a chance to escape. "It didn't escape… Serge, Kid! Go to Laguna, Griever should be gaining terrain on them!"

"Roger!" Kid exclaimed, Serge nodded and they began to make their way south.

"I'm warning you, turn Kairi back right now!" Sora shouted with fire in his eyes.

"Make me boy…" She taunted, signaling them to come.

* * *

><p>"Right, the HQ is right over there!" Laguna signaled, pointing at the complex that towered in the distance.<p>

"Getting there might not be so easy though…" Glenn pointed out. Everyone could hear it, the clank of crystal, the flapping of wings, but no one wanted to turn to the left. "They actually cut us off." Glenn spat as he saw a wave of manikins, heartless and shades.

"Why hello there, and who exactly are you, young one? You are clearly above a simple mindless pawn, but we have no knowledge of you." The Cloud of Darkness asked, descending on the army's front.

"Mine name is Glenn. Last surviving member of the Acacia Dragoons!" He exclaimed, pulling out one of his swords. "Have at you!" Without further warning, he threw the sword upwards, pulling the other one out as he dashed towards the army.

"Is he insane?" A civilian yelled in disbelief.

"He's just doing the right thing… Get to the HQ, we'll hold 'em back." Laguna said with a reassuring smile.

"Mr. President..." The crowd said in unison.

"Just go!" He ordered, summoning his machine gun, much to his surprise. "Neat! Call the army while you're at it!"

"Are they really going to try and stop us?" The Cloud laughed as she saw what was in fact, a three person barricade.

"You have other worries than them!" Glenn exclaimed, jumping to a Darkside's head. Before he even landed, his left hand's sword fell onto its head, carving itself into it. Taking advantage of its pain, Glenn landed in handstand on top of the sword, driving it further in and finishing it with a kick to the hilt, completely piercing the heartless and reducing its existence to a pool of dark liquid. "Now…" He said as he landed, grabbing his twin sword with his left hand and circling them, destroying the manikins that surrounded him. He then positioned it near his face, in a more defensive stance. "Come at me!"

* * *

><p>"Well, are you going to stay there? I have more important matters to attend than just talking to a kid." Squall said, trying to goad the newcomer from the smoke. It worked, but not to his advantage. Ignoring the taunt, the teen jumped out from the building, lading a good ten meters away from Squall. "I don't understand what you said before, you look nothing like Sora."<p>

"I'll take that as a compliment." The teen replied, stroking his spiky blonde hair that looked more like Cloud than anyone else. "Not that that's going to help you!" Without warning, he trust his arm forward, an identical Keyblade materializing into his hand instantly as he did that. He then quickly whipped his arm backwards and then forward, sending the weapon spinning horizontally towards the surprised Squall.

"_Does he have two?"_ Squall wondered as he jumped above the Keyblade, corkscrewing his body as he did, however, for the brief moment he lost his vision of what was in front of him he was open. Just as he regained vision he saw the second blade swinging towards his chest, instinctively he swung the Revolver to meet it, the clash was brief and Squall used it to propel himself higher into the air for some space. It was not to be however, as the blonde teen appeared on top of him, pulling his arm back for a swing. Thinking quickly, Squall utilized his already increasing spin velocity to execute a reverse-somersault, smashing his heel onto the back of the blonde's neck.

"ROXAS!" His allied cried as he plummeted into the ground, hitting the ground headfirst, bouncing and finally landing on his back, his eyes glossed. "Speak to me! Roxas!"

"Relax, that won't kill him." Squall stated from the top of a pile of rubble. "But I'm surprised, I guess there still ARE some Warriors of Chaos that can show an emotion or two."

"But we're not…" The brunette began before a hand signaled her to shut up.

"Stop it Xion. We're here to kill him, not have a tea party with him." Roxas spat angrily, getting up and grabbing his weapon.

"_Now this is something interesting… I'll have to capture them instead of finishing them…"_Squall told himself as he rested his gunblade on his shoulder. "Two on one? Fine, come on!" He shouted, jumping on top of them. Just as he arrived at his destination, about ten meters above them, he charged his hand with magic. "Gotcha!" He let loose a barrage of ice blasts, each of them spreading to cover a large area. Both of the teens were quick to dodge the ice blasts, but they then exploded in thunder balls, blocking every escape route present. "Dead end!" To make it worse, Squall had just fired three homing fireballs that moved gracefully between the electric mines. He had it all planed, he saw them jumping around, trying to find an exit from the minefield, but there was only one.

"There!" Roxas exclaimed, pointing at a point where the balls were slightly more far apart. They instinctively jumped towards it, but, just as they were going to traverse it, they saw Squall, who had just rebounded of the ground, raise to their elevation, his sword shining in a dim blue light. "No!"

Squall roared and shot forward, colliding with both with an arcing slash, sending them bouncing off the mines, electrocuting them and paralyzing them on the floor.

"Put some heart into it! If you REALLY want to kill me, you can't have doubts!" Squall boomed, landing at a safe distance of the two.

"Shut up!" Roxas yelled, getting back to one knee. He hadn't felt so useless since… he cringed since…

"You know, maybe you messed things up. You meant that you didn't want to kill me, just have a tea party with me, right?" Squall taunted, he was getting into their heads, they were bound to make a mistake now.

"SHUT UUUUUP!" Roxas yelled, mindlessly charging into Squall. Squall dodged the first two swings of the sword, and noticed he was using both hands in every swing.

"_Amateur…" _ He delivered a quick jab to his abdomen, quickly following it with a pummel from the handle of the Revolver to the back of his neck, momentarily shocking him with a small charge of thunder. Roxas tumbled backwards, his conscience slipping away as Squall raised his right leg, smashing his foot onto his left cheek. "You let me get in your head… you'll never amount to anything if you allow that." He told the now unconscious Roxas before turning to the girl. "But something tells me you're not the type that let's herself be swayed in battle… am I right?"

"After everything that I had to go through, I'd be surprised if you managed to irritate me." She replied honestly.

"You… respect me." Squall stated, catching Xion by surprise. "I can see it in your eyes. But I can also understand that you must have a motive for doing this… I won't prod further, come on, show me how much your motive is worth!"

She nodded and rushed towards the man who had defeated her best friend, but this wasn't a mad dash like Roxas', this was much more controlled, Squall didn't see any weak points in it. So, he took the challenge head on and decided to exchange blows with her. After a quick exchange, Squall noticed that they weren't going to surpass one another if it continued like this, as such, he put more force behind his next slash, knowing that it would be blocked. When Xion took the bait, he pulled the trigger. As the gunblade shot a bullet, the vibration it caused surprising Xion and leaving her open to a reverse somersault kick to the chin. She cried as she was thrown into the air before noticing static cackle forming around her.

"Aero!" She chanted, creating a windshield around her. Right after that, Squall lowered his hand, using a chain of thunder to pull her closer to him, she was really going to need that shield now.

"Alright…" Squall began as he slashed away at the air shield, after four slashes he saw that there was nothing he could do by just slashing but… "Is that your best?" He asked as he thrust his gunblade into the shield, shooting one, two… three times, the last one piercing through it and catching Xion in the shoulder.

"Maybe it is… but isn't that enough?" Xion laughed as she stumbled back, clutching to her wounded shoulder.

"What?" Squall asked before he felt a sharp pain on the left side of his torso. He touched it and cringed again. "Blood? When did she? Wait…" He remembered, he got over confident when he released the last shot, that's when she shinned. "You're better than I thought, maybe you could teach that guy a thing or two about temper." That was enough to bring a small grin to her face, albeit a short one as she looked in despair at something behind Squall.

"Don't!" She yelled.

Roxas had already jumped to ambush Squall, recklessly as always. Yet again he was using both hands as he raised his Keyblade for a downward swipe, exposed to any counter possible. Squall scuffed and grabbed his tunic by the neck, using his own speed to propel him above him and slam him into the ground. He cringed at the effort that put on his wound, but he shook it off quickly. What came after was the problem. Roxas slashed from the ground upwards, forcing him to guard with his Revolver. The power behind it, however, was too much for him to fully blocked in his condition and the gunblade was repelled. Now Roxas was again with arms held high, preparing what he thought it was the last attack. Squall on the other hand, had a dilemma on his shoulders.

"_My sword is too low… I can't block the attack, but if I do a full swing, he will probably die…__ Rinoa… Leon… "_ He couldn't just up and leave everyone he knew just because he felt compassion towards his enemy. "DAMN IT!" She shouted, unleashing a full swipe of his sword onto Roxas exposed torso.

And blood splashed.

"X-Xion!" Roxas gasped, grabbing the falling girl as she fell to his arms, a huge gash covering her back. "MOVE, XION!"

"_She jumped in the way…__"_ Squall slowly approached the duo. Was he… crying?

"You… YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU!" Roxas yelled as soon as Squall got near them, swinging his Keyblade erratically to keep him at bay.

"Stop it! She needs treatment, now!" Squall replied, pointing at the gash.

"Stop? You think I can… stop?" He shouted, softly laying Xion on the ground. "You cut my best… my ONLY FRIEND down like a pig, and you want me to stop? It's too late for that!" He screamed, grabbing Xion's Keyblade and holding both up, light shrouding both. "**NO ONE STOPS!"** As he lowered both blades into an X, but they had changed, and a lot. The left one looked like a weapon fit for a saint, with the guard and hilt being two angel wings, a double-bladed shaft that formed a heart at the tip, and the Japanese Kanji for light forming it's teeth, the key chain was shaped like a star, but seemed to be made entirely out of shells. The right one was the complete opposite, a dark twin if you may, with instead of angel wings, bat wings covered the handle which was adorned by a violet jewel, the shaft was much more conventional and sword-like, with just a chain running through the middle, justifying it's opposite theme the teeth was the Japanese Kanji for darkness, the keychain was very similar to Sora's pendant, but darker, a black crown. "You'll pay!" He screamed, disappearing and reappearing at a blinding speed atop of Squall, who barely dodged the rock-shattering blow that came after.

"_I need to get her to a hospital… But he's crossed the line for reasoning, hasn't he?"_ Squall deduced. He felt a warm light coming over him, and the wound stopped bleeding. He knew what to do. "I'll just beat some sense into you! Lionheart!" The Revolver flashed, exploding in light and creating the mightiest of gunblades. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p>"Kome now, is that all?" Ultimecia flaunted as Seifer fell to his knees.<p>

"How did she... get so much… power?" Zidane asked in-between deep breaths.

"She… didn't… Squall just knew… how to fight her." Bartz replied as he managed to get up. "Lucky for us, I can imitate him."

"Kopykats are not apprekiated!" Ultimecia boomed. In what seemed to be no time at all, Bartz burst in a blood pool as tens of gashes formed in his body.

"Once she gets going… there's no way we can beat her." Riku said, accepting defeat.

"Don't say that, I'm not going to let Kairi be frozen forever!" Sora shouted, lunging towards the sorceress.

"A valiant attempt." And Sora felt three arrows pierce his knee. (Okay, I'll get this out of the way. Sora used to be a Keyblade Master but then he got an arrow to the knee, happy?) "But an attempt nonetheless." She closed in with another time warp and softly touched his chin. "Lezard will be happy to have a new guinea pig." She scuffed. "Let's.." She shrieked like a banshee as she felt something piercing her.

"Letting your guard down Ultimecia?" Seifer taunted as he gasped for air.

"You insekt!" She shrieked, a crest forming beneath her and Seifer as she did.

"Tsk, go on, try and kill me, you can't kill what we are, what we represent!" Seifer said with a confident smile on his face.

"Just disappear vermin!" Ultimecia boomed as she activated the Apocalypse. Seifer was slowly engulfed in a blinding light pillar, which extend towards the skies. He laughed and said.

"Like this'll kill me!" As the pillar exploded.

When the light disappeared Ultmecia was the only one left standing, growling in disgust as she realized something. "That lower being is hard to kill, but I doubt he'll still be able to move after landing." She began floating upwards before a flying Keyblade swiping her leg, severely gashing it.

"We're not wasting this opportunity!" Sora exclaimed.

"Course not!" Bartz agreed.

"Impudent little…"

* * *

><p>"Did you see that?" Shin asked alarmed as he saw the pillar of light from the Apocalypse staining the skies. And they were already in the stratosphere.<p>

"We're too late…" Terra lamented.

"Wait, is that a… man?" Aqua asked, pointing outside the window. Before she could say anything more, Terra had already jumped from the ship, grabbing Seifer and quickly bringing him inside.

"I'll help you… Curaga!" She chanted, the green light bringing the SeeD back to conscience.

"What the hell?" Seifer exclaimed as he sprung back to life.

"Hello to you to." Zack joked.

"Are you the reinforcements?" Seifer asked quickly.

"Well, duh!" Yuffie replied, making a face.

"Somehow, I think we're doomed." Seifer replied, shaking his head. "Okay, I'll fill you in."

* * *

><p>"We're reaching the city. Everyone ready?" Cecil asked.<p>

"Ready!" Terra exclaimed as she tightened her bow.

"Ready!" Shin exclaimed, hopping on to Stardust.

"Ready!" Crono replied as he adjusted the Masamune.

"You really need to ask?" Rydia grumbled.

"That means she's ready." Cuore finished.

"I'm ready, just make sure to drop me with my men, got it?" Seifer grumbled, climbing onto the chocobo.

"No prob." Shin replied.

"Alright, we'll catch up once we land at the airport. Good luck." Cecil said, opening the hatch.

"Hey Masa, Mune, you sure about this?" Crono asked. He didn't know how to fly so he had to trust the sword.

"Just jump Crono!" Masa rang in his head.

"Don't forget your vows!" Mune said.

"Fine, I'll just think of something." Crono replied as the hatch opened.

"Let's go!" Shin exclaimed, kicking Stardust into flight.

"Alright, this better work!" Crono said before jumping. "My name is Crono! I carry not only Glenn and Cyrus' hopes, but my whole world's!" Crono shouted in midair, drawing the Masamune for the first time, its blue light enchanting the heavens. "With this sword I'll cleave evil and restore our world!" A stream of azure light erupted from the sword, reaching for the horizon. "Let's go everyone…" He imagined very comrade he left behind and shouted out of the top of his lungs. "This sword will cleave through time and space! Distortion Blade!"

* * *

><p>"We have to retreat Glenn!" Edge shouted as he killed a bunch of heartless. The SeeDs hadn't arrived yet, but they couldn't hold out much longer.<p>

"You may be right, but the people… we cannot let the innocents be murdered!" Glenn shouted back with determination. "I'll hold them off, with my life if I have to!"

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEDGE!" Was heard.

"Terra? Oh yeah!" Edge shouted with a triumphant smile as he saw the young girl float in the distance.

"Back! Retreat! We got it covered!" She shouted as a blue flash of light filled the skies.

"You heard the lady, go back!" He exclaimed.

"You don't need to tell me twice, I'm cramping over here!" Laguna joked, throwing three grenades to cover his escape.

"I'll trust you. We shall settle this another time, for now, I leave you with this!" Glenn exclaimed, sending a shockwave from his sword that blinded the Cloud of Darkness. As he was running back he could hear Distortion Blade being shouted above him. As he looked up, he saw a familiar red-haired man plummeting with a giant energy sword. That was enough to convince him to run faster. They managed to create enough distance to be "safe" but the dark army still trudged forward. "He's not going to do what I think he is… is he?"

Seconds later, Crono laded with a giant crash on the ground, the energy blade dissipating as he did. At first, nothing seemed to have happened, heck, even he seemed perfectly fine after falling for more than three hundred meters. But then he slowly lifted himself back up from his kneeling position, walked a bit towards Glenn and the team and sheathed his sword. It was like he wounded the planet, from a tip of the horizon to the other, a fine blue line rose from the ground, before combusting into an explosion of dust and rocks.

"There's your way to hold them back." Crono stated proudly as he walked away from the Cloud.

"Seriously?" Edge blurted, completely dumbfounded by Crono's ability to split the ground. But still, there was a shadow forming behind him, something coming from the smoke, something big. "Watch out!" He shouted, jumping to push Crono out of the way. From the smoke came what Squall imagined to be the ultimate summon, and it was a mere two meters away from Edge. He had no reaction time to do anything, that thing would ravage him when it hit him. His entire life flashed in front of his life and he just… gave up and smiled, closing his eyes. He felt his body fly backwards, but there was no impact, no pain, just a warm feeling.

"Don't you EVER do something like that to me again!" Edge opened his eyes and found Rydia holding him. "Running away like that… that isn't like you! And giving up?"

"Sorry…" Edge apologized, now trying to discover how he had survived. Griever was gone and the rest of their army was on the other side of the crevice… but where could it had gone.

"Forget it… I'm sorry too." Rydia replied, wiping of some tears from her face. Hey kitty cat! If there's someone that can kill this bozo over here, it's me!" So that's what happened. Bahamut was fighting Griever on the sky above the city, what Edge felt must have been the wind Bahamut caused when he tacked it.

"Crono…" Serge mumbled as he arrived on the scene, his swallow blade starting to glow with the same azure light as Crono's.

"Who're you?" Crono asked. He knew no one who looked like him.

"You know me, but you don't." Serge replied.

* * *

><p>"<em>With two of them, his problem is non existent…" <em>Squall concluded after a few minutes of battle. Now that Roxas had two Keyblades, he would never leave himself open enough for a hit, Squall had to make him open himself. He blocked the white blade with his Lionheart. He knew the second one was coming, so he pushed the white one away and tried to block it, but his arm had to twist in an uncomfortable way to do that, resulting in very little actual force behind the block.

"Gotcha!" Roxas taunted, putting even more power into the blow, sending Squall flying through the windows of a nearby building.

"_Damn… he's strong…" _

Roxas jumped inside the building, grinning as he spun his body forward with both blades, attempting to crush Squall at that instant. Using a nearby table for impulse, Squall dodged to the left even from his laid down position, lading on his feet. Just as Roxas' Keyblades made impact on the ground, Roxas realized he hadn't planned ahead, and a gash on the shoulder was his prize. Now completely stunned by it, Roxas was powerless to stop Squall from firing a bullet through the left side of his chest and kicking him away, out of the window. As he fell he saw Squall jumping after him so he backfliped, landing on his feet on the side of the building and blocked the blow with both Keyblades. As if he was expecting this, Squall somersaulted forward and landed with his heel on the back of Roxas' neck again, and this time, Roxas heard it crack as he was launched towards a mountain of futuristic desks. As he got up, his vision was all fuzzy and he had the mother of all headaches.

"_His left eye's closed… Perfect."_After being in SeeD for so many years, Squall knew a thing or two about involuntary reactions. That's where it came down too, Squall trained all his life for this, Roxas learned by himself. Taking advantage of Roxas state, Squall began firing a fusillade of spells, fireballs, ice blocks, lightning, everything he had in store. Roxas couldn't see the coming all that well since the blank points on his vision had multiplied exponentially, so he decided to just close his eyes and run right through the barrage, disregarding the damage. However, even though he surprised Squall by doing that, he still couldn't see straight, and ended up missing both slashes by more than a foot.

"Give it up!" Squall told him, sending him outside again.

"I can still beat you!" Roxas shouted back, frustrated out of his mind. He began running up the building, Squall following suit. They exchanged slashes on the way up, but only Squall's managed to connect. When they arrived on the roof Roxas had four giant gashes on his shoulders, left leg and stomach.

"Now do you give up?" Squall asked, trying to reason with the boy the best he could.

"I can still fight!" Roxas yelled, desperately charging against the man he believed had taken the last bit of his former life from him.

"**YOU CAN'T!**" Squall boomed, slamming the Lionheart against the white blade and pressing the trigger. The shot sent the blade flying out of the building.

"Damn you!" Roxas shouted, swinging his last remaining blade in a futile attempt to hurt Squall.

* * *

><p>"W-what?" Xion asked as she felt her conscious coming back. She opened her eyes to find a blonde young woman and a brown haired man looking down on her, with preoccupied looks on their faces.<p>

"Are you okay? I fixed your back and your shoulder." Terra asked her, brushing the messy hair from her face. "You seem okay… but you might have a fever from the infection."

"Stop it! I don't deserve your help!" Xion yelled, pushing Terra back and trying to run away, only to fall flat on the floor.

"You're burning up." Terra informed. "Don't move."

"I.. I tried to kill your friend! I tried to kill Squall!" Xion cried, grabbing her knees and letting the tears flow.

"You don't seem like a bad person to me, they obviously made you do it, so no harm done I guess." Shin replied with a smile, Terra nodding in agreement.

"I… we have to stop Roxas!" Xion urged, not being able to put her relief in words, they understood her, and after seeing what Squall could do, they could protect them.

"Hop on!" Shin exclaimed, grabbing her and putting her on the Chocobo. "Where to Terra?"

"That building!" Terra said, pointing towards the building Squall was fighting on.

"Stardust! Up up and away!"

* * *

><p>"Not looking good…" Bartz managed to say before getting knocked around by Ultimecia's telekinetic powers.<p>

"That was better than I expekted, I must thank you for this distraktion." Ultimecia scuffed, kneeling and grabbing Bartz's head. "But now, I have more important matters to attend to. Goodbye!"

"Fly Enkidu!" A familiar, bumbling voice ordered. As Ultimecia looked around for the source of the voice, she got a face full of paw from a hound.

"Who dares?" Ultimecia shrieked.

"I am…" A smoke bomb exploded in the middle of the plaza, a shadow appearing within. "The hope of the universe! I am answer to all living things that cry out for peace! I am Gilgamesh! Ally to good, nightmare to you!" He exclaimed, bursting out from the smoke in a completely over the top manner. "And your time is at an end, evil doer!"

"Oooooookay." Riku and Sora said in unison, a sweat drop running down their foreheads.

"Yeah! You tell 'em Gilg!" Bartz exclaimed.

"Bartz, my rival! Let us join forces in this glorious battle!"

"Okay… okay, what do I say? Something like…" He coughed to change his voice."For fredoooooom! Wait wait, I know! To rid this this world of evil! We will become, the hammers… of JUSTICE!" He threw a smoke bomb for added emphasis and copied Gilgamesh's Kaubuki pose.

"I must admit, you have talent young one!" Gilgamesh complimented.

"What am I watching?" Riku asked.

"Pests! Are you toying with me? I shall not stand for it!" Ultimecia boomed.

* * *

><p>"So…" Squall began, sliding his sword against a kneeling Roxas neck. "Are you going to make me cut it open?"<p>

"I... don't care." Roxas replied, any flare he still had now extinguished. He lost, that simple.

"Don't give me that crap!" Squall exclaimed. "I don't know why you are doing this, but I know this. You're doing this because you are afraid! If you don't want to do this, you don't need too! Don't give that tragic woe-is-me speech, you're just a coward who needs to lean on another's back!"

"Am not! You don't know me!" Roxas yelled back.

"Let's do it like this." Squall let go of his sword and stretched his arms apart. "Do it." He told Roxas.

"What?"

"If you're not a coward, and you can choose your road, finish it!"

"I…" Roxas got up slowly, raising his sword. "I…"

"You're not going to do it, are you? You piece of trash!" A voice said as a dark pool covered the top of the building. Before Squall could look back, Vanitas appeared behind him, carving his sword on his wound, opening it and making him kneel in agony. "If you don't do it. I'm going to kill him, you and then I'll go down there and kill her aswell. Your choice pretty boy!"

_"_Sorry, I really didn't want to have to do this…" Roxas said in a completely different, sadder tone, gripping the Keyblade so hard he could feel his bones touching it's cold steel.

"Roxas, don't!" Xion screamed as Stardust reached the top of the building. "You can't do this Roxas!" She cried, coughing violently from her fever right after.

"Look at her kid, do you think she would last more than five seconds? No matter who she has protecting her."

"So you're the one behind this!" Terra exclaimed, landing at a safe distance from the three, not to trigger something she didn't want.

"They even brought the big fish, you must be really important, eh?" Vanitas taunted, spitting on Squall. "Still, Roxas, if that's your name. Do you believe you can keep her safe? You did such a good job on the last one, and even on this one!"

"Sorry…" Roxas said, pulling the sword back for a swing. Squall couldn't move, Vanitas had his arms and legs bound, and the rest was too far to stop it.

"Roxas, stop!" Xion cried.

"DO IT!" Vanitas yelled in a maddened voice.

Roxas closed his eyes, took a deep breath and…

The Grim Reaper got a call that moment.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

"_He was your ally!"_

"_That's right__,__ hate__ me__! Hate __me some more… hate me lots and lots more!"_

"_Stop! This isn't you!"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter note:<span>****Let's just get one thing out of the way before you kill me, just because I didn't kill Aqua DOESN'T mean I won't kill off people, if you think that, you're going to be sorely disappointed. Now that that's out of the way. Do you want to see some more? Well, you're just going to be here, same time next week. That's all for today folks! What did you think?

****PS: ****Oh and Inhaled Corn, I may or may not have based my description of Roxas's Oathkeeper and Oblivion on yours, hope you don't want to kill me now. If you do, I'll change it, no sweat.


	40. Nightmare Fiction: Terra Vs Vanitas

****Author's note:**** It's been forty chapters already? We've been through a lot, haven't we? Anyway, I had a blast writing this, mostly during my Blazblue online matches... why isn't Extend out yet? Sometimes I hate being European. Eitherway, I hope you enjoyed as much as I did!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Forty**

****The Battle for Esthar Part 2: Nightmare Fiction: Terra Vs Vanitas****

* * *

><p>"Let me get this straight, you want US to appoint YOU as our new 'leader'? You crazy, Bowie?" Kefka mocked before bursting in his trademark laughter. Most of the former Warriors of Chaos were at that moment in a meeting that Mateus had called. It was obvious what he wanted, but they appeared anyway. "Besides, where's Sephy, my main boy? Still sulking? Yeah, probably… What are you waiting for? Speak up!" Kefka exclaimed as he finished his monologue, already having irritated most of the room.<p>

"I harbor no hopes of being your comrade clown, just the one that brings every person here together for our alliance to work. What better leader… than I?" Mateus was just a pompous as ever, sitting above all others on a floating chair.

"You know, I can't help but feel that this is a little more… depressing to watch without you having that bitch licking your boots. At least I could get a laugh or two back then." Jecht spat slurping another two mouthfuls of sake from his gourd.

"Jecht, I don't believe…"

"Yeah, I know exactly how much crap in covered with right now. But ya know…" He gulped another load of sake, wiping his face with the back of his hand and burping loudly. This disgusted the Emperor and, by proxy, brought a smile of Jecht's face. "You coulda offed my head or turn me into a brainless weirdo whenever you wanted, but you want a strong arm working for ya don't ya?" He sipped again on the gourd. "And if I don't have emotions, I'm nothing but a glorified manikin, ain't it?"

Mateus snorted and averted his eyes. It was true, just like they did with Golbez they kept Jecht on a "larger leash" with the Slave Crown. He only had to obey orders, and unlike Golbez, he wasn't the brightest of minds, so Mateus didn't feel it was necessary to restrict his thoughts even after the Lunarian managed to figure out a way to work around the limitations.

"Still, if you want to leave, you may leave, but you will be forfeiting your chance to cast your vote on who should be our leader." Mateus replied, breaking eye contact with Jecht and addressing the crowd. "So, who else but me thinks he's capable of leading such an illustrious gallery of _gentlemen?_"

"I." The black haired man replied, taking a step forward. "Vayne Solidor." The crowd grunted at his name.

"Yeah… no offense Vayne, but at least that guy made it to the end, you on the other hand… didn't even outlast that blonde kid that never shut his mouth about being a sky pirate." Jecht snorted, giving a bellowing laugh. "What's worse, you even lasted less than your friggin' bodyguard!" The figure at the back of the crowd, leaning towards a pillar grunted and turned his head.

"Dogs will bark." He said.

"You wanna tell that to my face?" Jecht shouted.

"**ENOUGH!**" Garland boomed, slamming the doors open.

"Oh Bowie, you didn't invite Garlie? You're such a bad boy!" Kefka mocked beneath his cackling. Of course Mateus had not called Garland, if there was someone who was able to lead them, at least the ones who actually wanted to destroy the world and not control it, and by that I say most of them, it was Garland. Everyone knew Mateus always had a secret agenda.

"What is the meaning of this Mateus?" Garland asked, approaching the center of the room. "A foolish question. Are you again trying to usurp leadership? Must I remember you what happened when we weren't united bellow Chaos?"

"Chaos was destined to fall, nothing we could have done would have changed it, the very God of that universe was against us. But now, not it is different. Our leader has disappeared, he won't return. We need a new one, and what better one than me, the man who almost became a god and that defeated the devil?" Mateus asked, being met by two _very_ different laughs.

"So now being a god is special?" Kefka asked as he laughed.

"It would seem so Kefka. For that reason, it would bear the most fruits to elect someone who was already a god, don't you agree? Someone like…"

"You are in no way capable of leadership Lezard, you…."

"Garland." Lezard finished, completely silencing the Emperor. Was he saying that only to make a fool out of him?

"What are you playing at Lezard? You have no reason to vote for someone other than yourself!" The emperor exclaimed, losing his composure.

"On the contrary. You know how we are, self-centered bastards. If this comes to a vote, it will become a standoff where everyone votes for himself, expectation made of course, for the people who have dogs."Lezard continued, shooting a glare at Garland. "For that matter, if both me and Kefka vote for Garland… you have lost."

"You shall see about that whelp! Let the voting begin. Who here is in favor of having myself as their leader?" The silence was almost comical. Maybe he should have waited until Ultimecia and the Cloud had returned. But, before the Emperor cowered in shame, he realized that all of the looks were hardly of disgust or mocking. They were looking at something or someone behind him. Curious he slowly turned around and froze.

"That will hardly be necessary Mateus." A familiar, but… slightly less deep voice said.

* * *

><p>"Cloud Strife, reporting in." Cloud said after cutting through a line of Manikins with the Fenrir.<p>

"Good to see you Cloud, and the others?" Crono asked, dismissing Serge entirely. He had to focus on the matters at hand.

"They didn't have bikes, Garnet and Lenna should be almost here on Boko, the rest is walking." He explained. "Tifa, you know what to do." He told his passenger, passing her the green sphere.

"Hiding isn't fun, but I'll try." Tifa scuffed. She knew that they were after crystals, and since Cloud couldn't use his, it was an added risk.

"Okay… let's go." Cloud said sorely, turning to the heartless.

* * *

><p>"What the hell!" Vanitas shouted as he got punched in the jaw by the same person who had gotten a mortal slash moments before.<p>

"I guess… you owe me now Squall." Seifer said before falling to his knees, blood gushing from his mouth. "To think, I ran across the whole city and climbed the whole building, just to save your ass." The scar that ran through Seifer's back was anything but the same as Xion's. Squall didn't want to kill whoever he hit, Roxas… did. It was a wonder how Seifer was even conscious, with the agony he should be feeling and the blood loss. "Just… tell Rai to man up and ask Fuu out, god I hated to hear him talk 'bout doing that." Seifer began with an uncharacteristic smile on his face. "And… if you die here, I'll personally go to wherever the hell you hide in heaven, beat the living shit out of you and then pull you back to hell with me, you understand?"

"Seifer…" Squall mumbled, just as surprised as everyone. He had seen death coming from him as Roxas slashed downwards, he never expected Seifer to jump out of the stairs and block the blow with his body. Hell, the fact that it was SEIFER was the most disturbing one.

"Seifer… I… I… I killed Seifer…" Roxas mumbled, remembering his albeit fake past. It was obvious no one could survive that, you could practically see Seifer's lungs.

"No, no, no!" Vanitas mocked, vanishing into a dark smoke. He reappeared right between Seifer and Squall, who tried his best to stop him, but got hit by a spinning kick that almost sent him off the building. "THIS is killing Seifer!" Vanitas shouted, cackling madly as he plunged his Keyblade right on Seifer's heart, a sickening splash of blood accompanying it. He then nonchalantly pulled it off, leaving the former SeeD to fall on his face, his eyes completely glassed, staring at nothingness.

"YOU BASTARD!" Squall yelled, completely out of himself as he charged madly against the dark haired teen. He swiped the Leonheart right to his neck, but he felt the wound sting, and that slowed the slash, just the millisecond he couldn't afford. Vanitas quickly dodged the slash, kicked him in the abdomen and, upon seeing Terra race to him, he grabbed Squall from behind, using him as a human shield. Terra stopped in her tracks to continue seeing the grim spectacle.

"Now, _Roxas _finish it!"Vanitas shouted, still in ecstasy over his latest kill. "Do it! You already killed once, why not do it twice?"

"I…"

"Roxas don't!" Xion screamed, bawling in tears.

"I… GAAAAAAAH!" Roxas feel to his knees, his Keyblade dissipating.

"Why you useless, dirty piece of shit!" Vanitas threw Squall in Terra's direction, who grabbed him as he obscured her line of sight, when she put him down however.

"_I-it can't be… why?"_Terra gasped as she saw Vanitas Keyblade piercing Roxas chest. _"Weren't they allies?"_ It was then that her mind had the horrible idea of remembering her of what happened to Leo. She could almost see the very same image of Kefka stabbing Leo right now. And it made her blood boil.

"ROXAAAAAAAAS!" Xion screamed, jumping of the chocobo but being unable to stand, instead trying to crawl up to them.

"I warned you…" Whispered Vanitas as his yellow orbs stared at Roxas' blue ones. He pushed the blade further and leaned against Roxas' ear. "Now… everyone dies…"

"Xion… run…" Roxas said before falling into the ground, motionless.

"Sorry, but I don't think she's in conditions for that!" Vanitas exclaimed before seeing a golden light approaching his head. "Tch." He vanished into a dark pool to dodge the Chaotic Deluge, rising up right next to Xion. Shin quickly charged for another shot, but stopped in his tracks. "You know, that's dangerous, you can get someone killed. And by someone I mean her." He taunted as laid his foot down onto Xion's head.

"I-I'm going to…" Terra mumbled, feeling lightning cackle around her skin.

"_Sunshine, control yourself."_Her esper side said almost sounding scared.

"How can…." She felt her voice fail her for a second, but she was too furious to dally on that. "How can I?" She almost roared, her voice becoming distorted.

"_Listen kid, do you remember what happened against Feral Chaos? Or when you flew out of Narshe?"_ The esper asked with a never heard before tone of seriousness.

"No…" Even then, Terra's mind was not thinking straight, for some reason, all she could see were the worst memories possible.

"_Exactly, and want to know something? Not even I know… that's just how bad it is, you SAW what happened when all those espers lost control. And let's face it, by now, you make them look like harmless kittens.__ Can't you feel it? Your… no OUR sanity. I can feel it slipping.__"_ Those words scared Terra, she knew she was right. All her thoughts right now were mostly unchained emotions, coherent ones were far and between, she was going to start to calm down, but then…

"C'mon, shoot, it's not like she won't be dead in a second." He smirked, raising his blood-stained weapon. Terra saw the weapon slowly descend and then she remembered it all. She could see herself in Xion when Vanitas killed her friend. She could see Kefka in Vanitas, even worse, she couldn't even see Vanitas anymore, she saw Kefka, laughing in that mind-breaking sound.

"Yes I can feel it slipping… BUT I WON'T WATCH THIS ANYMORE!" She screamed as her whole life flashed before her eyes.

"_TERRA, DON'T!"_ The esper shouted from within, but it was too late, it all went blank.

"And number th-GAH!" Vanitas suddenly lost all the air he had stored on his lungs, partially because he found a icicle boring through his left one.

"HE WAS YOUR ALLY, SHE WAS TOO!" Terra shouted with her last bit of sanity.

"Yes! Yes that's the look! That's right, hate me! Hate me some more… hate me lots and lots more!" Vanitas screamed, almost as if his chest didn't hurt. "Give me those negative emotions, share them, it's like you're feeding me with a spoon right in my mouth! Do you really think you have a ch-"Vanitas was interrupted promptly when his head was grabbed by Terra's now transformed claws, quickly smashing him into the floor. The ceiling of the building bellow Vanitas began to give in with the shock, forcing him to turn into a pool and reappear on the other side of the building. "The hell? How did you get so fast? And what the hell happened to you?" The Unversed spat as he looked at Terra's bare, shinning esper form. But there was something wrong with it, something that only Shin and Squall could see.

"Her aura… why is it red? Blood red… like Kefka's." Shin asked himself, quite literally, an uneasy feeling tingling inside him as he picked up Roxas, checking his pulse to find that he was still alive. Seifer however… he shook his head and laid him on Stardust's back. He deserved a proper funeral.

"Hey, me! Get out of there!" Shin was as surprised as relieved when Shinryu actually answered. He had made it very clear he would do nothing to help any party, at least he came to his senses now. The problem was… Shin detected a tinge of… fear in his voice.

"But what about…" He began, but he couldn't speak as much as two seconds.

"_Don't worry about her! If you stay here, YOU'RE the one who'll get murdered!"_ Shinryu exclaimed back. Shin could feel a pale light involve him as the ethereal wings sprouted from his jacket. _"Fly you fools!"_ Shinryu almost shouted from within.

Shin nodded and looked at Squall, who had already gotten to Stardust's back. "Stardust, fly!" He ordered, grabbing both Roxas and Xion and jumping off the building. "You better explain this to me when I drop them off." Shin told himself.

"_You're going to need that." _Shinryu replied matter of factly.

* * *

><p>"If you think I'll let you go, you're missing a screw or two!" Vanitas shouted as he ran towards the edge. He was surprised as Terra appeared in front of him, not by moving but by teleporting. "Get out of my way!" He shouted as frustration against her sudden transformation began to rise, calling for a reckless overhead slash that was quickly caught by her left hand and pulled to her right side. Vanitas groaned and tried to punch her, only to get his arm grabbed and pulled to Terra's left side. Now stuck, he looked into Terra's blank eyes and for the first time in a long time, didn't feel in control. "Just, what are you?" He screamed, but Terra remained emotionless, he tried to pull his arms out, but as he squirmed Terra began to smile if ever so slightly, which grew into a crazed grin. Before Vanitas could react he was pulled over head, smashed into the floor, pulled back and smashed on the other side, this repeating for six times before the ceiling finally gave in. Noticing this Terra, or what looked like her threw him upwards, raising her hands covered in a blood red aura. Before Vanitas could realize, he was already under a giant ball of gravity as Terra pulled her hands down, sending the ball crashing with a blinding speed into the ground.<p>

* * *

><p>"Did she just…" Shin began, stunned by the amount of brutality demonstrated by the normally lamb-like girl. "That must have been her esper." He concluded.<p>

"_Wrong."_ Shinryu replied almost immediately. _"Get to the others, I'll explain there, don't worry, does it look like she needs back up?"_

Well, he was right about that, but that was hardly what preoccupied Shin at that moment.

* * *

><p>Vanitas got up to be greeted by a hail of ice boulders. He tried to maintain calm and summoned shadows of himself to help him cut through the coming hailstorm. As he cut the last boulder in half he heard the sound of flowing water and felt his feet get wet. On top of him, floating tauntingly, Terra raised one finger and the water began to churn.<p>

"You little b-"The freshly melted water erupted from the ground in the form of a geyser, propelling him in Terra's direction as she pulled back her arm, clenching her right fist. Vanitas looked in horror as he got ever so close to the fist in rising speed. In an instant, all of his momentum was canceled as the fist connects and reversed, creating an air shockwave as he was shot into the ground by the massive impact. To make it worse Terra raised her hand, freezing the water from the geyser into a massive ice block and hurled it and the downed Vanitas, seemingly crushing him under a ton of ice.

* * *

><p>"Gilgamesh-ultra-justice-rocket-punch!" The bumbling buffoon shouted as he did a regular rocket punch. Switching sides may or may not have caused him to develop a super hero complex, but that was the least. With bother her leg and chest damaged, Ultimecia could only rely on her increasingly harder to pull off time warps. She was almost out of energy, and that showed when her time warp was only enough to dodge one of the giant boxing gloves, sending her backwards as she clasped at her open wound. "I hit her..? I mean… BEHOLD, I have created an opening!" He announced before noticing that his "opening" had already been capitalized by Sora, who slammed his Keyblade right into Ultimecia's wound, making her wail in pain.<p>

"Turn Kairi back, now!" He threatened, raising his Keyblade again. "I'll let you leave, I swear." Maybe that wasn't the best idea, but Sora wouldn't take risks when it came to Kairi's safety.

"You kan have your girl bakk!" Ultimecia replied as she flipped her hand, causing the time distortion to fade away.

"Kairi!" Sora called as he dismissed his Keyblade and ran up to her. "You're alright!" He beamed as he grabbed her arms.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Kairi asked, confused. She looked around and saw a half-dead Ultimecia staring at them with a murderous look. "What happened?" She asked as she saw Riku walking up to the Sorceress and touching her neck with his Way to the Dawn. He grunted as he saw her mixed look of despair and anger.

"You can go." Riku said coldly. "A deal is a deal." And he removed his sword from the edge of Ultimecia's neck.

"This is yet to be over, insekts!" Ultimecia muttered as she disappeared into a dark portal.

"Learn to spell old hag!" Bartz shouted as the portal closed. He felt Zidane eying him funny and he shook his head as he let out a heart full laugh. "Not my brightest insult I know!" He stopped laughing when he opened one eye to see a nearby building collapse. "What's happening down there?" He asked as he pointed towards the smoke.

"Let's find out!" Zidane exclaimed as he began running towards the sight.

"Stop Zidane!" Shin exclaimed as he landed forcefully nearby. "This flying stuff tires you out… especially with cargo…" He mumbled.

"I'm sorry…" Xion apologized as she coughed a bit more.

"You don't have to apologize for everything." Shin stated. "Really, you remind me of Terra on that department… Speaking of which." He mumbled.

"_She's fine."_ Shinryu stated. _"I'd be more worried about that kid than her."_ He said almost jokingly as he referred to Vanitas.

"Alright, spit it!" Shin exclaimed.

_"You're looking like a maniac, you know that?"_ Shinryu replied. Shin immediately looked down to see Xion giving him a confused look, and he could probably guess that the others were too.

"Long story." He smiled before being quite literally tossed aside by a tall young man.

"You!" Riku gapped, pulling the girl by the shoulders to get a better look on her face. "How?"

"Hello Riku." She replied with a weak smile.

"You know her?" Kairi asked as she approached them. One look at the girl was enough. "Another one?" She lamented.

Late as ever, Sora reached the spot and examined Xion's face, looked back at Kairi's and hit his palm with his fist. "You two look alike!" He exclaimed, almost knocking Riku out of his feet with his raw idiocy.

"Thank you Captain obvious." Riku replied before turning again to Xion, examining her forehead. "You have a fever, what happened?"

"That's… not the problem." She replied weakly, pointing to the now abandoned Roxas.

"What the…" Riku and Sora gasped.

"We have to get them to a hospital, the clock's ticking." Shin urged.

"You're alone Shin?" Bartz asked a little surprised. "That's an upgrade! No bodyguards."

"Yeah, whatever." Shin dismissed as he looked back, seeing a massive ice stone hit the ground. _"That better be Vanitas under that thing."_

* * *

><p>"Screw this!" Vanitas yelled, cutting through the ice. "You want to play rough? Well, let's!" He concentrated and created seven clones of himself, all of which teleported to flank Terra from every possible direction. With a smirk, Terra shot a fireball in the direction of only one of the figures, one that turned out to be the real Vanitas. As the fireball hit the left side of his face, the shock made him break control over the clones that vanished. Still clinging to his face, he did nothing to stop the elbow coming right in his direction, which ended up hitting the same place he was injured with, sending him flying backwards. Terra continued the assault by flying to his location and slashing at his face, followed by a punch of her left hand. She continued the pursuit as she positioned herself bellow him, carving both her feet on his back. As He was being sent upwards he saw Terra closing in and fired a black fireball in return. Terra sped up, dodging it and taking the long way around, smashing her foot right on the right side of Vanitas face, propelling him towards a building. He crashed against the windows and felt the parts of his body not protected by the suit be slashed by the broken glass of the windows. "Never thought… you would actually be this strong." Vanitas coughed as he slowly got up. "Guess you survived master for a reason. Still, if I can't even beat you, what the hell do I exist for?" Vanitas shouted, jumping of the building towards the now grounded Terra.<p>

* * *

><p>"And that's what happened." Xion finished. With her being carried by Riku and Roxas by Sora, they arrived at the military HQ. To think this would be the place where most of the fight would be concentrated. Sure, the Galabadia SeeDs were busy securing the streets by saving civilians and fighting small enemy battalions. But the rest of the SeeDs and their allies were already locked in combat, pushing back the ones that managed to get through the giant scar on the ground, they still needed Cecil's reinforcements though… Where was he?<p>

"Holy crap, DODGE!" Zidane shouted. Everyone looked up to see a purple blur and jumped out of the way. The object collided with the ground and was subjected to a massive amount of fireballs before smoke covered it. Landing a few meters away from it, was Bahamut.

"Good to see you are okay Shinryu, but what about Terra?" He asked, ignoring the confused looks from the ones that never saw an Esper before.

"She's… having an episode." Shinryu himself answered into his mind.

"Understood, you should move though. This one won't be beaten so easily." As if on cue, Griever roared as he bolted out from the rubble, tackling Bahamut into the crevice, both plummeting out of sight.

"Disregarding the MASSIVE TALKING DRAGON, how do we get through?" Sora asked.

Kairi just jumped off the edge, slowly drifting to the other side as if she was floating. "Stop being a lazy bum and just glide!" She reprimanded, landing on the other side.

"Why don't you try gliding with a guy on your back…?" Sora whined as he jumped and glided across. Riku and Bartz jumped while Zidane kicked the air to reach the other side. Shin just flew and signaled Stardust to go directly towards the HQ. When he landed he saw some heartless had taken an interest in the ground, starting to surround it as Bartz, Zidane and Kairi summoned their weapons.

"I don't have time for this…" Shin said as he drew the Lightbringer, already shinning gold. "CHAOTIC DELUGE!" He boomed, shooting a massive burst of golden energy forward, much bigger than his usual one. When the light dissipated, not only was a way open from their location to the HQ, the ground was scorched by it and even the manikins seemed wary of the group, like could actually fear it.

"Wow, he's kinda jumpy today." Bartz commented.

"Something must've happened to Terra." Zidane snickered, sharing a quick laugh with Bartz as they began to follow the running group.

"_I have to know what happened to Terra…"_Shin thought as he approached the line of defense.

"Shin? Shin! Over here!" Edge called, signaling to the barricade they had made.

"Almost there." Shin said, jumping around the barricade and running to the entrance.

"Not so fast." The Cloud of darkness made her entrance. "That was an interesting display, may we see it again?" She taunted.

"Gilgamesh-Justice-Takedown!" Gilgamesh, whom everybody had forgotten about by know made his entrance by smashing his head against the wraith, blowing her away. "Let us go!"

* * *

><p>"Take this!" Vanitas exclaimed, sending an X-shaped shockwave in Terra's direction. She deflected it easily but couldn't find Vanitas afterwards. She was then assaulted by a rain of Keyblades, so many that she could hardly keep up with her two arms."Give it up!" He shouted as burst from the ground bellow Terra in a dark blaze. "Wha-"Terra grabbed his right hand, ignoring the Keyblades and smiled, whipping him to the ground twice before kicking him away. As he was mid flight Terra reappeared on top of him, smashing his face onto the ground.<p>

Right now, Terra's mind was all but rational, just like the few times both her and her esper lost control of her body. With a sadistic smile she grabbed Vanitas' leg, spinning him around before throwing him away, him hitting the ground and rebounding just to find terra already waiting for him, grabbing his hair spikes and slamming him into the ground senseless. The brute force made him rebound once again, this time away from Terra who didn't waste time in following him and kicking airborne. A wall of Keyblades stopped him from going too high, stopping at a skyscrapers height.

"**DAMN IT! **I'm not about to let someone like you ruin everything!" Vanitas frustration reached a new limit as he pointed his Keyblade downwards, dark energy congregating around him. "I'm going to send you, this city, and everything in it to hell!" The crystals formed around him, forming a trigram and concentrating energy on the tip. "Any last words? If you can actually speak right now!"

Terra remained silent and smiled again.

* * *

><p>As if electricity had stung his brain, Shin stopped and looked back, seeing the dark mass on the skies.<p>

"Can you see that?" He asked.

"I can feel that." Bartz replied.

This only made it worse, Bartz wasn't exactly attuned to magic, if he could feel it, it had to be huge.

"So much dark emotions…" Kairi muttered, taking her hand to her chest.

"_Let's just hope I'm right." _Shinryu said, urging them to enter the building.

* * *

><p>"Dark Canon!" Vanitas shouted as he fired a concentrated blue beam of energy, surrounded by all the darkness he had amassed. As it closed in on Terra she groaned and created a pocket of energy around her right arm. "Useless, the only thing that can stop this is an exact replica of it!" If he thought he could scare the same person who had had the Light of Judgment called down upon her and stood inside Feral Chaos' Realm of God, he had another thing coming.<p>

The energy on Terra's arm stabilized into a deep crimson. Roaring, she whipped her arm forward, giving flight to a crimson Riot Blade. Despite his boasting and the amount of power put into it, the blade crashed onto the beam, only slowing for a few seconds before completely cutting through it, destroying Vanitas Keyblade and heavily wounding his arm and chest. Completely speechless, Vanitas let himself fall, having done everything he could to stop her.

* * *

><p>"<em>Okay spit it. What happened to her?"<em> Shin asked inwardly after leaving the wounded in the infirmary. Of course Squall didn't stop for long, just a couple of bandages and he ran outside to help.

"_Well, you do know her whole story by now, so it'll be slightly easier to explain. Espers are not meant to live on the human world, the flow of magic here is completely different. This by itself can shock most espers if they leave without being summoned, causing them to lose control of their emotions." _Shinryu explained. That wasn't anything he didn't know about, but still.

"_Terra spent most of her life here, and if she did suffer the same thing, she would have to you know, change worlds or something, like in Dissidia, right?"_ He asked.

"_Wrong. As much as she is used to it, she's an Esper. Normally an esper goes insane in this world with ease, she does have much more tolerance to emotional change, but with the prolonged stress that this war caused, she might have just… lost control."_ Shinryu said with a somber note at the end.

"_What do you know about this then?"_

"_When an esper loses control, he relies only on following the emotions that made him lose control, on this case, it was probably hate and anger. Just like when she fought Feral Chaos."_ Shinryu deduced.

"_How do we stop it?"_ He went right to the point.

"_We don't. We just hope she stops when she… finishes her business with Vanitas. Or if she tires herself out. Chaos was enough for that, but I don't believe Vanitas will tire her out." _

"_So, what do we do if she does not stop?"_

"_What do WE do? What do YOU do, you're going to have to tire her out."_ Shinryu said stoically.

"_WHAT?"_

"I can help, at least on the power department, but I don't see any other way, I'll give you as much power as you can handle. And after that red flash, I'd wager you need to get there fast." And then the presence disappeared from Shin's mind. He then felt his body surge up with power,a golden aura surronding him. So this was just a small amount? If he lost to Terra... just what was he going to fight?

"Hey, don't you disappear on me!" He yelled. "I can't fight her!" Most of the medical ward was now staring at him like he needed to check in at Arkham. "Damn it!" He yelled, jumping out of the window.

* * *

><p>"Damn just… damn it!" Vanitas spat as he slowly got up from the rubble. "I… why can't I beat that…" He started coughing violently, hordes of blue monsters rising from his "blood". "A little to late you pieces of crap!" He yelled, kicking one flood away from his feet. "Tsk, I'll remember this Terra Branford." He muttered as he prepared to open a gate. Just as he was however, he noticed a shadow covering him, which was weird since there were no clouds to cover the moon. But it was no cloud. "No, no!" He reacted as he looked up. Terra was on top of him, and this time, it wasn't just a block of ice she was holding up with telekinesis, but whole building.<p>

"Die…" Terra mumbled, letting go of her telekinetic hold.

"NOOOOO!" He screamed as the building came crashing down on him and his unversed, silencing him for good.

* * *

><p>"What the…" Shin stopped in midair as he saw the building fall. "Gotta hurry up!"<p>

* * *

><p>Naminé ran through the corridors to the medic ward, panting every step of the way. Spiky haired blonde teen accompanied by a raven haired girl? They couldn't be… But as she found out when she got into the room they told her, they were.<p>

"Roxas!"She cried, quickly running up to his bed. She was relieved to see he was still breathing, and the bandages didn't seem that dirty in blood, for some reason.

"Hello, Naminé." Xion greeted. She was merely in her bed for rest, of they desperately needed, she could go outside and fight. "So, let me guess, Lezard."

"Lezard." Naminé replied. "What happened to you two?"

"Well…" And then Xion recounted to the rest of the people in the room, namely Sora and co. and Bartz and Co. what happened after getting to the city, but never touching what happened before. "I'm not ready to… explain what happened with Lezard."

"That's alright, that's not the answer I'm looking for." A more mature feminine voice said as the door opened. Aqua and Zack entered the room, Zack still smiling like a dork while Aqua had a dead serious look on her face. She reached for a pocket and pulled out a photograph that she had kept ever since she locked Castle Oblivion. In it, She was with someone identical to Terra, but with brown hair and blue eyes… and what looked like Roxas, heck if it weren't the clothes, you wouldn't notice the difference. "Explain." Aqua demanded.

* * *

><p>After finishing the target she so strongly hated, all the hatred in Terra's soul became something much worse. Sadness and loneliness. Like a scared animal she cowered near a pile of debris and covered her head with her hands, crying. This was sure to attract the heartless nearby, but she was too far into sadness to notice. Just as they were attacking, a dark portal opened, from it coming a young, tan skinned man with silver hair and yellow eyes.<p>

"Terra Branford." The man called. He had a strangely welcoming aura to him. "The world abhors people like you. No matter how much you try to hide it, you'll always be different. You'll always be hated. I can give you shelter, I can give you a safe haven, where everyone is different." He extended his right hand in a welcoming pose. Terra felt no threat so she continued to observe. "Now, let's go." He said. Confused and frightened, Terra raised her hand to meet his.

"Move!" The man gasped and disappeared as Shin missed momentum charged punch. "Who the heck are you?" He shouted, turning the mountain where he now stood. He looked like the Terra Aqua knew, but he was... skinnier and shorter, his hair wasn't quite the same either. Who was he?

"Most unfortunate. I must admit, your timing is excellent, to interrupt me right when I thought I had had my way with the girl. But remember, you can hide it, you can chain it, but deep in her heart, there's still darkness." And with that note, the young man disappeared into a dark portal.

"Well, now that that's done, she might not be out of that state, but at least she's docile." Shin thanked the heavens for that, fighting Terra would be a very unpleasant situation, mentally, but especially, physically. Not that this was his lucky day, since he was now using part of Shinryu's powers, the first emotion that came over Terra was the hatred she felt when she fought Chaos twice, who also used Shinryu's powers.

"Chaos… Kill!" She muttered again.

"Wait, Terra!" Shin ducked to avoid a slash from her claws.

"_This is partially my fault."_ Shinryu stated. "_I should have guessed I wouldn't invoke the most pleasurable of reactions. Well, at least she can speak, she must be recovering her normal self by now." _

Just then, the air started to moisten and the ground started to become soft. Soft like…

"Molten rocks?" Shin quickly jumped and summoned his wings, escaping the now lava ground. However, even the air was burning him, he could barely breathe as he smelled roasting meat. "What's happening?"

"She's probably using Spellfusion." Shinryu stated.

"Like Cuore? What is it?" Shin asked as he swiftly dodged an upward slash from Terra's claws. "Terra, stop! This isn't you!" He shouted, but to deaf ears.

"_It's when you take two different spells or elements and fuse them into one. She must have fused fire and water for this.__"_The dragon explained, but Shin had another sting on his mind.

"Wait a second, didn't she do this against Sephi… Oh god." HE could already hear thunder cackling, and seeing how the air was all moistened up… "Damn what can I…" It was then that, in a split second a solution came to his mind. "Almagest!" He created a dark sphere that protected him from the incoming lightning, bursting open in a flash of white light. The explosion caught Terra, but only seemed to infuriate her more. "This isn't going to work…" Shin lamented, interrupting the flow of power Shinryu was giving him, canceling his wings and protective spells. He landed on the floor and looked up.

"_Shin, this isn't the time to be stubborn! If you don't tire her, she'll might never get out of that state, worse, she might get out AFTER getting captured or killing her friends! Do you even see her as a friend?"_Shinryu shouted from within, but Shin paid no mind to him and simply answered.

"No… And we're doing this MY way!"He exclaimed. "C'mon, you want to kill me? I'm right here!" He shouted, drawing his Lightbringer. Terra began shooting holy spheres, but wave after wave failed to hit the target as Shin deflected them all. When Terra stopped to recover some energy, Shin sheathed his sword and jumped towards her. Terra groaned and shot another volley. Being in midair and with help from Shinryu, Shin gasped as one of the balls pierced his right lung, but continued forward. "Wake up! You idiot!" He grabbed her head tightly "It's me!" His hand burned in a blue flame and Terra felt lightning fill her body. It wasn't hurting, he was nowhere near her level. But she recognized the aura. It wasn't Shinryu. The momentum of Shin didn't stop however, and since Terra had stopped flying they were shot forward.

"Sorry…" Terra muttered as they both fell onto the ground, rolling a good distance on the ground before coming to a halt. "I'm so sorry!" She cried, hugging his chest.

"Hey, take it easy, you shot a hole through me, remember?" Shin joked, cringing at his wound.

"I'll fix it!" Terra exclaimed, filling his chest with a green light, her hands now emitting her normal blue aura. "Curaja!" She chanted, using the ultimate rank of her cure spell, instantly healing the wound. It took the breath out of her lungs, but it was worth it. "What?" The asked when she noticed Shin's grin.

"After all that, you're still in top shape? You run Duracell or something?" He joked, letting off a heart full laugh.

"Haha, very funny!" Terra pouted crossing her arms. "Doing what exactly? I know I lost it, but what happened?" She asked. Normally, she would be traumatized by it, but she decided to take Shin's example and just look forward.

"Well, I don't have all the details but…"

* * *

><p>"Wasn't Boss nice? Giving us a new doll to play with!" Kefka whelped in excitement as he looked over the brown haired young man laid down on the tube, his body destroyed by various scars, the most prominent ones being the four gashes on both his cheeks.<p>

"I must say, it was…" Lezard began as he filled the tube with a strange liquid. The man's eyes opened in confusion, and he struggled to move, but to no avail, Lezard had already injected him with paralytic medicine. "Perfect."

* * *

><p>"Seifer!" Rinoa yelled as she entered the infirmary. Laguna shook his head.<p>

"No! It's not possible! Seifer wouldn't die like that y'know!" Rai shouted.

"Heal!" Fuu yelled with tears in her eyes. She didn't even remember the last time she cried.

"We tried…" Tifa said, showing them the Holy Materia. "But if even Aerith couldn't bring him back… I'm afraid…"

"Shut up! You don't know Seifer, he wouldn't die! He wouldn't save Squall! Why would he do it? WHY! Why… why…" Fuu surprised everyone with her outburst, falling down to her knees and bawling.

"You know…" Aerith began, kneeling down on her. "I died once…"

"Im…" Fuu began.

"Shhh… I'm dead, believe it." Aerith soothed, moving her arm through her, much to the surprise and horror of the present. "Now, when I died, I saw everyone cry… do you think I wanted that?" She asked, Fuu snorted and waved her head. "Good, now for Seifer, live your life to your fullest…" Aerith smiled and leaned her head slightly. "Okay?" The warm smile brought calm to Fuu's soul, she did her best to wipe her tears and reply on her usual cold tone.

"Yes."

"Alright!" Aerith cheered.

"Who a- GAH!" The sound of metal cutting flesh filled the room as a guard fell lifeless on the floor.

"How touching, you still remember what I did so vividly." The former SOLDIER taunted, entering the room and staring at them with his snake eyes.

"Rai, Fuu, take cover!" Laguna ordered, recognizing the former Warrior of Chaos.

"I Won't let you end anymore lives!" Tifa exclaimed, going into battle position. Her words didn't seem to reach him as he grinned towards Aerith, and most importantly, the Holy Materia.

"You're mine…"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"It's been too long… Cloud."_

_"Give… her… back…"_

_"Pitiful."_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter note:<span>**** It's coming alright. The mandatory fight in any story with Cloud in it! Chew your nails off. Now, this is the end of my "plan" for the story. I mean, I planned it right onto this point before I wrote it, and by plan I mean imagine very hazily, so let's dive onto the unknown, shall we? R&R for optimal waiting time decrease. Let's get this to thirty.


	41. Endless Despair: Cloud Vs Sephiroth

****Author's note:**** Okay, now that you got me to three times the amount of reviews I was expecting, I guess some show gratitude is order. So I'd like thank: Distant glory, Martin Jun, zerokyon02, SolracIII, I am Sweden, Wingsong555, Jane St. Valentine, that anonymous reviewer that never put a name, wolfst75, FoolsSin and InhaledCorn. A special thank you to the last three, why you ask? Because back in chapter twenty-three, when I had almost twenty chapters without reviewing, I was almost throwing the towel, they basically made the story reach where it is today, and where it will be in the future. To these and everyone else that is reading this, thank you. Now that I got that mushy stuff out of the way, I hope you like a twist… or three in this chapter.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Forty-One**

****The Battle for Esthar Part 3: Endless Despair: Cloud Vs Sephiroth****

* * *

><p>At the east corner of Esthar, a pillar of red light rose towards the heavens, piercing the clouds and calling forth a clear sky. Who summoned this pillar might you ask? And how will it affect our heroes? It is not my place to tell.<p>

"This is my gamble." Cid divagated as he saw the pillar dissipate.

"Cid?" The blonde girl asked as she lifted her hands from the ground.

"It's nothing…"

"What was that?" Zack asked as he heard the guard's scream from across the corridor. "Hey, Aqua, I'm going to check it out, okay?"

"Okay, just don't take too long." Aqua replied before the sound of gunshots filled the infirmary."I'm going with you!" She corrected, storing the photo on her pocket and turning from the group.

"We'll go too!" Sora exclaimed.

"Fine, just hurry up!" Aqua said sternly. Just as they opened the door, they saw Laguna flying by into a nearby wall, crashing into it and almost crashing through.

"Hey, what happened?" Zack asked the man he didn't know yet.

"S-Sephiroth… Tifa…" Laguna mumbled .

"What?" Zack shouted in a mix of surprise and despair. "Take care of him!" He exclaimed as he made a run for where Seifer was dropped.

"What do you mean Sephiroth?" Sora asked, but Laguna was out cold. "Oh this is bad!" And he dashed after Zack.

"Can anyone heal this one?" Aqua asked. Kairi nodded and Riku offered to protect the body. "Thank you." She made a quick bow and dashed after Zack.

* * *

><p>"Zack Fair…" Sephiroth said in an eerily calm tone as punched Tifa in the neck, cutting off the blood flow to her brain and having her pass out. "I thought I warned you, next time, there would be no Cloud to help you."<p>

"Just let her go Sephiroth, she has nothing to do with this!" Zack exclaimed, whipping out the Buster Sword.

"Neither do you, but you still try and get your nose where it doesn't belong, puppy." Sephiroth taunted. "Now, I am in a giving mood today, step aside, I only want the Ancient." It was then that Zack noticed the green sphere shining dimly on his hand.

"Oh, hell no!" Zack swung his Buster Sword sideways, avoiding the low ceiling and earning a parry from the Soldier. "Aqua, the materia!"

"On it!" Zack didn't even need to have said anything, she was already diving towards Sephiroth's left hand. To avoid it, Sephiroth jumped sideways in an arc, stretching his left arm as much as he could, it was then that he felt pressure being removed from his hand.

"I'll take this!" Sora joked as he swiped the sphere off Sephiroth's hand. He had no idea what it was, or what it did, he just knew that if Sephiroth wanted it, there was only one person to give it too.

"Give me that, you mongrel!" Sephiroth shouted, jumping towards the boy. He felt his legs being weighted down and looked down to see Rai and Fuu grabbing his legs, Rinoa securing his torso. Before he could do anything about it, the window was smashed, and he saw Sora jump of it.

* * *

><p>"Okay… where are you?" Sora asked as he looked around the defending soldiers, trying to find the one that stuck out like a sore thumb. And there it was, head just like a chocobo's. "HEY CLOUD!" He yelled with such power that it was heard by the entire battlefield. "CATCH THIS!" He threw his sphere at the now confused blonde man looking at him. But, as hard as he tried, Sephiroth appeared midway through the shot, grabbing the sphere, as his mere presence caused chills to run down Cloud's spine. Relishing in the moment, Sephiroth slowly turned around, facing the man who had "killed" him so many times.<p>

"It's been too long… Cloud." He said in a midway through sadistic, mocking tone. "And look who I brought to our reunion!" He exclaimed, proudly presenting the sphere in his hand. He did not receive the response he expected however, as Cloud looked at him with a completely confused look. This was followed by a burst of laughter by the kid behind him. Gasping as he realized it, he quickly looked at his hand, only to find a snow globe the same size of the materia resting on it. Completely entranced by the fury, he smashed the snow globe and saw Zack waving at him from the window. Extending his burnt wing, he quickly flew towards the building as Zack jumped down of the fourth floor. Sephiroth landed a mere feet away from where Zack landed, receiving his trademark grin.

"Hello, Sephiroth. Look at yourself. Now back to me. Now back to yourself, now back to me…" Sephiroth complied for some reason to Zack's demands. "Sadly, you're not me. But you could be like me, if you didn't have a compulsory backstab disorder. Now, look at your hand, what's that? I have it, it's that Materia you want so much." Zack showed the piercing green pearl of a materia, irritating Sephiroth beyond reason, before he could make a move the materia flashed, blinding him for a second. He regained his vision slowly, but he could see that there was still something in front of him. "Look again! The materia is now dis pear! Everything is possible when you don't let go of your SOLDIER honour. I'm on a motorcycle!" And with that, Zack sped off, leaving dirt to cover Sephiroth's face, to had insult to injury, the pear Zack was holding fell right on top Sephiroth's head.

Instead of chasing, Sephiroth looked for possible target, since Zack had probably thrown the materia somewhere. Doing his best to maintain his calm, he spotted Aqua making a run for the battle front, a green sphere in her hand. Now not wanting to waste time, Sephiroth vanished in a hail of black feathers, intercepting the young woman almost immediately. "The materia." He demanded, stretching his hand forward. "No one has to get hurt… yet."

"You mean this one?" Aqua mocked, showing her materia. It was green… but it was a Cure materia. Normally, Sephiroth would have decapitated the woman immediately, but he didn't have time to waste, he looked back to see an azure shine coming from Zack's pocket.

"You wretched….!" Sephiroth exclaimed, disappearing again.

"Too late!" Zack exclaimed, jumping of the bike, passing just above the place where Sephiroth rematerialized. "All yours Cloud!" Cloud was less than ten meters away, there was no way Sephiroth could have caught the true materia.

"Thanks." Cloud muttered as he caught the orb. "You're safe now." He muttered to the Holy Materia.

"How dare you?" Sephiroth spat, kicking Zack from behind, grounding him and stepping on his head. "I should behead you right now, but that would be… too forgiving." He positioned his sword dangerously close to Zack's neck, pondering on how he could make this as painful as possible.

"Sephiroth…" As if he was touching a stick, Cloud grabbed the Masamune and swatted it aside. "This is between _us_." Cloud stated, his eyes never swaying from Sephiroth's gaze. If this was going to end, it had to be now.

"You… overestimate yourself Cloud, this was never between us… it was all for a greater calling, but I shall humor you. Where would you like your grave to be?" Sephiroth asked as he took his foot out of Zack's head, now focusing completely on the fake SOLDIER he helped create.

"I don't want any interference, take us to the center of the city."

Sephiroth let out a small chuckle. "You're digging your own grave, say goodbye to your friends, I doubt you'll see them again."

"You stubborn idiot!" Zack shouted light-heartedly. "Just like your teacher, go get'em tiger!" He slammed his Buster Sword onto his former student's chest. "Do it the old fashioned way."

"I will… See you in a bit." Cloud replied as he disappeared in hail of black feathers.

"Shouldn't you have asked him for the crystal?" Aqua asked.

"Sephiroth would never accept it otherwise." Zack replied matter of factly. Besides, it's not like we're safe here!" He exclaimed as he dodged two Manikins and slammed their heads onto each other, smashing them like glass. "You need to stop worrying so much….And I need a sword." He finished, now noticing that his decision might have not been so flawless. "Anyone…? Sword…? Crap…"

* * *

><p>Cloud found himself in what seemed to be have once been a plaza, giant craters and fires covering anything distinguishable, this was where Griever first landed. He took a deep breath and gave what was about to happen some thought. Here he was, the closest thing that he had to Aerith being clutched by his left hand as he faced the one that not only took her away from him, but who took everything he could get his hands on away from his home. His life was the definition of a mess, because of him. Yet, he felt strangely calm, maybe it was holding the White Materia that prompted it but yet, he never felt like this, much less when Sephiroth was around. He had no hatred in his heart, just an overwhelming zeal, and not for revenge, for protection. He took a deep breath, thinking of everyone who died and suffered to get him here. The tortures, the deaths, the wars. All because of that man. He raised his head to meet Sephiroth, sword in hand and waiting for the signal to start. This was as important to him as it was to Cloud, they both haunted each other eternally. It was time for a conclusion.<p>

"Aerith…" He called. For the first time since he got the sphere back, it resounded.

"Yeah, I know." The flower girl replied in a very unusual concentrated tone.

"Let's…" Cloud lifted the Buster Sword to his head's range, resting his head on the side of the blade, just like Zack and Angeal once did. He slowly brought the white materia to one of the slots and gently plugged it in. "End this. Come on, Sephiroth, I'm ready." Cloud finished calmly, adopting his battle stance. He had no other thoughts left, just the fight.

"You know Cloud…" Sephiroth began. "I never truly felt that I needed to give it my all, against anyone, not even you. But as a present, I'll show you, just what perfection is." He finished as he adopted his unusual fighting stance for someone with a sword that big. "And when you see it, only then, in the midst of your helplessness, will you realize what despair truly is." This wasn't a threat, nor did Sephiroth try to mess with Cloud's head, he just believed it, truly.

And they stood there, unwavering, waiting for some sort of divine signal for their destiny's wheel to start moving. A battle that would shake the earth was about to unfold.

* * *

><p>"Hey Squall! Wait up!" Bartz shouted, cutting the speeding lion's rampage as he slammed himself onto the Manikin on front of him. "You're going to get yourself killed like this!"<p>

"Bartz, out of the way, I'll slaughter each and every one of these monsters." Squall growled dangerously low.

"The Squall I know would NEVER lose his cool!" Zidane exclaimed as he finally managed to intercept them.

"The Squall you knew was a fake!" Squall blurted back. "I didn't remember anything!"

"Now you're just making up excuses." Zidane replied, almost disappointed. "Look, I know what it is to see people die, it hurts… a lot! But killing yourself doesn't help, especially you! You have wife and a kid, show them some respect."

"Tsk, it's not like I was trying to kill myself." Squall retorted, seeing he had lost the arguments. _"Darn brats, never thought I'd be told by them… well, at least it was not Bartz."_ He shook his head at his own stupidity.

"Yeah, because charging into the army was a complete safe maneuver." Bartz replied sarcastically. "Well, no harm done I guess, let's just get out of here." Well, it would be too easy wouldn't it? Just as he finished saying that, a violet and a platinum blur crashed right next to them, drifting for a few meters before showing the platinum dragon king and the ultimate guardian force. It was hard to see who was winning, Griever was on top, but Bahamut had secured His jaw onto its neck. That was… until Bahamut blasted a Mega Flare onto the wound He created on its neck. Griever gave spasms of agony as its ability to scream was terminated, falling to the ground, contorting itself as a strange liquid came out of his neck.

"Wow… that lizard has an on thousand kill count!" Bartz blurted, causing both Zidane and Squall to fall on the ground with a mix of surprise and embarrassment.

"Really Bartz, that's what the first thing that came to your mind?" Squall asked sternly. _"Leave him alone for a while and he becomes even more of an airhead… why am I friends with these guys?"_He lamented.

"Yeah, of course! I mean, I only beat one hundred and twelve by now!" Bartz whined. "And I bet Terra will blow up half of the army anyway… this guy was my only chance!"

"_Is he serious?"_

"Sorry for my friend there Bahamut, you okay?" Zidane asked, way too casual for someone who was talking to a God, but at least he wasn't spazzing out for not having gotten the kill.

"Thank you for the concern, yes, it is nothing I won't be able to recover from…" Bahamut returned to his human form, surprising Squall who never knew he had one. Still, the damage from the battle even showed on His tattered clothes. "But I must retreat for now… if a summon dies, the summoner dies." He explained, beginning to vanish. "Do be careful." He said before disappearing.

"YES! Now we just have to surpass hi…" Bartz began before getting smacked right in the head by Squall. He wasn't having any of his gibberish. It was then that he heard a splashing sound coming from Griever's direction.

"_What was that?"_ Squall quickly turned to see nothing but Griever, unmoving. He could still see his chest moving as it gasped for air. It was alive, but not for long. Squall couldn't help but feel… empathy for the being he was practically father too. Maybe if Ultimecia hadn't taken over it… maybe…

"Alright! It's not dead yet!" Bartz shouted, begging to run towards the beast before getting tackled down by Zidane.

"Hey! Don't be a kill stealer!" Zidane whined.

"_Strange…__ the splash was too __low to be Grievers…"_he then saw a very recognizable hairstyle raising from the creature's back. Zidane and Bartz were too close to the monster. "Get down!" Squall shouted, shooting a barrage of magical spheres against the guardian force.

"It is time… to rejoin." Ultimecia said as she placed her hand on Griever's mane. "The hour of reckoning has arrived." The sorceress finished as bother her body and Griever's became pure light and melded with each other, the force resulting from it destroying Squall's offensive and sending both Zidane and Bartz flying. Zidane still managed to grab onto a nearby rock from the debris, but Bartz didn't find any place to grab on too, unless… Ignoring Zidane's threats, his hands found their way onto Zidane's tail, securing a grab on the Genome's appendage.

"TWO TIME PUNS?" Bartz blurted in the midst of the explosion.

"SHUT UP AND LET GO OF MY TAIL! THAT'S RESTRICTED TERRITORY!" Zidane shouted back.

"_These guys…"_ Squall's patience was at its end, as soon as the winds began calming down, even though he couldn't see the duo due to the dust that now covered the location, he filled his lungs with hair and boomed. "Listen! You have never faced anything like what you're going to face now! For once, **BE SERIOUS!**"The sudden outburst caught Bartz and Zidane by surprise as they got themselves back to their feet. If Squall felt it was necessary to yell like that, maybe they needed to stop joking around. Nodding at each other, they both summoned their weapons and waited patiently for the dust to settle in. What they saw was… disgusting.

Griever had lost most of his lion-like shape, now standing on two horribly malformed paws, an dark tail emerging from the appendage. The paws themselves were united in the appendage, from the center of them emerging a snake-like connection to the torso, which was much more muscular and dare I say, _normal_. The chest was black with shades of dark purple and the claws, now more akin to Ultimecia's hands, were covered in a mixture of crimson and violet. The truly monstrous part of the being was the fact that, on top of the chest, part of Ultimecia's bare torso emerged, completely integrated onto the creature, the air from her head connecting and serving as a mane to Griever's head. To finalize, two pink wings sprouted from the back of the monstrosity, now growling towards the heroes.

"Is that… her?" Zidane mumbled. "That's nothing like her transformation in Dissidia!"

"That's because she didn't have Griever there…" Squall explained. He hoped never to encounter this form again. As much as the last form was close to exterminate time itself, nothing was as terrifying as a chimera of your greatest enemy and your own mind.

"Your time is running short…." The monstrosity growled as it slowly slithered forward.

"That's her alright…" Bartz said, noting yet another time pun. "Still, this team never lost! Let' go! Team name-to-be-decided!"

"_You really can't teach an old dog new tricks…"_Squall told himself, taking his Revolver to his back. "Alright, but this is my enemy, I'm the one in charge." He made it clear. "Now, let's go, follow my lead!" And the trio charged towards the chimera.

* * *

><p>"We have been looking for you. This time, we may have a real conflict." The Void entity proclaimed as he appeared on the front of the battle being held out by Serge, Crono, Glenn and Kid.<p>

"You don't give up, do you?" Serge spat. "Glenn, Kid, take care of the small fry. Crono, you…" He stopped when he saw Crono had already set his sights on the wraith, he then decided to make his intention's be heard by actions, dashing towards the Cloud of Darkness. What he didn't expect however, was Crono dashing, but faster. Irritated by it, he stepped on the pace as the woman-like creature snarled at the coming.

"Come as you may, do not dare to underestimate us!" She howled, both her snakes slithering as they opened their jaws, two dark energy beams emerging from them.

"Cut, Masamune!" Crono ordered as he slashed through the beam.

"Fly, Mastermune!" Serge exclaimed with a smirk, sure that he would wreak some confusion into Crono's mind. Why was he doing this? Even he didn't know. But, what was most ironic on this scene was that it fired back. "I bet you have a lot on your mind right now."

"Maybe, but one thing's for sure. Your weapon is better." Crono said, receiving a mental slap from the Masamune. "But…" A large shriek crossed the air as one of the Cloud's serpents fell to the ground, a perfect cut having dissected her in half. "A sword's only as good as its owner."

"We'll see about that…" Serge mumbled as he tried to hide his embarrassment.

"How dare you include us in your little game!" The banshee shrieked, a green hue coating her body as her snake returned from the dead. "You can continue your childish fight, in the Void!"

"It appears that your plan may not come into fruition." Emperor Mateus told the teen as he arrived at a hill near the destroyed Horizon Bridge. "They have already engaged in combat, it will not arrive in time, they are too outnumbered." He said, referring to the fact that they had only three members there, while the heroes had… a lot.

"I understand…" The dark skinned teen replied, the very ground beneath him moving in a very fluid motion, almost as if… it was alive. "I have taken the necessary precautions, you are standing on top of it." He stated matter of factly. Startled, the Emperor looked down only to find himself on the scaly head of a heartless, a massive one, the biggest one he had ever been presented too. Its dark yellow eyes collided with his before turning to its master, awaiting the much desired command. The creature seemed to be feasting on its own tail as it waited patiently."Ouroboros… kill." The creature needed its tail no longer.

* * *

><p>"You two, stop flirting and follow me, Cecil's having some trouble." Shelke ordered as he saw Terra and Shin leaning against a wall, mostly because Shin was dead tired and Terra felt difficulty with using her magic.<p>

"How did you find…" Terra began before Shelke poiting to Shin's sword.

"Localizer. And don't dare me call me a stalker." The duo sighed as Terra pulled Shin back up and the new trio began their journey west.

* * *

><p>None of them knew what had prompted it, but in unison, they dashed towards one another, their swords clashing in a hail of sparks as the traitorous SOLDIER and the false one clashed in the midst of the desolate plaza. They stopped for a moment to measure their strength as they looked into each other's eyes. There was something strange about what Cloud was feeling. Whenever he fought Sephiroth he always felt like the ant trying to overthrow the bull, today… not so much. He smiled at the thought of actually being on the same level, but that just meant that the fight could go either way. With a deep breath he forced a break up between the two swordsman.<p>

"What's the matter? Scared?" Sephiroth taunted, bringing up the Masamune to his guarding position.

"It's just what I thought… you're being cautious, you don't _do_ that Sephiroth. Why are you doing that now?" Cloud asked, stinging right onto Sephiroth's mind as he grunted in response. "Maybe it is because we're not on the Planet anymore, right?" Sephiroth shot a would-be intimidating glare to Cloud, if he wasn't doing it out of helplessness. "Touch a nerve? Right, I get it now… This planet… has no Lifestream! Without it… you're just like me. One sword in the wrong place and you're done." The accusation did the exact opposite of what Cloud thought it would. It caused Sephiroth to laugh like a mad man. In the middle of his laughter he spouted gibberish, mostly about how Cloud was a fool and asking his "mother" if she had heard him.

"You misunderstand Cloud… It is not me who should be worried. All this time, I knew it, even if I killed you, that girl would just bring you back to life, as much as she prided herself of abiding the law of life, she didn't hesitate to bring back that dog." Cloud cringed at his logic, but more because he was insulting his best friend. "Now, yes, if you for some unexplainable reason managed to kill me, it would be the end, but I trust you'll find it… rather difficult. You're welcome to try of course. Now, are you done? I have more important matters to attend too … such as ending this farce of a world." Sephiroth asked rhetorically. He let what he had just said sink in before sweeping the ground with his over-sized sword, easily covering the distance between them. Cloud still managed to regain composure and jumped above the swipe, until he realized that he had just entered Sephiroth's territory.

"So… slow!" He mocked as he swung the sword again, unleashing a storm of slashes on Cloud's direction. The battle was starting just as their last one in Dissidia did, with one difference.

"_I can see it!"_Cloud exclaimed mentally as he saw Sephiroth swinging his sword. It was not a rain of flashes, he could SEE the Masamune coming for him, like it was in slow motion. He instinctively parried the first slash that would connect with him, shocking Sephiroth as he repelled his sword and launched an energy blade to counter it. Still, he was not one to be impressed by such a meaningless counter attack and he met the energy blade with a blade of his own. "Braver!" Cloud exclaimed as he dove against the man, sword blazing in a pale blue light. Sephiroth easily dodged the blow, which ended with an explosion. The explosion however, was what Cloud wanted. Sephiroth felt a wind blow from his back, pulling him towards the explosion, the light didn't let him see the low swipe that Cloud made at his leg, gashing it. Cloud then swiftly unleashed a vertical cut on his opponent, assuming a crouching position afterwards. "This… is it!" He exclaimed as he started rotating with his sword, spinning upwards as he slashed at Sephiroth. However, like no one he had ever seen before, Sephiroth parried each and every one of the slashes until they reached max altitude, time where Cloud gave him the decisive blow, countered by one of the same force, sending both men away from each other, but otherwise landing safely on the ground.

"I'm… slightly impressed." Sephiroth complimented hollowly. "I guess… I may have to finish you before I've had my fun." That said, Sephiroth vanished, reappearing right behind Cloud. As he lowered his sword, clashes of steel filled the air, much to his disapproval. As soon as he turned back he realized that Cloud had blocked every blow, and was already on top of him.

* * *

><p>"<em>Sephir<em>_oth fights in a variant of the I__aido style from Wutai_." Cloud reminisced the conversation he had with Zack back when he taught him at Shinra. _"You do know what that means, right?"_

The Cloud from the past waved his head negatively. Zack sighed playfully but then explained.

"_It's when you base your slashes' strength on the act of drawing the sword. This gives the cut a heck of a lot more speed, accuracy and power BUT has a major downfall. If you miss, you're open, and Iaido only teaches you the first blow. In other words, it's a one slash gamble."_

"_But Sephiroth slashes so many times, and doesn't even have a sheath. Even if he did, wouldn't he have missed and died already?"_ Cloud asked.

"_I said it was a variant. He doesn't use a sheath, but if you look closely you see it, most of his attacks are in short bursts, he then tries__ to break contact for a bit. You get these little tips when you train with him." _Zack cracked his left shoulder. _"Among other things… Where was I? Yes, it's not like he can't fight at close range, he still tries to cover up his weak spots, but if you ever want to beat him, you have to stick on him like a mosquito."_

* * *

><p>"<em>Thanks Zack." <em>Zack had given him the one weak spot of Sephiroth. The aftermath of an attack. Before Sephiroth could regain his stance, Cloud gashed him again with a massive overhead strike, cutting him again horizontally and savoring the moment he completed the Cross Slash on his nemesis, sending him flying towards a building, dumbfounded. He did now waver however, since he needed to stay close to him. He calculated where Sephiroth would approximately fall and… "There!"With blade pointing onwards he dashed at a lighting fast pace, only permitted by the slight boost Aerith managed to give him, hitting Sephiroth before he touched the ground, swiftly knocking upwards and jumping in pursuit. "Over here!" He exclaimed as he carved his sword deep into Sephiroth's chest, sending him plummeting towards the ground. Taking advantage of his position, Cloud made use of the Materia he always carried around, pointing his arm downwards and yelling "BURN!" as he shot three massive fireballs against the fallen man, erupting in a burst of flames. Cloud landed safely on a nearby broken window, waiting for Sephiroth. He wasn't done, not in a long shot.

As if to answer the call, Sephiroth emerged from the smoke, now showing his awfully damaged lone wing. Time didn't heal all wounds it seems, as the wing remained a burned remain of its former self, the places with feathers stretching far and between one another.

"You know, I didn't believe ALL Edge told me, but I guess I was proven wrong." He mused as he took a closer look to also find the burned torso still there. "They did quite the number on you, didn't they?" He could see Sephiroth fuming with anger at the remark. After all these years, getting under Sephiroth's skin was ungodly rewarding.

"Cloud… I was going to have fun with you… but now… just disappear!" Sephiroth swung his sword, causing numerous energy beams to erupt from it in Cloud's direction. Cloud jumped back into the building and prepared himself for the hit.

"You're gone!" Cloud exclaimed as he met the energy waves with one of his own, swinging the Buster Sword down for a Blade Beam. However, Sephiroth emerged from the ensuing explosion, exclaiming:

"Vanish!"As he delivered a lightning fast slash targeting Cloud's chest. Cloud barely dodged it by rolling his body to the right, but he still managed to try and abuse Sephiroth's weakness by slashing downwards as fast as possible, only to have his sword cut feathers. "Cut!" Sephiroth positioned himself for the eight slash long combo string just as Cloud's sword hit the floor, becoming engraved in it. Thinking quickly, Cloud remembered that he had two swords he could count on, and just as the first slash was about to connect, he summoned his First Tsurugi, using it to block the initial seven slashes. "Vanish!" The final violent slash was too much for the single sword to handle, as it broke, flying off Cloud's hand. Without it, the Fusion Blade was pretty much useless. "Now, do you feel despair?" Sephiroth taunted, pointing his sword at Cloud's neck.

"You… look very confident. You managed to lose when you had a significantly higher advantage… twice." Cloud taunted back, still not having his whole hand on the display.

"Don't worry, third time's the charm." With that, Sephiroth's sword met solid target as he swung it into Cloud's neck. Pity it was too solid for his tastes. "Girl, you are beginning to irritate me!" He exclaimed at the image of Aerith behind him. Taking this distraction and Aerith's Wall spell into his advantage, Cloud dove for the Buster Sword, grabbing it and dashing again towards Sephiroth.

"Fear not…" Sephiroth said as he saw a slash coming, raising a green barrier around him. Still, Cloud already knew his moves and instead hit the floor with his sword, causing the whole floor to collapse. Sephiroth didn't know what Cloud's idea was, he could fly and Cloud couldn't, and he took advantage of that, flying above the debris and scouting the floor bellow, only hampered by the… dust. He realized it too late. Cloud had already concentrated all of his power into his sword, swinging it as it created a giant tornado that swept Sephiroth, along with parts of the building outside. And they weren't small parts, no, the air outside became cloud by giant debris as the tornado continued raging.

"Cloud, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Aerith asked with a glimmer of hope staining her smile. Cloud responded by caressing the materia on the Buster Sword's slot as determination welled up inside him.

"Let's finish this!" He exclaimed. "I need… to turn a new page on my life!" Cloud felt the familiar and strange sensation cover him up once more, the same he felt when he thought to have finished everything back on the ruins of Midgar. "The power of mako!" His whole body was now surging with a swirl of light green energy, called forth from his own planet with the help of the White Materia. He knew that they were very far away from the Lifestream. He knew he had little more than seconds to end this. He wasted no time and bolted towards the tornado, landing on a platform inside it and looking for the man in question. He didn't need to see anything, he felt it, a meteorite falling right in the eye of the storm. "White Materia versus Black Materia… let's go." Cloud jumped towards the meteor, having no intention to dodge it. A pale blue aura surrounded him as he gained speed by kicking the various rocks he came in contact with. When he was about to collide with the meteor, his sword took all the energy he had gathered and converted it into one, deciding blow. The meteor stood still for one second, before bursting in a mix of blue and green light.

"To the promised land!" Sephiroth exclaimed as he appeared from within the debris, trying to surprise Cloud with a descending stab, but with one swing of his sword Cloud shot the Masamune clean of his hands. "Impossible!" He blurted as Cloud hit him with another slash, forming a cross that maintained him in midair.

The massacre of Midgar, Zack's defeat by Sephiroth, him driving the man into the Lifestream, waking up to see Zack dying, Aerith's death, falling to the Lifestream, both times he defeated him, his fights in Dissidia… all of this and more flashed in Cloud's eyes and he prepared to finish what he started all those years ago. With all of his might, he raised his sword above his head brimming with energy. "This time, I'll be…. Breaking my limits!" He shouted, lunging towards the bane of his existence. He violently slashed him once, a burst of green energy erupting with it. He wasn't going to let Sephiroth get away this time. And this time, this Sephiroth wasn't a dream. He bombarded the fallen angel with thirteen more slashes, each more filed with raw emotion than the other. "This is for my mother! For Tifa's father! For Nibleheim! For Zack! For me!" By the time he had finished, Sephiroth was floating in midair, motionless, but he wasn't going to risk it. He was going to finish what he started. He teleported above the man, which last look was one of fear as the sword finally came crashing down on him. "And this one is for Aerith! This is… the end!" With one final blow, he cut right through Sephiroth, the power behind the slash filling the sky in tones of azure.

* * *

><p>"What was that?" Weiss asked as he shout through a pack of heartless.<p>

"Cloud." Vincent replied with a proud smile hidden away under his coat.

"Maybe… the hero was him." Genesis mused as he finished of the pack.

* * *

><p>Tired, Cloud landed on the ground sparks of Lifestream covering the dawning sky, however he was still wary. He looked everywhere, but as the sun began to rise, he saw no remains of Sephiroth, just a red pillar rising to the south. He paid it no attention. For the first time in years he felt a rush of happiness and accomplishment fill his whole being. He was dead… and he was never coming back. "We did it…" He mumbled as he looked at the sphere, falling to his knees. It shone in a pale light and Aerith's apparition slowly kneeled down and pulled him into a makeshift hug.<p>

"Yes… Yes you did." Aerith replied as they remained there, taking in the moment they yearned for so long. The war didn't matter, what happened before didn't matter. From this moment on, any burden they had holding them back was buried with the man who once threatened their world.

Or was it?

"Cloud…" A unbearably familiar voice called, one that should be locked up in the depths of hell itself. "You ignorant… traitor." He wouldn't just die. No, for Sephiroth to disappear by the hand of such an inferior being… It was just impossible.

"Why don't you just stay dead!" Cloud shouted with a primal anger, getting back to his feet and taking a look at the mess that was his nemesis. How could he walk, was the greatest mystery. Gashed, beaten, bruised all over his body, his own wing torn to shreds, one eye without vision… if he hadn't done what he'd done… he would feel sorry for him. But not this man, not Sephiroth, his sheer determination to stand up and fumble towards Cloud was astounding, but he was a monster of the worst kind, he was a rational monster. So, Cloud did what he had to do. He showed mercy by ending his suffering, plunging the Buster Sword deep into Sephiroth's chest. "Just… stay out of my life." He finished. But, as he tried to pull out his sword, he found out that Sephiroth was grabbing it, his hands bleeding from the edge of the blade that once belonged to one of his only friends.

"Not like this… not by your hand!" Sephiroth exclaimed, pulling the sword with his remaining strength, embedding it even deeper onto his body, grunting as he did so.

"Do you hate me so much?" Cloud asked as he saw the deplorable sight. As Sephiroth stopped pushing the sword deeper, he stopped, taking a look at Cloud before bursting in a laughter that could have belonged to Kefka.

"Hate you? You fool." He began to reach for the hilt. "You gave me… everything!" He exclaimed, laying hands on the Holy Materia.

"NO!" Cloud tried to reach the man in time, but as his bloodstained hands reached the pure sphere, Cloud could feel himself hit a barrier, and no matter how he tried, it wouldn't falter one inch.

"With the Black Materia! The herald of destruction!" He summoned the chaos black orb and embedded it into his right arm. "And the White Materia! The heart of that pathetic disease you call hope!" He began lowering the sphere into his left arm, Aerith's phantom being pulled along with it. She struggled as much as he could, calling Cloud's name as the sphere was embedded into Sephiroth's body, a heartbreaking shriek sealing the deal as she disappeared in flash of dark light.

"AERITH!" Cloud called before being engulfed in a maelstrom of light green and black rivers of light, converging into the figure of Sephiroth. Cloud watched in total dismay as the light faded, revealing a reborn Sephiroth.

* * *

><p>"What?" Cosmos exclaimed.<p>

"What is it Cosmos?" The silver haired man asked her. He stared at her with a piercing gaze, one that indicated lost trust.

"One of the crystals light… just vanished…" She said full of remorse.

"I'll be on my way." The man said, turning his back from her.

"Are you…" Cosmos asked hesitantly. After their conversation, had she lost him?

"Yes, I will. For now, I have to." The man replied as he entered a portal of light.

"So... you still try and stay loyal..." Cosmos muttered with tears in her eyes. "Thank you..."

* * *

><p>Seven wings. Just like when he was reborn. His appearance was much more human than Safer Sephiroth, but at the same time, much more frightening by the amount of power that was gushing out of his body. Two shinning white wings appearing underneath where his coat tails were, stretching alongside his legs almost touching the floor. On his back, near his hips another set of white wings moved by the winds orders, these ones were also pointed downwards, together with the front pair of wings their covered most of Sephiroth's new lower section. In his midsection, another set of white wings appeared, now aiming sideways, just like a seraph's. Now that Cloud saw it, Sephiroth had a uncanny resemblance to one of the upper angels from the religious choirs, however, those six pure white wings were just a mock up to cover the one that showed his true self. Still on his right shoulder, reborn and renewed, the single black wing. Now more jagged at the midsection, and with much more black feathers, also a different tonality to the lower end, a more bluish tone, the new black wing was immense, almost as big as Sephiroth himself. On his back, completely made out of golden energy, a halo floated, giving him a godly presence. But he had other ideas.<p>

"I am no god… I am above such a foolish notion created by humans." Sephiroth said as he tightened his grip over the Buster Sword, pulling it out in one fluid motion, leaving no scar visible and his coat now reforming. The right side looked like his previous one, but now more jagged and with a crimson trim covering the edges. The left side was disgustingly inappropriate, as it was the same as the right side, just white with the green trim from the Holy Materia. "I am only the truth…"

"Shut up!" Cloud shouted desperately as he assaulted the man with his bare fists, not being able to even enter an area ten feet from him, still protected by the barrier. He screamed with unbridled rage as he tried to demolish it, never once it faltered. He was beginning too though …

"I see you acknowledged what I am… the truth about this world is…" With a ray of green light Cloud was pushed back, stunned and unable to move his feet. "Eternal despair!" He threw the same sword that had impaled him moments before, finding his target on Cloud's chest. "If the Masamune wasn't enough, maybe your own sword will be."

Cloud was… tired, he couldn't move, and felt himself fall down face down, sending the sword deeper within. As he gasped for air he tried with his final reserves of power to crawl to Sephiroth's feet, grabbing his left one in an act of defiance.

"Give… her… back…" He said in a hollow threatening tone. With a disgusted look on his face, Sephiroth kicked Cloud away. Cloud flew backwards, landing this time face up, causing the sword to bolt out of his chest and carve itself onto the ground nearby. "**GIVE…HER…BACK**!" Not even Cloud knew how he managed, but he stood up and took a hold of his sword, roaring as he bolted towards a now surprised Sephiroth. With all his remaining newfound strength, he tried to plunge the sword into Sephiroth's heart… if he had one. His hopes were cut short as Sephiroth simply grabbed the bloodstained sword… breaking it with a flick of his right hand. All the hopes and dreams contained in the sword gone… in one instant.

"Pitiful!" Sephiroth exclaimed, summoning a crystal-like green Masamune with a dark outlining around the edge, giving Cloud a severe gash to the chest. Cloud flew backwards one last time before falling to the ground, unmoving. "If you want her so much, you can have her." He pulled out the Holy Materia from his arm, now colorless and powerless, carefully laid it down near Cloud's head, who started staring at it with glassed eyes. Sephiroth flew upwards, looking down on Cloud like a dog ready to be put down. "I'll even let you die... by her own power!" As he extended his arm upwards, a stream of light green energy concentrated on his palm. The ultimate irony, Sephiroth finishing Cloud with his lover's Holy. However, just as Sephiroth fired the stream of light, a streak of red obscured his vision, him needing to dodge to avoid getting his head chopped off.

The beams continued his trajectory however, Cloud resigning as they closed the gap between them. "This is how it ends huh? Sorry… Aerith."

"Cloud!" A husky voice called as he was covered in a crimson tissue, disappearing just as he heard the crash.

"He escaped… huh? No matter. Genesis, your faith is very misguided." Sephiroth told the man who had almost decapitated him.

"Sephiroth, what are you going to do now?" The man he once called a brother asked, taking up his rapier with Weiss nearby.

"I was going to end this… but as a… thanks for enlightening me… I'll leave for now. Take this time to think about your sins against mother… brother." Sephiroth finished, disappearing into the Rift, leaving behind a hateful Genesis.

* * *

><p>Cloud felt himself being thrown into a spiral before landing on safe ground once again, still unsure about what was going on. He heard three familiar gasps and a hail of feet tormenting the ground. When they stopped, he opened his eyes to see Shin looking out for him with his Buster sword, Terra by his side, calling his name. Who saved him was all that was on his mind. He turned his head to see Vincent laying face down on the ground as Shelke called his name. <em>"So he did it… why…"<em>

"Vincent, are you hurt?" Shelke asked exasperatedly.

"You can…" He coughed blood. "Say so…" This caused Shelke to panic as she called for Terra. "Don't… you… can't…" As Shelke flipped him she almost puked. Bellow Vincent's waist… was nothing. No magic could heal that. "See… ? I have to go now…" Vincent told Shelke.

"Vincent, stay with me! Don't give up!" She cried as tears ran down her cheeks. Cloud was surprised, and disgusted as himself as he saw that. He wasn't worth that, not after failing…

"Terra, you can't can you?" Shin asked. Terra looked at him with tears welling up and told him it was impossible. Shin lowered his head and waited to hear what Vincent had to say.

"Cloud will live won't he?" He asked Terra, who nodded sadly. "Then, what I set out to do is done Genesis…." He took one final breath and turned to Shelke as his conscience deteriorated behind his unphantomable pain. "Sorry Shelke… I have… someone waiting for me…" He reached out for the skies with his clawed gauntlet, tears that should have dried decades ago appearing for the first time. "Isn't that right… Lucrecia...?" He said with his last breath, his claw clanking against the ground after sorrowful fall.

"VINCEEENT!"

* * *

><p>And so, one of the Planet's most valuated warriors vanished in a flash of green light, having made the ultimate sacrifice for the cause he so believed in. All that was left was his cloak, claw and the Protomateria of his chest. The pride of the Turks, Vincent Valentine.<p>

* * *

><p><em><span>Next Chapter:<span>_

_"Your time has ended."_

_"I am the white void!"_

_"We do not need her anymore."_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****Two chapters two deaths… I feel like a prick. Well, if there are some Vincent fans out here, and I know there are… sorry. The reason why I killed him off will be revealed and it WILL have a purpose, so don't wait before you freak out. Also, this will probably have five parts instead of four, a wild idea appeared when I was writing, and I let some (for now undecipherable clues) this chapter. And now a shout-out, is there any character in particular any of you like, and hasn't appeared or didn't get the spotlight you wanted her to have? Or even one that you just want more spotlight? Since I'm basically drafting the rest of the story now, you leave it in a review and I'll see how I can fit her. 'Till next week!


	42. Lions Travel in Packs

****Author's note:****Here you go, the next-to-final chapter on this arc. Well, one thing, I noticed I was basically only using Bahamut as a summon, so I had to find a way to rectify it, and I guess everyone knows these guys! Stay tuned and enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Forty-Two**

****The Battle for Esthar Part 4: Lions Travel in Packs****

* * *

><p>"Shelke… we have to move." Shin told the grieving girl. "We can't afford to stay out in the open like this." Considering how both the resistance forces were pinned down as where the attacking were roaming, things could get pretty ugly.<p>

"_I… won't cry!"_Terra told herself as she held back the tears. _"Not anymore."_ She had to stay calm, especially after what happened. She looked at Cloud and quickly deduced that even after she healed the wounds, he wouldn't move. Knowing that, she pulled out her chocobo feather and tried to summon a mount for Cloud, to no avail. "Shin, can you try and summon Choby?" She asked as she laid her feather on his hand. "You should have no trouble summoning."

"I have exactly zero idea of what summoning requires." He replied. Sure he SHOULD be able to summon, but KNOWING how to was a completely different things. Especially for summoning, which could be looked at as the most advanced form of magic.

"Fine, be that way." She pouted and grabbed his hand, seeing his confused face she smiled and said."I'll just use your energy, okay?"

"I guess, but didn't you say you couldn't control magic?" He asked. She had said she didn't feel tired, but that her magic just didn't come out.

"I just can't control _my_ magic, now close your eyes and remember this feeling, I'll get to the more advanced lessons after we get out of this mess… alive." She felt a pang of guilt for being so cheerful after someone had died in front of her, but she couldn't help it in front of him. Now more concentrated, she closed her eyes and dove into Shin's energy, which was admittedly pretty large for someone who was _dead tired__. _But just as she was beginning to find a patch of energy to pull from to summon, she touched a massive source of energy, and by massive I mean beyond godlike. She deduced it to be Shinryu's latent power, deciding to pull from that instead. Just as she did however, she felt her head go limp as she bore witness to flashing memory-like visions. They seemed to be from the day when Kayser and Shinryu fought, they were already locked in deadly combat, slashing and gnawing. The memories cackled again and she saw Bahamut in his human form commanding the esper forces to run. They cackled again, revealing none other than a younger version of her father, running with what seemed like… like… it was like the person he was running with was covered with static cackle, Terra couldn't make out what it was, even if she was human, esper, man or woman. On a final cackle she was showed Shinryu crashing on her father's location. She gasped and was sent bolting out of the memories, falling to the ground on a sitting position.

"Terra, you alright?" Shin asked preoccupied. "You looked like you lost it for a minute, your eyes were completely glassed."

"I… I'll explain it to you when we're safe, for now I'll just try again, maybe I shouldn't have prodded into Shinryu's power." She replied as she took his hand to raise herself up. "Now, relax." She took a deep breath and dove into his energy again, this time grabbing the first energy patch she could put her mind on. "Okay, let's go, it's a simple summon, so just remember the feeling." She told Shin.

The feeling he felt was complex and difficult to explain, but it was like he reached out to the Feymarch using his own energy, touching the mind of the summon. He felt Choby enter his mind and accepting his unseen call, the he felt Terra use more of his energy to meld with Choby's, materializing the yellow chocobo a few feet away from them. "So this is summoning…" He said, still awestruck by the complexity involved in it.

"Oh c'mon, for someone who can use godly magic like you, this should be a piece of cake." Terra reassured. "Now, Choby, I'm sorry to have brought you here, this is a very dangerous, environment, but I need to ask you a favor. Could you please let this girl and this man ride you?" She asked as she turned to the bird.

"Sure thing, but… what happened?" He asked as he saw Shelke's swollen eyes and Cloud's destroyed garments.

"We'll tell you on the way." Shin urged. "For now, let's move!" He laid Cloud on top of Choby and before he could put Shelke on top of him…

"I'm fine." Shelke said weakly, picking up Vincent's belongings. "I'll lead the way." She wiped the tears with Vincent's cloak and jumped on the chocobo. "Now's not the time to cry."

* * *

><p>"Holy Blade!" Rosa and Cecil cried in unison as Rosa charged Cecil's sword for a clean cut on the giant Dark Side. It didn't even cry as it dissolved into a pool of dark goo.<p>

"We didn't even need to send Shelke out." Tifa commented as she smashed one of the few remaining manikins with her fist.

"Do not think this as over. It would not be the first time over confidence claimed a life." Kain replied as he easily dispatched the remaining heartless with a tornado created from his spear.

"Maybe, but really, look at them!" Layle grabbed a very annoying Neo-Shadow, smiling as he threw it into the air, being shredded to pieces by Aya's gunfire.

"I hate to admit it, but he's right. They don't seem to have reinforcements coming. We're actually destroying their army now." Aya put her guns back in their holsters, there was nothing more to fear and she was running out of bullets, she needed to save them for an unexpected event… which would be sooner than later.

"I smell something different." A crimson dog-like creature said as it finished biting the head off a Soldier. "And I can feel the earth moving. Whatever it is… it's massive." Red XIII's extremely developed senses didn't lie as an unparalleled pool of darkness appeared not that far from them, a hellish slithering coming from it. "Here it comes!"

"What the heck is that?" Luso almost shouted as a blood-red tongue appeared and disappeared from the goo, before a snout slowly rose from it, it was as black as night and it's scale appeared to glow in an eerie dark blue also appearing to be as sharp as blades. The stout slowly transformed into the gargantuan snake head, it's eyes watching everyone as nothing but a meal. Slithering as it appeared, the body of the beast trudged from the dark abyss for what seemed to be hours. There was no end to the body, there was no doubt about it, the snake was bigger than the Lunar Whale… by a large margin. When its tail finally left the hole, it was if hope had fallen into it. The beast looked down upon the tired warriors, evaluating whose heart was the most succulent. The mere presence of the beast seemed to coat everyone in despair as they felt millions of agonizing cries fill their minds, ticking away at their hope and sanity. It wasn't long until it looked in on Cecil's heart. With a demonic shriek it lunged towards the paladin, intent on devouring him.

The speed and the sheer size of the creature made it impossible for Cecil to escape, and him, as much as he hated himself for it, let himself go, pushing Rosa out of the way and giving her a comforting smile.

"CECIL!" Rosa cried as she was pushed away from her husband once again.

"Take care of Ceodore…" Cecil replied, giving one last look at his son as the serpent wrapped in with his mouth.

"What is this?" A pillar of flame erupted just as the mouth of the creature encircled Cecil, destroying most of the mouth and causing the beast to wince back in pain. "You are certainly not the man who sent us to hell!" The deep voice, full of honour was extremely familiar to Cecil, which combined with the fire…

"Really Cecil, you were such a dashing knight, now you're a beaten old crone who surrendered to the winds of destiny!" A womanly voice continued as a whirlwind erupted.

"I honestly believe I was a better king than the one you showed to be right now!" And a torrent of water erupted from the ground.

"Your spirit looks deader than me!" A dark mist encompassed a region near the other anomalies.

"You… cannot be!" Golbez stuttered.

"Greetings, former master!" All of the whirlwinds disappeared, revealing just who they imagined them to be. "I shall heal you back to full strength!" The red cloaked man-monster announced. Sure enough, and just like eighteen and one year before, Cecil felt his body surge up with energy. "Now fight like you once did! We shall assist you! Us, the four elemental emperors!"

* * *

><p>"This was a… unexpected development." The Emperor said from within the Rift.<p>

"Have no fear, that heartless alone possesses more hearts than the rest of the army combined, it is designed to be invincible." The young man smiled before opening a portal. "But maybe it's time I brought in the main act." He chuckled as he entered the portal.

"The main act it shall be…" Mateus scuffed. "Jecht!" He called.

"Yes _your holiness_." Jecht answered sarcastically.

"You have what I requested?" He asked with an inquisitory look.

"Well, yeah, but it almost seemed too easy. I mean, Lezard got in there while I was inside and he put the stuff right on top of my table, I just waited and ran out after he left." Jecht replied as he handed the fake monarch a rather hefty shipment of Orichalcum.

"That is quite unnerving, but these seem to be the ones we were looking for. Now take them, and don't you dare take orders from a pompous buffoon like him." Mateus told the man, handing Jecht the Orichalcum before disappearing into the Rift. Just as Jecht made sure he was gone he erupted in a bellowing laugh.

"We aren't going to take orders from ANY pompous buffoons, are we Gab?" Jecht asked, still laughing at what Mateus had brought upon himself.

"Don't think we've gotten out of this just yet." The judge replied. "I must go to Vayne for now. To keep appearances." He explained.

"Yeah yeah, just be there when I show that guy a lesson or two in humility!"

Little did they know the same sorcerer they thought to have duped was smiling eerily from his laboratory.

"Everything is marching as it should."

* * *

><p>"COME!" Zack shouted at a Super Battle Piece Manikin, taunting him to attack him and stay away from Rinoa. "Show me ya moves!" The Sabin manikin tried to deliver a swift jab of his right arm, only to have it dodged easily by Zack, who clenched his fist around his Fire materia. "FALCON… PAWNCH!" He then delivered a burning punch whose flames enveloped his fist to form a fiery falcon, shattering the manikin into thousands of pieces. "YES!" He exclaimed while in his head played the F-zero theme. "And the winner is… Captain… SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" He exclaimed as he was suddenly sent flying away by Aqua, much to the amusement of the bystanders.<p>

"Rinoa, you alright?" Leena asked the fallen woman.

"I'm… fine." She dismissed Leena and looked around. Most of the fighting seemed to be ending, and the Cloud of Darkness seemed to realize it.

"Well, it seems we are… outnumbered." She said as she looked around. They had barely clashed, and the battle could go either way. But with Glenn and Kid approaching, not to mention Sora and company leaving the building, she didn't have time for Serge and Crono. Just then, almost as if it was to save the entities life, a massive earthquake haunted the city a low, guttural sound covering the air, being soon replaced by a monstrous slither as Ouroboros rose from its pit, towering above any skyscraper in the city. "We have no knowledge of what is that, but we will wish luck against it." She taunted as she disappeared from sight.

"This is bad!" Crono gasped, still not believing the sheer size of the massive serpent.

"Backing down?" Serge asked with a taunting grin.

"Never!" Crono replied, shooting the same grin.

"You take the heartless, I'll go get Squall. I have a bad feeling about this…" Serge muttered.

"Watchu talking 'bout? Isn't that snake enough?" Kid asked, confused.

"I can't put my finger on it… Leena!" He called. She was already coming to meet him so it didn't take long. "I need_ it_."

"Don't be rash, you know the consequences… even worse, we don't." She said as she handed the rags to him.

"Well, it saved us once, might as well use it as a last resort again." Serge replied, turning his back on the group, in the direction Squall had ran. "You coming Kid?"

"You betcha!" She replied, following his sprint.

"Well, I guess we have a heartless to beat down!" Sora exclaimed as he and his group arrived.

"Still, a sword would be nice." Zack joked, quickly thrusting his arm to catch the object Crono had thrown.

"I know you're not a katana person, but that'll have to do." Crono said as Zack examined the Dreamseeker.

"I can kick anyone's ass with anything!" Zack reassured. Aqua face palmed and looked around.

"Okay then, can the army stay here? We can't just leave the people unguarded. "She asked.

"Fine, I'll tell them to stay." Laguna said as he somehow was wide awake. "The rest of us has a battle to end."

* * *

><p>"Well, any ideas Squall?" Bartz asked. They were basically hitting ghosts. Every time they thought they had managed to hit Ultigriever… Grievermecia… screw it, Ultimecia it is, she just disappeared or reversed time to prevent the wound. This was way beyond the control Squall remembered her to have. Still, Squall hoped she still had the same weak spot, her humanesque body.<p>

"Dodge and hit her in the face." Squall replied as simply as he could, he knew the attention span of his companions wasn't exactly praiseworthy.

"Nice plan!" Bartz joked as he dodged Holy spheres that came out of the beast mouth. "Okay then, the face it is!" He exclaimed as he mimicked Terra's way of casting Holy, sending five spheres of white light flying toward the humanesque body of the sorceress. Griever's head roared with such force that it was enough to obliterate the balls with sound. Still, it kept her/it distracted for just enough time to have Zidane jump on top of the creature's head.

"Sup dawg, I mean… kitty!" He mocked, driving one of the Mage Masher's towards the head of the woman's body. "Huuuuuuh…." He blurted as he found himself standing on… nothing as the beast seemed to be a good ten meters away.

"_Damn it… We need to grasp how often and for how long __she can__ stop time…"_ Squall was trying to brainstorm a way for them to actually get the upper hand, but Ultimecia's time-control ability had risen to an unparalleled level. It was then that he found a small, familiar AND deadly grey object floating next to Ultimecia's.

"Time is a luxury you will not be able to afford." The monster taunted as she covered the ground with greenish orbs of light. There were dozens of them, a feat that put most other spell casters to shame.

"Zidane, we need to break the helix!" Squall shouted, trying to run in their direction but being cut off by the explosions.

"On it!" Zidane replied, jumping and doing a sweeping motion with his blades, but as he was about to strike the flying object, it just moved on its own, dodging Zidane's every move. "Get back here you piece of junk!" Zidane exclaimed as he chased the helix like a monkey, admittedly skillfully dodging every explosion on the way.

"_Damn it! How can we get around this? There must be a way to get close to it… there must be…"_Squall felt like his brain was about to explode.

"Gotcha!" Zidane exclaimed happily as he felt his blade make constant with the Helix, but in an instant, the Helix appeared on the right side of Griever, contrasting to the left where Zidane was. "Stop cheating!" Zidane yelled in frustration, now needing to back off to avoid the ensuing explosions.

"_Damn it… Is there no way? Zidane's the fastest one here!"_Squall was too self-absorbed in his negativity and strategizing to remember that he was NOT in a safe place. Bartz noticed this just as an Ultima orb began growing behind the lion's back. With no guarantees that Squall would react in time, he did what he had to do.

"Squall, look out!" Bartz shouted, jumping in between his friend and the orb that had formed behind him, taking the full brunt of the Ultima blast by himself. Both he and Squall were rocketed backwards, sliding across the ground until they stopped. Squall was the first to get up, rushing to Bartz. Considering he had just taken Ultima of all spells, he was in pretty good shape, nothing more than some medium burns and gashes from the slide.

"Why the heck did you do that?" Squall yelled, feeling useless.

"Because you're my friend, isn't it obvious?" Bartz replied with a beaming smile. "Now help me get up, we have but to kick!" He asked before gaping his mount at Squall's expression.

"Friend, huh?" Squall mused as a smile appeared on his face for the first time not involving Rinoa. "Fine, try and keep up!" He exclaimed as he pulled Bartz back to his feet.

"Hey, don't leave me out of this!" Zidane exclaimed, landing near the duo. Just as he did, the crystal in his pocket began resonating, same as Bartz's and Squall's. Before he could understand what was happening, a sudden surge of energy filled his body, reigniting his confidence. With a cocky smile he exclaimed: "Let's get serious!" As his whole body burst in a flash of pink light, heralding his tranced form.

Bartz felt the same. "The wind is with me!" He exclaimed as wind whooshed by his hair, surrounding him as a red cape materialized from his back and the three, mostly for decoration, stars appeared floating on his head.

Squall chuckled at his friends over the top transformations, he only needed to exclaim."Lionheart!" As his sword changed into the ultimate gunblade. He smiled as he slowly walked towards the beast, leaving his companions thinking about what was he doing.

"Useless! What can a single lion do against the current of time?" What was left of Ultimecia boomed, Griever roaring soon after, shaking the foundations of the earth beneath them.

"Nothing." Squall said stoically, before nodding to both Bartz and Zidane. "But you forgot one thing Ultimecia…" He began, taking on battle position just as Zidane and Bartz arrived on either side of him, also preparing for battle. "Lions travel in packs!"

* * *

><p>"How are you still alive?" Cecil asked.<p>

"After so many returns, are you to question ours?" Rubicante, the autarch of flame replied.

"Well, it's not like they weren't explained or anything." Tifa interfered.

"Cheeky girl. Fine, we were brought back to life so that Golbez could summon us. How? Ask that four-eyed freak, we're lucky we managed to hightail out of there." Barbariccia, the mistress of the tempest explained.

"Still, how come you are here?" Ceodore asked.

"That, would be me." The green-haired summoner replied as she arrived on Edge's back. "I summoned them. The bounding was… rushed to say the least, and they had to persuade me, but I caved in."

"She was trying to summon Leviathan, you see?" The count of the sea, Cagnazzo explained. "And we were in the middle of a diplomatic meeting at the Feymarch, well one thing led to another, and now she's our official summoner."

"Sorry master." The undead ruler of earth Scarmiglione apologized as he looked at Golbez.

"Not that I like the fact of teaming up with these _guys__…"_ Edge put a lot of emphasis on that word. "BUT, I owe Rubicante a thing or three."

"And before you ask, I'm just controlling Barbariccia and Rubicante…" Rydia lowered herself to Cuore's height and patted her in the head. "She's the one using the weaker ones."

"HEY!" Scarmiglione and Cagnazzo exclaimed.

"No time for such a reunion. It has recuperated." Rubicante warned as the snake stopped rattling, not a single burn mark on its body.

"Well… this is gonna get ugly." Marche commented.

"Still, it's the last monster remaining, we can do this." Ramza reassured.

"Plan anybody?" Layle asked, very calmly for the situation he was in.

"We beat it until it stops moving." Edge replied excitedly, clasping his fists.

"Sounds like a plan." Kain joked. "I'll go first." He said, jumping like only he could, landing on top of the serpent's head with his spear, not surprisingly doing little to no damage. "As I thought… it is impervious to a normal physical assault…" He deduced, not that that stopped Edge and Locke from beginning to smash their respective weapons onto the side of the beast's head. Having three mosquitoes stinging it, the snake rattled in annoyance, shaking off the trio easily. It remained quite docile for now, whether it was for analyzing its opponents or because it loved to give hope to its prey. Whatever it was, they were having none of that, as Celes and Palom called down a rain of meteors onto the snake. The first wave did little more than make it shake its head, but the second wave was a bit different, as Layle used his psychic powers to force it to look up, some meteors finding their lodging on its eyes. The creature squealed with pain, its pupils regenerating somehow as they closed in on the group.

"I think we may have gotten its attention…" Edge joked as the snake lunged towards them.

* * *

><p>"What the heck is that?" Shin yelped as he saw the dark figure in the distance. "We have to hurry up! I'll fly there, you hide for a bit." He told the girls as he summoned Shinryu's wings.<p>

"Oh no you don't!" Terra yelled, jumping on his back as he was about to take off. "I'm not useless!"

"You can't use magic, and by proxy, you can't summon your swords." Shin replied.

"Well, I CAN use my sword." She mocked, pulling the Lightbringer from his back

"That's playing dirty! Besides, what of Shelke and Cloud?" He interrogated, pointing towards the chocobo.

"I'm pretty sure that they're safer if they stay here than if they continue going, isn't that right Shelke?"

"Obviously." The cold tone had returned to her voice.

"But…"

"No buts! We're doing this together! Now fly!" She ordered. Shin couldn't help but sigh and take flight. Looking back to see Shelke and the Chocobo turning to the military HQ that they had on their localizer.

"_Seriously, she's becoming way to clingy…"_

"_I like that, don't I?"_

"_And I am too!" _He shouted back_. "Wait… screw you, dirty old lizard!"_

* * *

><p>"Are we there yet?" A lavender haired girl asked childishly as a trio crossed the Rift. She had pointy ears and a tanned skin, wearing black shorts and top, sleeves to match her hair, a golden and black ornament on her head and light brown boots. She seemed to be annoying the smallest of the group. Being as tall as the girl's knee, the blonde child-sized woman skimped around with a frown staining her face. She was wearing a stripped robe consisting of black and white with gold trims separating the stripes. She was hitting her hand with her staff impatiently. The man on the front seemed to be taken from a fairy tale. Blue, antiquated armor adorned with golden details, coupled with his khaki cape and his horned helmet that covered his silver hair gave him the look of a "prince charming" for many girls, but his face was icy cold. The girl pouted after hearing no response and again exclaimed. "ARE. WE. ?"<p>

"No, now shut your mouth before I send you flying south!" The little woman burst back with a mocking, but still threatening tone.

"You don't even know where south is Doc!" The girl replied.

"You can't help it can you? You must be missing a screw! You know that provoking me can be a very PAINFULL experience… but I have to admire your resilience." The woman replied, always and effortlessly rhyming. "So my gallant knight, is the time for our arrival nigh?"

"Yes." He replied stoically, with such a cold tone that it chilled any intention for a conversation.

* * *

><p>"Your time has ended." Ultimecia announced calmly as she stopped time once again, now intent on ending the fight. However, although all time around her had stopped, those three were still moving. Frightened by it, she used the extent of the time just to get away from the group, looking at them as if she had seen ghosts.<p>

"What just happened Squall?" Zidane asked, confused. He has just seen Ultimecia run away at astounding speed after everything had turned black and white.

"She… stopped time, but only slowed us?" He looked at the crystal that shone in his pocket. "This thing is blocking her magic partially!" He concluded.

"Alright! Let's get those helixes!" Bartz exclaimed, jumping into the fray without any further planning. Ultimecia tried to halt his progress by mining the field with Ultima mines, but in a burst of speed that resembled the young red armored knight, Bartz bolted towards her, his sword now turning into a very complex-looking gunblade. "Take this!" He shouted in a more feminine voice, slashing away at the helix. Ultimecia had stopped time so little time before that she couldn't do it again, letting Bartz get two slashes in on the stone, and afinal one from Kain's spear before using her time warp to get away. All the while Squall just looked.

"Nineteen… Tweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenty." He finished. Well, he noticed it, after twenty seconds flat Ultimecia used a time warp, which meant… "Zidane, Bartz! We have twenty seconds between time warps. Even then, we only get slowed to about half our speed! Aim for the human head!" He finished his instructions, now lunging directly at her, sword in hand and ready to cut. He jumped around her attempts to hit him with a barrage of holy's, stopping to dodge a bigger one, jumping to the left. From her blindside, Zidane appeared, landing on Griever's head and covering the beast's eyes. He then tried to carve both daggers on the face beneath her chin, but a swift claw motion from her left claw made him jump out of it. However, by this time Bartz had already caught up and jumped towards the head, preparing his signature Goblin Punch. However, when it seemed he connected, the right paw took the barrage of punches, consequently pushing him away. "Seventeen…" Squall ran towards the now exposed center. "Eighteen…" He jumped towards the head. "Nineteen!" He slashed right at the last second and… off went the witch's head.

The lion squirmed and roared, time itself distorting. All sense of victory was vanquished in the same moment as Ultimecia's taunting laugh filled the air. One moment the body was headless, another it was completely normal.

"What the…?" Squall blurted.

"Foolish boy. As long as me or your pet exist, the other will kome bakk." She explained, an even more evil grin taking over her face. "Not that you Kan do anything with this information. If you truly believe your Krystals can save you from my powers… you are sorely mistaken." That said, she trapped all of them in a time bubble, greatly slowing them as she charged the one move their crystals wouldn't be able to contain. They tried to reach her but just as they were about too, crystalline figures appeared around them, and they knew they were out of time. "Time Krush." And just like that, they stopped. "Now… let us give you a proper burial." She taunted as she slowly generated two more Helixes. Smiling, she created four miniature, energy planets around them and crossed her beast's claws. Small tendrils of light appeared, linking her claws with the planets. "Time to sleep…" She said, as she pulled the miniature planets ever so close. The gravitational field of the four began to cackle as they approached our heroes, preparing to give birth to an unparalleled explosion. "Great Atraktor!" She yelled, giving the planets their final pull. The planets loomed ever so near, but as they were about to crash, a thin line appeared in all of them and a familiar figure landed nearby.

"Zanmato." Gilgamesh muttered, all of the planets being cut in two and disappearing immediately. Right after that the time crush ended, leaving Squall and the rest to pounder what had just happened. "Allies! I. Gilgamesh have discovered the witches weak point!"

"Huh?" Bartz blurted, still half-way stopped in time.

"It's simple really." Garnet explained as she arrived on Boko with Lenna. "We heard her explain everything, and stayed back to help you when you needed. And…"

"She said that while EITHER one of them is alive, they'll come back right?" Lenna asked, all of the nodding.

"Then, there is only ONE way. Ichigeki Hissatsu!" Gilgamesh exclaimed, basically leaving anyone with no knowledge of Japanese very confused. "Sorry, force of habit. Kill her with one hit. BOTH of them." It was by then that Ultimecia bursted laughing.

"And how will you akkomplish sukh feat?" She asked.

"Easy." Gilgamesh started. "Squall, do that thing where you make an unnecessarily large sword. We've got your back."

"But charge it ALL the way, okay?" Lenna completed.

"_They want me to use the Blasting Zone that goes through the atmosphere?"_ Squall deduced. It was true he could do that, but long ago he had defaulted to a quicker, more practical blasting zone. But this situation was special. "Okay…" He pointed his sword upwards, beginning to glow in an orange color. "Cover me. One minute."

"It'll be A LOT more than that." Zidane commented, knowing the specialty of their enemy.

"You don't have the…"

"TIME! WE GET IT! YOU LIKE TIME!" Bartz shouted in a sudden outburst who left everyone dumbfounded, expect Squall. He knew Bartz was gaining time.

"_I won't let them down."_ He told himself.

* * *

><p>"Serge, the anomalies are getting bigger!" Kid warned as she saw plants growing out of the concrete, where as they withered and died in seconds.<p>

"I know… We'll NEED to use this!" He said, looking at whatever was shining bellow the rags. "You know what to do."

"Right!" She said replied as they saw the group in the distance, spriting towards it.

* * *

><p>"I won't let you!" Ultimecia shouted, calling down meteors. Let's say that form wasn't… very mobile. She had to use time freezes to move, something the crystals mostly stopped. Time crushing needed charge time.<p>

"Thundaga!" Lenna shouted, sending a lightning bolt right into the storm. It destroyed a few meteors, but more importantly, what seemed to be the essence of the magic shot to the horizon.

"Yellow…"

"Magic!" Bartz now copied Terra's Firaga, blocking most of the falling debris, the same happening to its essence.

"Red…"

"Fools!" Ultimecia spat as she began charging her Time Crush again, still calling more meteors. From nowhere, Kid appeared, calling a storm of leaves to cut some of the meteors, amazingly and shouting at Garnet.

"Heal me!" She seemed to be in top shape, but seeing Ultimecia getting closer and closer to the time crush, while still being protected by the meteor rain, she didn't hesitate to caste curaga on her.

"Green… Blue…!"

"Lenna, Gravity!" Kid called. Now it was more logical. Lenna cast graviga on the meteors, making them fall way before hitting their targets. But the problem still remained, the time crush was imminent, and Squall needed more twenty seconds.

"Black…"

"Time…"

"HOLY BARTZ!" Kid shouted. Zidane did it immediately, the final essence flying towards Serge, who had now landed near them.

"WHITE!" Serge yelled, pulling off the rags of the object.

"Kru…" You could see the crystalline forms appearing along the whole zone.

"CHRONO CROSS, ACTIVATE!" He shouted, revealing the flame-like blue crystal, who shone in a comforting light, a soul soothing melody filling the air as everyone's memories went amok.

"..sh!" Just as she finished casting… she stopped.

"How…" Zidane asked.

"I used the Chrono Cross to reverse the time imbalance." Serge explained. "I'll explain how later, finish her Squall!" He urged.

"Three… two… one… Let's go!" From Squall's blade erupted a shinning ray of light that pierced the morning sky towards the atmosphere. Everyone on the city stopped to admire it, even Ouroboros seemed confused at the sight. Soon, the blade transcended the atmosphere, just as another pillar of red light appeared, now west of the city, but it was completely overshadowed by the multicolored Blasting Zone. "This is…" Squall pulled the sword back, his whole body creaking with the amount of power necessary to do so. "THE END!" Without further ado, he slammed the sword into his most deadly opponent, causing a massive crater in a horizontal line.

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't we have saved her?" The Cloud of Darkness asked her <em>leader<em>.

"We have no need for her anymore, come." He signaled her to enter a portal, which she complied.

"We agree." She replied with a sadistic smile on bother her face and her tentacles'.

* * *

><p>As the dust settled, Squall was taken down by his two companions, who shouted praise after praise about how badass that attack was and how he should teach them. However, Serge was still looking at the same direction. Until he saw it. Ultimecia was there, no scratch on her body.<p>

"Whatever you did, it was useless, you kurs!" She exclaimed, laughing pompously.

"I don't know what you're laughing at. You should be spending these last seconds of your life rethinking about it." Serge replied coldly.

"What do you mean!" She asked, not wanting to realize what was logical.

"When Squall hit you, time for you had stopped, so, in reality, the hit is yet to come!" Gilgamesh exclaimed, a look of utter despair appearing on Ultimecia's face. "I always wanted to say this. Ultimecia! Omae wa mou… shindeiru."He said in completely fake Japanese accent.

"No…" Ultimecia said as she saw a line of red tarnishing her from head to tail. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She shrieked so shrilly that even banshee's would fear it as she was sliced in half and engulfed by the explosion the Blasting Zone had created.

Her time had ended.

* * *

><p>Let's spice this preview a bit, shall we?<p>

Next Chapter:

_Xehanort?: "Can you kill everyone you knew and loved?"_

_Shin: "Every single time I had to have everyone cover my back, he sent me here to change things, but I was nothing more than a rock OUR shoes."_

_?:"That's destiny, you were not meant to be human."_

_Terra:"Shut up! You're the one who can't be called human!"_

_?:"I am only my ideal!"_

_Shin:"It's time I repay for everything they did for me!"_

_?:"You cannot surpass what you were not meant to surpass."_

"**Target: Shinryu. Threat level: Minimum. Annihilation in progress."**

_?:"Ancient Magic…"_

On the next chapter, the finale to this arc: Do or Die! Shinryu, Ouroboros and Omega.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note: <span>****Well, and that's that, eat your hearts out with this preview!Next chapter is tabu, so don't bother even asking what is going to happen, you can still ask away for any other stuff. This chapter was kinda small, I admit, but it was for a good cause, next one will be as epic as I can make it, you have my word! Until next week folks!

**PS:** Don't think I'm using Lezard as a second rate excuse to get what I want, there's a VERY important plot coming from there, you won't guess it, I'm sure.

**PSS**: Omae wa mou... Shindeiru.=You are already dead. For those who still didn't get the reference, it comes from a VERY old anime, Hokuto no Ken, or as we know it, Fist of The North Star. Don't blame me! I grew up with it.


	43. The Darkest Hour Allies From Beyond Time

****Author's note:**** I didn't notice this, I swear, I was just writing away then I saw… twenty-three freaking pages... Remember when I said 5K words was huge? Yeah, *insert Over 9000 joke here*. My hands are burning up after writing this thing. It's so big I can't even tell if it's good or not, that's for you to decide. See you at the end of the chapter.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Forty-Three**

****The Battle for Esthar Finale: The Darkest Hour. Allies From Beyond Time****

* * *

><p>"So, is she REALLY gone?" Zidane asked as he checked for any trace of the witch.<p>

"Can't say. She did die, but if they REALLY needed, they could probably get her back." Serge commented.

"They won't." Squall dismissed. "If she lost, in their minds she's not worth it." He explained as he dug on the rubble. For some reason, he felt the need to. After taking two large rocks out of his way, he saw a perfect replica of his Griever pendant lying on the ground. Wondering how it was possible as he looked at his own, he decided to pick it up. His mind went blank for a minute before witnessing memories filled with static-like cackle.

"Hey Squall!" A young girl called to him as he stood above a younger Sora.

"That's Leon!" He shouted back as Sora fainted.

Cackle.

"That is a Keyblade." He said, poiting at Sora's weapon.

Cackle.

"Hollow Bastion was our home, until the heartless attacked."

Cackle.

"You're back, Sora." He heard himself say to a now more matured Sora, wearing the same clothes he did now.

Cackle.

"We need to hold the gate!" He exclaimed as he drew his gunblade, back to back with Sora.

Cackle.

"Need a hand?" He asked Cloud as they stood back to back against a legion of heartless in a fissure, his sword covered in bandages.

"Well, if one more shows up… it might be tough." Cloud joked with a small grin.

"Then that'll be the one I'll take care of." He replied, sharing his grin as they jumped into the fray.

Cackle.

"You grew a lot during this last year Sora, hope I won't forget about you again." He complimented as he smacked the brunette on the back of his head.

Cackle.

"So you're Kairi, huh? Don't tell ANYONE I told you this, but take care of that kid, okay?"

Cackle.

"LEON!" Sora called in the middle of a burning Radiant Garden, desperately cutting down heartless to reach him.

"Just run… you idiots…" Was all he could hear himself saying before the memories coming to a cackling conclusion.

"_What was that?"_ He asked himself. He looked around and everything seemed normal, the group was too busy celebrating to notice his mini-blackout. _"I'll have to ask Sora about this…" _He concluded, still unnerved, mostly because…_"Do I attract morons?"_ Then he heard a very weak grunt coming from beneath the rubble. Drawing his gunblade he slowly lifted the stones little by little until he found a brown haired young man bellow the rubble, groaning as he looked up.

"Some help here." He asked. He seemed harmless enough for Squall to blast the rock on top of him, getting the attention of everyone else, who looked as the man got up. "Thanks." He thanked as he dusted of baggy blue pants. His wardrobe was… funky to say the least, and this IS Final Fantasy mind you, we have Kefka in this series. He was wearing a V-neck blue shirt, the gap being covered by his intricate pendant. With an arm-guard on his left hand and a cord covering his right arm, tied up by a ring, you'd wonder what desolated corner of history this one came from… oh wait.

"Who're you?" Squall asked immediately.

"Not the brightest lamp in the room, huh?" He joked. "Name's Noel, Noel Kreiss."

"Never heard of him." Bartz said. "What about you Serge?"

"Never." Serge shrugged at the new sight. "But he doesn't seem… evil. Just a hunch."

"Look, we don't have time for this, do we tie him up or do we bring him along?" Kid urged, poiting at the giant serpent in the distance.

"WOAH! That's one big snake!" Noel exclaimed, blinking at how it was noticeably larger than the skyscrapers of this unknown city.

"You don't say!" Kid replied sarcastically.

"You need a hand?" The young man asked, pulling out a sword that was fashioned like a flame on one hand, and a stake on the other. "I used to be a hunter for a living, and then I had to… TRY and save the world." His last words were… kinda morbid, but Squall shoot it off for the time being.

"Fine, but I'll be watching you _Noel Kreiss_."Squall told him in a very intimidating passive-aggressive tone, eying him one last time before turning his back and running off.

"God, I'd hate to be trapped in a room with him a Lightning!" Noel muttered, the words not escaping Bartz's ears.

"Lightning?" Bartz gasped. "You mean, Soldier-Girl?" He exclaimed, jumping into Noel's face.

"Exactly!" Noel replied. God would know how many times I'll have to write that.

"You know her?" He noticed Noel's expression get darker and darker before stepping back a little. "No way…"

"I knew her… for a short time." He replied, crushing the hopes of the ones that met the pink haired woman on the twelth cycle. "Still working on getting back in touch though!" He finished, hearing him a tackle and a beat down by the almost brothers.

"You effing scared us!" Bartz yelled.

"What is wrong with you?" Zidane shouted, nudging his hair. "Hey, let's imply that she's dead, that'll be HILARIOUS!"

"Bartz, just calm down, I'm sure he has his reasons." Lenna told her boyfriend, pulling him off Noel, Garnet helping with Zidane.

"Exactly!" See what I mean?

"… You say that a lot, don't you chump?" Gilgamesh asked the already half-answered question.

"…" Noel was at a loss of words.

"You can say it…" Garnet said, resigning to the catchphrase that would follow.

"Exactly…?" He shrugged after saying it, as if it was stronger than him.

"Squall's already out of sight." Serge commented. "We'd better get going.

"Exactly!" He got more than a few evil-eyes for that.

They began to run to catch up to Squall until Bartz remembered an unfinished business.

"We never decided the name for our team." He blurted.

"That's right… well, let's just wait until we make it out of this." Zidane answered, still being more level-headed than Bartz.

"Exa…" Noel looked around and noticed he would be for the beat down of his life if he continued. They didn't know him, they wouldn't show mercy. "Of course!" He corrected, and they continued on their way.

* * *

><p>"Okay, now what do we do?" Edge asked, dodging yet another bite from the serpent. They could bombard her with all they had and the best they could get from it was a minor flinch. Before he got an answer he found himself midair, with no place to secure his foothold as the serpent decided that he was an easy meal. "Get off my case!" He exclaimed, already expecting the haze that covered the air space between the skyscrapers, the creature lunged at the mist biting were Edge once was, but finding nothing but evaporated water. "Thanks, soon to be mother-in-law." Edge joked, patting the Mist Dragon on the head. It snorted and left him on top of a skyscraper, disappearing immediately so that Rydia didn't have to maintain three Eidolions out at the same time. Edge gave a thumbs-up to the green-haired summoner before beginning run down the building.<p>

Now disappointed for having lost its prey, Ouroboros turned to what looked like the most vulnerable target, which was coincidentally Rydia and the other mages. For a irrational snake, it really knew the most important rule, go for the one in the dress. The serpent cared little for the wall spell that Rosa and Porom created, caring even less for the Particle Bomb from Palom and Leonora, continuing to advance quickly and mercilessly.

"Assist me Barbariccia!" Rubicante called, waving his cape as he created a hail of flames.

"Fine!" She replied, enticing a whirlwind with her powers.

"Infernal tornado!" They both chanted as they fused their signature spells, the resulting maelstrom of flame capturing the gargantuan heartless and for the first time, they saw scales fly of the beast, as some of its _flesh_ was incinerated. Any relief that overcame them however, was replaced by surprise and disgust as they saw what happened to the snake. On the right side of its snout, where the flames had burned up the scales, what was bellow them wasn't the normal tegument of a living being, or better yet, it was, but it was a tegument made of wailing heads.

"What… what the FUCK?" Layle couldn't believe his eyes, no, he didn't want to believe his eyes. All those people, and it was such a small section of its body. Yet, for a part of one side of the snake's head, there were dozens of wailing human ones. If the rest of its body was like this…

"This abomination cannot be allowed to live!" Kain exclaimed, preparing to resume the assault until he heard.

"It cannot be… Tidus?" Cecil blurted at what seemed to be the head of his former companion.

"What if it is?" The silver haired teen asked Cecil from the top of a nearby hill of debris.

"You… MONSTER!" Cecil boomed, jumping with all his might to the rock, only to cut the immaterial shadows, the man wasn't there to begin with."Show yourself!" He shouted, only to have the shadows reply.

"Look closely, the boy is far from the only important person inside my masterpiece." The voice flaunted before the shadows vanished.

"… Now what do we do?" Aya asked as she saw the scales grow back, hiding the pandemonium that was the interior of the beast.

Was killing it worth it?

* * *

><p>"You never saw one like it?" Zack asked Sora as they ran.<p>

"No, nothing even resembled that guy. He's HUUUUUUUUUGE!" Sora replied, a bit too playfully mind you. "Still, should be a nice challenge!"

"What about you Aqua?" Zack asked the blue-haired magician.

"Never saw something that even compared to the sheer magnitude of it… it can't be natural." She said bluntly.

"Even bigger than Xenmas' dragon…" Riku mumbled.

"Any plans?" Kairi asked, not hoping for any other answer than…

"Just hit it until it stops moving!" Zack and Sora exclaimed in perfect synchrony and in the same tempo, Kairi and Aqua sighed as Riku and Xion facepalmed. Laguna, feeling left out, started laughing.

"I don't think it will work just like that…" Crono said, earning a nod from Leena and Glenn.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing… may The Force be with you…" Zack said as he covered his mouth for added tone. He half-expected the swift hit on his neck from Aqua, but it was worth it.

"Hey, is that…" Aqua said after she shifted her eyes from Zack and into the skies. "SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN OVER HERE!" She shouted, waving her hand at the passing duo. The young man and woman looked down to the running group and decided to run instead.

"So, what happened to you two?" Zack asked as they landed besides them, sparing no time to stop.

"I did…" Terra said, shaking it off easily. "I'm okay now, don't worry." She finished, at least most of the group was oblivious to what that meant. "And Zack… what are you doing?"

Zack was basically unsheathing his sword rapidly, slashing at vacuum and dodging the unseen as he tried to keep up.

"I always wanted to use a katana…" He stopped, swung his sword in an arc, spun it in his hand as he put the sheath behind his back, sheeting it vertically. "Foolishness Dante… Foolishness."

That sure cleared the atmosphere.

* * *

><p>"If I may interject, there is no rime nor reason to die in order to preserve a chimera of what COULD be a DISEASED friend." Golbez told the group who had done nothing but dodge the attacks after their first injury. "Rydia, if you can't do it, give me control over the archfiends. I'll do it for you."´<p>

"I hate to admit it, but Golbez's right. It's just like my parents… even if it IS him, he's gone way beyond the point of redemption." Edge said, sheeting his weapons. "Rydia, can you it?" He asked as he held out his hand.

"Just this once." She replied, grabbing his hand.

"That's what you always…" Edge joked, before feeling a large hand touching his shoulder. He looked to Rydia and found her looking at him with the same surprised look on her face before both looking up to see Rubicante… smiling? "Fine." Edge said in a fake annoyed tone.

"INFERNO!" They all exclaimed at the same time as they spun, creating a super-sized maelstrom of flames that covered the entire block. The flames didn't hurt allies, but Ouroboros didn't have the same luck. As much as it squealed, spun or slammed into the ground, the flames slowly but surely entered in-between his scales, the burning feeling finally reaching its brain as it shrieked in agony.

"Just a little more!" Edge exclaimed, pressing the spell. "Don't let it regenerate!" They had to continue burning the serpent, if they stopped they had to begin from zero again. In the midst of the flames and shrieks, no one saw it coming, until the sound of splattering blood tarnished the air, the tornado of flames ending immediately. "What happened?" Edge asked before looking at is side." RYDIA!" There she was, impaled by a red beam of light as a man in a black cloak stood over her.

"You were… an inconvenience." The man said as he slowly made the blade fade, releasing the green haired summoner to her fate. "You aren't any different." The silver haired man said, stretching his arm and sending white and black tendrils against Edge.

Sending his hook to a nearby building, Edge dodged and looked down to see Cuore grabbing her mother and safely landing safely on the ground. The impalement hadn't been all that severe as it had only hit her stomach and Rosa was able to quickly heal it. Now, Edge was about to set his sights on the attacker before seeing him being slapped by the back of Golbez's hand.

"Do not fall for his scheme, end the snake!" Golbez shouted as he fired lightning bolts towards the dark skinned man.

"Alright, let's end this in a bang!" Edge shouted giving a sign that only Cecil, Rosa, Kain and Rydia knew what it meant. When he landed, he landed slightly to the right of Cecil, but a little further back. Kain mirrored Edge, standing at the same position, but on the left. Rydia stood up and positioned herself after Edge, but slightly more to the left, while Rosa mirrored by standing behind Kain but slightly more to the right. All in all, the five formed a perfect pentagon. It was their ultimate band. "Let's hit it!" Edge shouted, sending multiple giant shurikens and boomerangs towards the flaying snake. As they made impact Edge darted towards the snake, inflicting several lightning fast cuts to its skin, ignoring the faces. Cecil, Rosa and Rydia, who had been charging spells called down a giant green explosion to the snout, followed by a burst of wholly light as Kain jumped forward, crossing Edge on the way back, inflicting a major gash on the serpent's neck and jumping sky high. Meanwhile Edge showered the serpent with Ninjutsu as Rosa charged Cecil's sword with light. Just as the Ninjutsu barrage had finished Cecil cut through the smoke, cutting off a part of the snake's body, leaving only the top half to Ouroboros control. To end it, Cecil jumped with his infused blade, meeting Kain on the descent as both of them impacted on the beast, with a black magic infused Edge cutting it horizontally, the ensuing explosion blinding everyone in sight as all of them muttered.

"Final Fantasy." As the explosion dimmed, nothing could be seen from the snake expect the vile pool of goo. The group let out a booming cheer as they thought to have reached their victory.

As if.

* * *

><p>"Well, what do we have here?" Lezard asked as he felt a presence in his laboratory, turning back to find Sephiroth's hand lodging on his neck, slamming him against a wall.<p>

"What have you done with Mother?" Sephiroth asked in an eerie calm, brandishing his sword against Lezard's neck.

"Whatever do you mean?" Lezard asked with a machiavellic smile forming on his face.

"Do NOT play dumb with me wizard! I can feel my mother's essence, what have you done to her?" Sephiroth shouted, pushing Lezard's throat further in, his eyes fuming with anger. As much as he had loved to torture Cloud, this man was defiling his most prized possession… his mother.

"I have done her… a favor." Lezard managed to say in-between gasps. "Would you like… a demonstration?" He asked, being immediately let go by Sephiroth, who stared at him with his cat-like irises, trying to make sense of what to do.

"If you have defiled my Mother in anyway… I will eviscerate you." He put bluntly, making his sword disappear crossing his arms. "Lead the way."

"Yes, this way, this is where I keep my darkest secrets. Make sure not to peak… or else I might just make you one of them." Lezard pointed cryptically, both of the self-proclaimed Gods among Gods exchanging a look before Lezard leading them into a hidden door on a shelf. Just as he was traversing it, he laughed manically, surprising even Sephiroth, before he went deeper into the pit, Sephiroth following carefully.

"Disgusting." Gabranth spat as he entered the laboratory. Luckily, no one was there, just what he needed to capitalize on Jecht's impending scheme. He had to give credit, for a brute, Jecht was very manipulative, he should show that side of him more often and not go apeshift at every chance. "Now, to find what that man so willfully gave to Lezard." Gabranth had seen it. The man, shortly after his return, had given Lezard and Kefka what looked like a male teen. This intrigued him to no end, if he had come back from the Rift, where did the boy come from? Caring to not make himself known by the clanks of his Imperial armor, he walked around the lab, spitting at the sight of some of the monstrosities he saw. This one man made the Empire seem to be a pacifist regime. After a few minutes, he saw it reflected on one of the glasses. He turned to see the tube where the young brunette slept. The young man was extremely well built, his stature was not one to kid also. There were not many men whose heights surpassed Gabranth's in Ivalice, but this man did. Taking off his helmet to take a better look, revealing his shot blonde hair and beard, one that Basch had taken in his absence without his knowledge, he spotted something lying on top of the table on his left. It seemed like a weapon, but even if Gabranth's were not conventional, this one was just strange.

You could call it a giant key, as the brown shaft lead to point that possessed a multitude of teeth. Its blue handle shaped like a wing of some sorts and it even had a Keychain. The Keychain contrasted the rest of the light tones of the weapon with a darker rock fragment.

"An interesting weapon…" Gabranth commented as he reached out to touch it. Just as he did however, he sensed bubbling from the chamber, looking to his right to find that the young man's eyes had jolted open. "Even more interesting." Gabranth scoffed as he looked around, seeing no one he pulled his Highway Star and crashed the giant test tube, the vile liquid oozing out of it as the young man fumbled to freedom.

"Why… did you help me?" He asked, still stunned by the leftover toxin on his body. "Better yet, where are we?" Gabranth was evaluating him with his eyes and, after a quick reflection he came to an idea.

"Are you a former Warrior of Cosmos?" He asked, remembering Vayne's orders to not take interact with them expect when he demanded.

"I don't... think so. Why?" The teen replied, taking a hand to his head.

"I have a favor to ask…" Gabranth explained, poiting at his weapon. "Take your weapon and slice this." He pointed at the small, tiara-like object on his head.

"Why?" The man asked suspiciously. He had learned not to trust just anybody over the years.

"Don't you want to make the one that imprisoned you pay?" Gabranth asked, not knowing how deeply that would affect him.

"Xehanort… XEHANORT! I remember now!" He shouted, smashing a nearby test tube with his hands. "You know what Xehanort is doing?"

"I know where he is going, I can take you there." Gabranth assured.

"Then we have deal, but if trick me, you'll pay." He threatened, grasping his Ends of The Earth Keyblade and cutting the slave crown with one swoop. A small electrical shock shook Gabranth for a moment, but after that it was as if they had taken some unnoticeable chains from his body. Freedom felt… good.

"You have my thanks." Gabranth replied, quickly opening a portal to the Rift. "Now we must leave before that man returns." The young man nodded and entered the portal. When they found themselves in the pseudo-safety of the Rift Gabranth asked: "Just out of a whim, what is your name?"

"Terra." The man replied quickly, as if he didn't want to forget. And for the first time in a long time, Gabranth let out a small chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"You'll meet what's so funny, if we play our cards right." And he left Terra to decipher what he had just said as they both walked to their destination.

* * *

><p>"How amusing…" The man in the black cloak said as he teleported away from Rubicante and Golbez, onto a nearby pile of debris.<p>

"They actually believe they have won." Another silver haired man, this one with a black high-collared coat with a yellow lining, one that left it's tan chest exposed, a strange dark-heart-like symbol resting on his sternum.

"Ignorance is such bliss…" A younger, black cloaked look-alike appeared. He seemed to be a younger version of the first one, sharing the same messy hair when compared to the second's arranged hair, expect the three spikes, but what differed him from the possibly older one was his messy bangs.

"One that our minds cannot attain." An elder man finished, stroking his silver goatee. The signs of age were evident, leaving the man on a curved position as he watched the confused heroes with pleasure. This man seemed to be an older version of the second, or at least dressed like such. The only differences were that his chest was buttoned and that the yellow lining on his coat was now black. But the major sign was…

"They all look like Terra…" Edge started.

"But none of them ARE Terra…" Rydia finished, her mind completely confused by the sudden turn of events. "What's happening?" She asked exasperated.

"Who are you?" Cecil asked, stepping forward, even when he felt he needed to step back.

"Well, well, well, how do we explain this?" The younger version asked with a mocking grin.

"Their minds might not be ready." The elder continued.

"We used Terra as a vessel." The first man that teleported said.

"But now we are not encumbered by your laws of physics." The other one explained, giving more of a excuse than an answer. "We are reborn." He said as they all raised their arms in an arc.

"We. Are. Xehanort!" They all boomed in perfect synchrony, the goo beneath them starting to fume and bubble as they did so.

"Tsk, still!" Layle stepped up. "You're four, were more than twenty, and there's more coming! What chance you think you have? The ones that will arrive are even stronger than most of us!"

"Foolish man. Does he not understand?" The man on the left, the one who had teleported first mocked.

"Obviously not my brother. One who knows nothing can understand nothing…" The one with the exposed chest said with a gaze that reeked with superiority.

"You see my boy, even if we were not a match for your… let's say group of _heroes_, we would win." The elder said. "Your allies have died on this war, am I correct? Now, you can't hide it. I'm not talking about big names, but small ones, the ones without courage or power." He began as a shower of hearts began falling from the sky, right into the goo. "Those hearts are so easy to control."

"No! Why is this happening? They were good people!" Cecil knew that Squall would never trust in people who didn't deserve it, so it stands to reason that only the deserving were in the army.

"All worlds begin in darkness… and all so end! The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came!" The man in the open coat rambled as from the pool the snake rose again, towering above the now stuttering group.

"You're like a broken record, aren't you?" A very recognizable jovial voice mocked just before the snake getting the right half of its snout punched in by Shin. Smiling, he jumped out of the way, using the snake's own body to do so, as the jovial voice continued. "Guess I'll just have to fix you… Ragnarok!" Sora, Aqua, Kairi, Riku and even Xion rapid fired multiple beams of energy, Sora's and Xion's being a piercing yellow, Kairi's and Aqua's a rainbow rain and Riku eerie bolts of darkness. The four look-alikes jumped instinctively off the snake, which took the brunt of the damage, crashing into a building. In midair, they discovered that they were anything but alone. Zack and Glenn crashed upon the adult duo, both of the Einlanzers crashing into two ethereal red sabers and the Dreamseeker colliding with a strange, double edged weapon whose blades resembled batwings. The elder one showed surprising agility, summoning the Terra's silver, axe-like Keyblade and entering a one on one duel with Crono, using magic and dodging all the blows as both man tried to get one hit on each other. Meanwhile, the younger one dodged Laguna's bullets, smirking as he dodged Terra's downward swipe.

"You should reconsider my offer…" He told her in a tone full of smugness, propelling her into the building where the viper had fallen, a quick dash from Shin saving her from behind a very tasty snack from the deformed monstrosity. Still, the younger one didn't fight, he just watched as he floated onto the again deformed Ouroboros. Parts of the right side were scale-less, putting in full display the thousands of lost souls it gathered.

"What... what is that?" Aqua gasped as she felt her stomach turn at the gruesome sight.

"Don't tell me you don't recognize them… at least you should… Sora." The man taunted as he laid his foot onto a nearby head. One that Sora easily recognized as…

"Leon?" Sora shouted at the sight of his former friend.

"Look! Cloud's there as well!" Yuffie exclaimed, pointing directly right of Cloud.

"And Tifa… Aerith, ME?"Cid shouted as he watched himself on the snake's body. "Okay, this is getting… ridiculous." Even then he tried to contain his wording, seeing as Shera made him do it.

"Now I get it!" This isn't these world's people at all!" Riku concluded, a small, sick smile appearing on the younger Xehanort's face. "These are..!"

"You are right, Ouroboros is made from the collection of the hearts of every human and non-human being in our universe." The Keyblade wielders gasped while the others groaned in disgust."Now I ask you… Can you kill everyone you knew and loved? Did they really mean so much for you? Why fight for a universe… which isn't yours?" Everyone on the area gasped, expect the ones in question. They lowered their heads in thought, completely thorn by what the task ahead meant. "Now, and I even extend this invitation to you two…" He told Terra and Shin, who had just landed nearby. "To find the one, absolute truth and end this farce of a free world… Let us go together." He offered as he extended his hand as a symbol of… almost friendship. The aura he was emitting was oddly warm and welcoming. Still, it was just a façade and they knew it.

"For the last time…" Sora slowly pulled out a different keychain. A regal looking one, three of his trademark crowns leading to a golden heart. "NO!" As the keychain connected, his Keyblade burst in a flash of light, the one that appeared being a completely different one. This was an ornate blue weapon, a heart with gold lining adorning the joint between the handle and the shaft. The guard was made from two crowns and the shaft was covered with ornate light-blue filigree, a crown adorned the top of the blade with its teeth being another one. Aqua nodded and did the same for hers. The result being a simpler blade-like weapon, retaining the filigrees. The weapon itself was much paler, and the crowns on the chain and the top were replaced by her charm. "So you can do it too lady!" he exclaimed. She nodded.

"Am I supposed to be frightened just because you have mustered the miserable power needed to create an Ultima Weapon?" The man mocked, Aqua's patience reaching a boiling point.

"XEHANORT!" She screamed, for the first time losing her calm in battle as she lunged towards the creature. The man prepared himself for impact and the snake shot forward towards the woman. Aqua jumped, dodging the bite and swung down on the man, who grabbed her with his bare hand.

"I am not Terra, _Master_ Aqua. I am not decrepit either. What chance does a recently appointed master have against one that refined his art for decades, returning to his prime?" He finished, slamming her against the head of the beast. "NONE! People like you disgust me!" He slammed his foot on her head, pressing down as the snake swung its tail to sweep the ones on the ground. "Your heart alone won't get you ANYWHERE! Science… logic… JUDGEMENT WILL!" He pressed his foot on the fallen master.

"If that's what you really think… then you are disgrace to the Keyblade Masters…" Aqua said in-between grunts. "How did a person who studied with Master Eraqus… go so wrong?" It was then that Xehanort lost himself in laughter.

"REALLY? Where's your master now? DEAD!" He slammed his foot again on her face. "And the irony, I gave a non master a TASTE of darkness and it was enough to defeat your so-called example of humanity!" He took a deep breath as he returned to his normal, recollected self. "I understand now that there some humans that just won't see the truth." He grabbed her head and launched her into the air. "Join with your beloved master. Inside Ouroboros." He darkly said as the snake opened her mouth and lunged.

"AQUA!" Zack managed to kick the man out of the way, but even as he used the building for leverage he knew he couldn't reach her in time, neither could the ones on the ground, Ouroboros had knocked them away. "DAMNIT!"

"Bathe in the Light!" Suddenly pillars of light rose from the ground in a line, slicing the monster's head clean off. Aqua regained her consciousness and spun to land safely on the ground. She looked around and found her savior in arriving, cape flying on the wind.

"Who are you?" The young Xehanort shouted, frustrated. They always found a way to interfere in the most crucial moment. The old one smirked and mumbled how he was surprised to see the man here.

"I am the white void. I am the cold steel. I am the just sword. With blade in hand shall I reap the sins of this world, and cleanse it in the embrace of the Light. I no one, I am only my ideal. I am the Warrior. Prepare yourself!" The man wasn't a stranger to anyone who was called to the war. His attitude hadn't changed either as he charged to what he deemed to be a source of evil and jumped to cleave it. The young Xehanort's attitude changed drastically after he saw the man arrive, quickly summoning two blue light-sabers to block his crystalline sword. They stared at each other for a moment before beginning to exchange blows.

"I don't understand what's happening, but shouldn't we help the others?" Sora suggested, seeing as Crono was still fighting off the elder Xehanort. "Can I get Xemnas?" He asked, poiting at the man with the red beam swords.

"Why not?" Riku shook and looked at the man with the open coat. "I'll get Ansem."

"I'll cover Sora." Kairi offered. "You cover Riku, okay?" She told her raven-haired look–alike.

"Right, and we…" Shin began before the skies echoing with the roar of Ouroboros. Yes, it could roar, but it wasn't a real snake so we shouldn't expect to apply biology to it. "Have that…"

* * *

><p>"For someone so young and without a Keyblade, you pack an extraordinary amount of power." Xehanort observed as he dodged yet again a downwards swipe from Crono, who cleaved the side of the building they were on top of. "What is your secret?"<p>

"Like you don't know…" Crono replied harshly as he surprised Xehanort by detaching one hand of the handle and slapping him with the back of his hand. As he fumbled backwards Crono swiped the sword sideways in a spinning motion as he closed in. The old man grumbled and caused wall of dark ice to black his spinning approach, causing Crono's sword to be stuck on the ice block.

"I knew your power, but I do not know it know… is it your sword?" The man asked. "If it is, I might just spare you, for that steel is… interesting."

"You're wrong…" Crono replied. "What made me stronger is…" He closed his eyes and remembered the good and bad times of both his journeys, this one and the last one. "My friends!" He exclaimed as he launched an air-wave directly at the man, who teleported away from it, just to reappear behind Crono who was already expecting such a tactic. Before Xehanort could react, Crono turned around and placed his hand on the elder's abdomen. "Luminaire." The following sphere of green energy blew the top part of the building and made Crono lose sight of the man. However, as machiavellic as Xehanort was, he was not a coward and he reappeared on the top of a nearby building, calling Crono.

"Such power my boy. Such light. It is a shame that someone with your potential is chained by an illogical devotion to the light. Do you not desire more?" Xehanort asked, trying to make Crono fall onto the same path that he led the teen all those years ago. But Crono wasn't having any of it.

"Yeah, I want more. Nothing that you can provide however. To be more precise, I don't want more, I want what was mine. And by my calculations… YOU threw it away!" Xehanort could see this was not going to work as he continued to dodge the onslaught. This man didn't trust him, had seen his fair share of right and wrong and lastly, had been born with an affinity for the light. Sighing, he decided to continue battling for the time being.

* * *

><p>"Xemnas!" Sora called out as he landed on the building he was fighting. It was obvious that Glenn was barely keeping up due to his already noticeable injuries, but now the field was going to be evened.<p>

"The princess and her prince have come to play? Aren't you betraying your definition of fair?" Xemnas mocked, floating away from the building to have at least one advantage over the three.

"Look, I already had one thousand of your guys shoved in my face, I think I'm entitled for a little foul play aswell." Sora joked as his feet and Kairi's began to fill with a glittering golden powder. "And flying isn't going to do you any good!" He smirked as both of them jumped of the building and into the man.

* * *

><p>"Riku." Ansem greeted, pushing Zack away for a second.<p>

"Ansem." Riku replied.

"I grow tired of trying to lead you onto the right path. If you are so scared of darkness… I'll give a reason to fear it!" The man was obviously not in a mood for talk as he summoned the Guardian and started to float.

"Like that'll scare anyone…" Riku replied harshly. As much as it scared Xion, she knew better than to let that get in the way of a fight as she readied herself.

"I always wanted a round two against that guy!" Zack exclaimed, rotating his arm and slapping himself awake.

"Come." Ansem ordered.

* * *

><p>"So this is the place." A man in a red cape, wearing a distinguishable red hat acknowledged as he carved is sword in the exact inch they had pointed him too. "Now we wait, huh Cid?" He asked as he turned to the Lufenian.<p>

"Right, the last thing we want is for them to know we're here." A man with a pointy brown hat in an blue robe replied, darkness obscuring his face.

"If I went there, they wouldn't even know I was there." A man with a ninja armor jocked.

"And I'd kick their ass if they did!" A man in a training garb finished.

"Everyone, calm down! I want to see Hikari too, but I know now's not the time." A girl in a traditional white mage robe, minus the cowl said, her blonde hair reaching past her shoulders.

"I appreciate the sentiment Éclair, don't worry, they'll be forced to use it soon. And when they do…" Cid turned to another blonde girl, one that kneeled and laid her hand on the sword.

"Right…" She mumbled, closing her eyes.

* * *

><p>"Spellblade:Flare!" Shin chanted as he slammed the Lightbringer onto the serpent's snout, throwing it left to be caught by Terra and anchored to the bottom part of the snout by the Half-Esper girl. The snake couldn't keep up with so many people, and they were almost sure neither could the Xehanorts… what were they buying time for?<p>

"Oh, look! It's time for me to shine! Shin… SHO...RYU…KEN!" And there goes the fourth wall. From nowhere, the young elvaan girl connected with an Aurora uppercut onto the handle of the sword, piercing through the viper that fell with a shrill cry.

"PRISHE! While I do admit that was a good attempt, please show some contempt!" The older woman reprimanded as she hoped through the crowd, only being recognized by Terra after landing.

"You're… Shan…totto? Shantotto right?" Terra struggled at jogging her memory onto the twentieth cycle, but she remembered one of the only two other persons the group found.

"In the flesh! I am the mage above all the rest!" The crowd started to understand that the first phrase wasn't a coincidence. "And before you waste your time, yes I like to rhyme." She answered the unheard question of the crowd. "Now, I see that viper is causing you trouble… don't worry, I'll solve it on the double!" Arcane torrents formed around her as she hoped towards the now infuriated serpent.

"Oh snap! The doc's serious!" Prishe exclaimed as she sat down, wanting to watch the spectacle.

The snake sliced the air as it approached the tarutaru sorceress. That, until ofcourse, it found itself fozen solid by a single movement of her hand.

"You look better on ice!" Shantotto mocked as she raised her other hand."Why, is something burning?" She rocketed various projectiles of fire onto her opponent, not only melting the ice but also its flesh."How about a swim?" This time, she used the water from the ice to create a maelstrom-like tempest around the snake, which exploded due to the massive water pressure. She let out a lofty laugh and started walking back, thinking to be victorious.

"Hey doc… look behind you." Prishe said as Ouroboros burst from the dust, still shredded by the magic but ready to end lives.

"Seriously?" She asked angrily as she stopped it midair with only a movement from her finger. "NOW I'M MAD!" She released a giant burst of pure magic onto the snake, turning to laugh as it was bombarded by a flaring inferno, an overwhelming flood, a burst of lightning, a quaking rock explosion, a massive tornado and a freezing ice block. "Hohoho! I'm driven to destroy!" She exclaimed as all the magic she used turned at the snake, completely obliterating it's body and scattering it into goo once again.

"What… power…" Cecil gasped, genuinely scared of how a single person was able to house that much power.

"And that's how it's done. There can only be one." The mage was truly confident of her abilities, pity that was so… right. "When I devise the ultimate spell, I can even take on hell!" Just then, the sound of something breaking filled the air, it seemed to be glass, but it was way too large scaled to be it. "Well I'll be, they brought in the cavalry…" Shantotto switched to a much more serious tone as she looked to the nearby north, near the place where Crono was fighting Xehanort, the dimension was shattering.

"The man took long enough." The younger Xehanort said as he jumped back, sending an X-shaped shockwave to cover his retreat. The pile of goo moved to enter a dimensional fissure as the dimensional wall finally gave in.

"It has arrived…" Cid said as he looked in the distance, clouds covering the morning sun.

"Omega…"Terra said in despair as the machine slowly made itself be seen by the group, it's bright yellow eyes analyzing every living being in sight.

"**Various strong individuals detected. Logical course of action being to end them before they join with others. Permission to exterminate!**" The lifeless machine herald said in its grotesque voice.

"Hold, Omega!" Mateus ordered on top of its shell, raising his hand regally. "Your… masters are part of them." He couldn't betray him now, this was far from the opportune moment, he surely had planned around it.

"Mateus! I knew you had to be behind this, scheming!" Cecil shouted.

"What do you have to gain with this destruction, didn't you want to control the world?" Terra had no idea how right she was, but Mateus scoffed her statement, turning to the newly arrived trio, the elder one arriving b portal shortly afterwards.

"As I promised, Omega is here." He connivingly told the younger one.

"I'll bet he can see that." Jecht joked as he looked down the edge.

"Jecht?" Terra shouted as he saw the muscled man. She was about to ask why he was there before Golbez intervened.

"He's being controlled." The tall man said.

"No…" She cried distraught before looking to her right side. Her eyes shot open to see that Shin wasn't exactly scared of Omega, more like fuming. "Shin, what's happening?"

"It's not me… it's Shinryu… He can barely control himself!" You could see he was trying to stop himself from doing something stupid, but he was quite literally seeing red as he remembered from Shinryu's memory every world Omega destroyed.

"Still, I need you to hold that in. Cover me as I try to get on top of it." Aqua said as she summoned her armor, missing the helm she had broken so long ago. The most logical course of action was not hitting Omega, but the controllers, but she didn't expect the sudden outburst.

"No! This is my fight! Every single time I had to have everyone cover my back, he sent me here to change things, but I was nothing more than a rock in OUR shoes." Shin blared as Shinryu's aura enveloped him. Terra understood how he felt, but she needed to stop him before he got himself killed.

"That's destiny you were not meant to be human. You tried to defy it, and you got your punishment. Helplessness." As soon as Xehanort locked on to a weakness, he could exploit it at his heart's desire.

"Shut up! You're the one who can't be called human!" Little did Terra know she was playing right into his trap. Just a little more.

Before Terra could notice it, the Lightbringer was summoned off her back and before she could stop it, Shin was already swinging it.

"Chaotic Deluge!" He was having no more of this, it had to end here. The golden ray of light pierced the daylight darkness as it crashed onto the machine. To everyone's surprise, it actually staggered, but Xehanort kept his calm. "Take this, one more!" He shot two more rays, crashing into the beast as he quickly drained his energy. He knew he wasn't able to finish it yet, so he revealed his wings and flew on top of the smoke cloud as he charged his sword one last time. "Spellblade: Almagest!" He plummeted downwards, he could feel Shinryu giving him as much power as he could as he prepared to slash at the monster. He traversed the smoke and was able to distinguish the yellow eye, still waiting for orders. "Goodbye!" He shouted, crashing his sword against it.

Terra could hear the sound of breaking metal as a giant black and white explosion followed it. She covered her eyes as the winds almost knocked her to the ground. Maybe that was enough. She wanted it to be, but deep down, she knew that if that was enough, they would only need to send her, Cloud or Squall to blow it up. She still, for some reason, opened her eyes with hope, only to be crushed as half of the Lightbringer almost impaled her, sticking on the ground half a meter away from her. On the other hand, Omega was unscathed. Even after getting hit in what seemed to be his weak point.

"How…?" Shin and Shinryu asked in unison as they looked at the cold dead eye.

"You cannot surpass what you weren't meant to surpass." Xehanort replied coldly, frowning at Shin's inability to cause the slightest amount of damage to Omega. If this was Shinryu, he wasn't worth it. "You can begin disposing of this garbage Omega, they aren't worth my time."

"Shin get out of there!" Terra yelled, but Shin was completely drained, he could barely keep himself afloat, not that it mattered, if he fell he would get stomped but like this…

"**Target: Shinryu. Threat level:**** F,**** Minimum. Annihilation in progress."** Omega announced as it created a surge of white energy from the canons on his sides. "**Wave…**"

"Take this!" A giant beam sword slammed right onto the top of the machine, giving enough time for Zidane to grab Shin and run to the group. Squall pressed the Blasting Zone but the best he got was a flinch from the Omega, who quickly recovered and forced him back up, breaking the Blasting Zone.

"Ultimecia failed to kill even one? What a wench!" Mateus blurted as he looked at the group that had just arrived. "Omega, dispose of them. Jecht, go fetch the monkey before they reach the others." Omega complied and began turning towards Squall and his group, who started to run around him as fast as they could, Jecht however, had other plans. He looked around and he saw a message from his partner in crime, an X-shaped marking on a nearby building.

"How about… no?" He exclaimed, punching some teeth of the Emperor's flawless David Bowie appearance. "Didn't you tell me, NOT to take orders from… pompous buffoons?" Words couldn't describe how completely infuriated Mateus was right now. Enough to let go of his beautiful, as he put it, self and turn into the overlord of hell itself.

"YOU DARE DEFY MY RULE ALONE?" He boomed as Xehanort watched amusedly. Even though he hadn't planned it to be so soon, the Emperors plan was imploding in front of him, and loved every part of it. Or he thought he did, until…

"Alone? Hell no, look up!" Jecht told him, also looking up. "Wait, what?"

Xehanort looked up, curious to see if Jecht's plan had backfired. What he saw was something he, for the first time in decades, was completely unprepared for.

"XEANOOOOOORT!" Terra boomed as he crashed through Xenmas and Ansem, punched the younger one in the face and was left face to face with the elder one, who managed to block his Keyblade with his own at the last second. "I'll end every single one of you if I have too!" He shouted, pushing the old man back and kicking his abdomen.

"That Lezard, what was he thinking?"

"Is that…" Aqua began, gasping at the realization. "Terra!" She called, running towards the armored monstrosity.

"Hey Aqua, wait up!" Zack called, running after her.

"Well Gab, you never cease to amaze me." Jecht complimented before feeling the shock of having his Slave Crown removed by Gabranth. "Now, let's kick some Empyreal ass!"He exclaimed as he pumped his fists against each other.

Clearly outmatched, the Emperor did what he did best, weasel out of his battles.

"Omega, remove all hostile targets!" He ordered.

"**Understood, casting W****all in 3.2.1.**" The surface began to shine as Jecht, Terra and Gabranth off his back and into the ground.

"KILL THEM ALL! Leave no one alive!" Mateus ordered, the machine's eye glowing as the orders were processed.

"**Acknowledged. Commencing annihilation!**" And it began again. Just as a few weeks ago on the Figaro desert, even after everything they did and accomplished, they could only run. Everywhere they looked, there were blue particles of destruction raining down, that or the rift was already infecting the area. Everyone there could be classified as a hero, but few even got to think about standing up to it.

"Fiend!" The Warrior of light shouted, brushing one of beams away. Such feat would not go unpunished, as his shield immediately broke. "Lightning!" He chanted, sending an array of light-made swords against it, failing to even carve into the robotic skin of the robot. "FIGHT!" He shouted.

"If you can't gash it, whatever we do will be the same as hitting it with a stick!" Prishe seemed to be a lot more cheerful than the situation asked for, but she was always like that.

"As much as I hate to admit, I think it is time for a tactical retreat!" Shantotto suggested.

"A wise decision. Everyone, to the Whale!" Cecil shouted, only to have it heavily damaged by one of Omega's canons.

"I'm afraid we need you to stay." The Emperor mocked, regaining his high-and-mighty composure.

"At this rate, we'll be annihilated!" Squall exclaimed. "We have to…"

"**Surge Canon deployed.**" Omega announced as he shot his most powerful canon.

"DUCK!" Was all Squall could say before the canon transformed the remains of the area into a wasteland.

* * *

><p>"Just a bit more!" The red mage was almost at his limit, watching from afar as Omega obliterated everything in a ten mile radius.<p>

"Don't let everything be in vain…" Cid begged God, if there was one as he watched solemnly.

* * *

><p>Terra slowly opened her eyes. She had blacked out in the blast. As her consciousness was regained she began to hear Mateus telling Omega to scout for survivors. She knew she didn't have much time, so she called the only person she could for help.<p>

_"Please, help us! Let me use my magic again!"_ She begged her esper.

_"I wish I could, but it's far too unstable."_ The esper replied. _"It can kill us."_

"Oh look who we have here. The lizard turned worm." Mateus smug voice echoed in-between the rubble Terra was buried in. She cringed and began pulling her magic out by force, something only caused some of her blood vessels to explode. She still continued trying, managing to conjure a spark before almost blowing up her hand. Fortunately, her espers stabilized her magic flow, knowing that she would try anyway it sighed in defeat.

"_We're going to die anyway… so I'll help you. We need to control this as much as we possibly could. Since we can basically cast one spell and one spell only, let's try casting as big of a spell as we can! It isn't a matter of power, but of usage, now, open your mind. This is very complicated, risky and overall destructive spellfusion. It's a Light-Thunder fusion, I've known it since we were born, now's as good a time as any to use it."_ The esper showed Terra through her memories the hypothesis of the spell. One so complicated that even Terra had to chant it. "As I said, I never used this, but that won't stop you, won't it?" THe question was recthorical and the esper soon asked: _"So, are you ready?"_

"As I'll ever be…" She replied, bursting out of the rubble.

"There she is. Omega, destroy her!" Mateus ordered before Terra could move a muscle. However, the Warrior put his body between Terra and Omega, deflecting a Wave Canon with his sword.

"If you have an idea, do it, we're out of options! I'll cover you!" He exclaimed as he ran towards the machine, hoping to draw it's attention for just the amount of time possible.

"Go!" The esper told her, synchronizing with her.

"I, who stand in the full light of the heavens command thee…" A circular glyph formed bellow Omega as all of the spectators watched confused. This was unlike any magic they had ever seen. "… who opens the gates of hell. Come forth divine lightning!" Four smaller glyphs formed above the circle, four strings of lightning rising from the larger glyph, passing through the smaller ones to converge on top of Omega, shooting upwards into the sky, leaving two larger glyphs behind, rotating as the ray pierced the clouds, lightning brewing within the hole in the sky. The area seemed to have become the eye of a storm as tempestuous winds surrounded everyone who managed to get rid of the rubble, standing in awe at what was being preformed. Terra cringed at the energy this was demanding of her but she pointed downwards and finished the incantation. "This ends now! Indignation!" As soon as she finished, the very planet trembled as a thunder unheard of crashed into the machine, the occupants barely escaping. The resulting dust and light blew everyone away, even destroying the last of the remaining buildings. Terra felt lightheaded, even if the magic itself didn't affect allies, but all that power… she fell to her knees and struggled to maintain consciousness. But at least… nothing could survive that… could it?

* * *

><p>As the dust settled came a sight that lit the light of hope in everyone's hearts. While Mateus and the Xehanorts had escaped mostly unharmed, Omega was a messy pile of metal, lacking three legs, his top eye and half of his outer central shell.<p>

"She… actually did it!" Crono cheered, raising his hands up in a victorious pose. Yes, they weren't done yet and yes getting through Xehanort would be extremely hard, but Omega was down. Omega was…

Xehanort began laughing and laughing. All of them. Even the Emperor seemed to be confused by their joy. Until…

"**Severe Damage Detected… Source: Terra Branford. Threat Level: SS, Utmost Priority. **** Deploying Nanobots. ****Engaging Protocol:MK II!**" It was… regenerating, worse, it was transforming. The new pieces, they were all azure. Every disconnected wire, every destroyed piece of metal began to grow into the former body, in less than a minute, Omega stood on its own four feet again.

"It… evolved?" Terra mouthed, having no strength to speak.

"As you can see, resistance is… futile to say the least." The older Xehanort said. "Now, Omega, get a good, clean shot at the girl, she has been an obstacle for too long. But first… step on the sorry excuse for a dragon god over there." He ordered, the robot following his orders blindly, stepping onto the place where the unconscious Shin was. "Well well well, you still have a little fight left huh?" He taunted as he saw Terra's Esper form holding Shin a few meter away from the footprint.

"XEHANORT! I'm your opponent!" Both the Warrior and Terra shouted as they ran up to Terra.

"I'll be in a moment boy, for now, sit!" He told Terra, raising his hand and calling fourth a column of earth between the heroes and them.

"Damn!"

"Now, Terra, I suppose now that you saw what Omega can do, you still won't join us. Am I correct? You don't have to answer, I see it in your eyes… Good eyes, I would've loved to have them by my side. Alas… goodbye. Position yourself omega." Omega complied and started to move to the side.

"It's been good knowing you Terra. The last few weeks have been… fun." Shin told her.

"It's been good knowing you… but I still… have so much to do…" Terra replied.

"We all do… we all do." Shin muttered.

As he turned completely he took one step further to lock-on with 100% accuracy. Exactly 30 miles from every column of red light.

* * *

><p>"He's in it!" The man in red shouted.<p>

"Do it!" Cid exclaimed.

"Ancient Magic: Crest of Zeal!" The blonde girl chanted, the last pillar rising to the north. The other pillars reappeared, connecting themselves in red light before slowly closing in onto the center, covering a smaller area every second. In a matter of seconds the walls had arrived at the Area, giving everyone less than a few moments to realize what was happening. Said walls immediately surrounded Omega, lifting the beast from the ground, a good ten meters into the air. It could not process what was happening to it, and every weapon he tried to use proved to be fruitless. The walls closed themselves into two quadrangular pyramids of red crystal, with a final flash Omega… stopped. Completely. It was as if time itself had stopped for the monstrosity. Silence took over the city. What had happened? Everyone ironically seemed to have stopped in time as they tried to digest what had happened. All expect Crono. It was too familiar too him… where had seen…

"No way!" He sutured as he remembered it.

* * *

><p>"I will let them go, but you must seal the portal." A cloaked, purple haired man told the regal looking woman, who was still shocked by his proposal.<p>

"I will not!" She refuted, completely opposing the idea.

"Either that, or I'll give them to your mother." He threatened.

"I'll do it…" As Crono entered the portal, she sealed it with her powers. Powers over time itself. When he left through the other side of the Gate… it was closed, in a quadrangular pyramid of red crystal. There was no doubt about it.

* * *

><p>"Xehanort." Cid Lufaine called, appearing with his group nearby. So it was her. But Crono had to wait to see what happened. Still, she might just have saved them all.<p>

"Cid." The elder one replied. "I must congratulate you. Well played. How did you?"

"Well, I would appreciate to know how you came to have all those bodies." Cid replied instantly. Both men had touched the others crucial secret, and none of them was about to give it away.

"We are heading out." The elder Xehanort announced, opening a portal behind him. "Before you can talk Mateus, we are outnumbered and maybe outmatched, until we discovered what happened, it is unwise to fight them at their terms." He explained, silencing the monarch before he started. Not that Mateus wanted to stay, if he wasn't in control he had no place there. "I hope you have more cards to play. An ace won't win a game without a good hand." He told Cid before signaling them to retreat. As soon as the portal closed.

"Schala! You're… alive!" Crono blared, instantly running to check if it was her.

"Very much so… I know about my brother… I'm so sorry." It was her. It had to be. She seemed… different, color of her hair being the most obvious change, but the rest of her AND the spell left no doubt. He was about to ask Cid so many questions when.

"Prishe, Shantotto. We're leaving." The warrior said stoically, creating a shining portal with his sword.

"Why are you leaving?" Squall asked just as stoically. "I'm not going to stop you, I just want an answer."

"That man." He nodded towards Cid. "That thing." He pointed towards Shin. I will not stand for them. I will find my own way to end this, without relying on trash."

"_Still the walking Inquisition, huh?" _Squall thought.

"Any more questions?" He asked coldly. "If not, goodbye."

"Hikari, wait!" Éclair called, reaching out to the Warrior.

"Hika-what?" Zidane fumbled.

"I gave him the name, pretty clever huh?" Prishe said proudly.

"Originality at its best." Squall remarked sarcastically.

"Yeah I think so too!" Sarcasm was wasted on somebody like Prishe.

"Can't you take me with you?" The white mage begged, grabbing the Warrior by the arm.

"The girl has nothing to do with me Hikari, you can at least take the friends that want to go with you." Cid told him.

"Fine, whoever wants can come." Replied as he broke to the young woman's demands.

"I'll go. The rest of you need to keep an eye on Cid." The red mage said, winking Prishe. "I am where the ladies need me!"

"Help me!"Prishe cried, sprinting into the portal.

"Now, or moments together were few, but now I must bid you adieu." Shantotto hopped into the portal.

"It was… good seeing you all." Hikari finally said before entering the portal. "Let us meet again soon."

"Why is he always so hard on himself?" Bartz exclaimed frustrated. "The Light this and Honour that!"

"You're not going to disappear on us, are you?" Zack asked Cid.

"Not this time. I suppose there are some issues I need to address with more depth…" Cid replied, taking his hand to his head.

"I'm more worried about the city, and even your ship! It's all in ruins! How will we ever rebuild all of this?" Laguna asked, for some reason talking about that actually lightened the mood a bit.

"Well, General Leo once taught me…" Terra began as she barely dragged herself and Shin back to the place where they were talking. "Whatever happens in life, the only way you can go is forward." She finished, the clouds in the sky disappearing and letting them enjoy the first true rays of sunshine.

"If we survived this, we can survive anything." Shin assured.

"You can say that again." Squall said with a small chuckle. "Today's a new day I guess."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Okay, from the start. Where do you come from?"_

_"Mother… Mother!"_

_"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go *you wish I'd write it here* is waiting for us!"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****: Okay, I'm dead tired so I'll just address whatever I remember right now, any questions from you I'll answer as always. One thing, as much as I liked writing this, I'm not sure if I dumped a little too much in one go, heck, even I needed to read this one again after I finished writing it. Also, I learned something as I wrote this. I have to do crowd control. This time it was needed, but I'll have to keep the amount of people appearing at the same time ALOT smaller, well I was going to do it anyway, just saying. Don't expect another giant like this… at least soon. That aside, I really hope you enjoyed it,if you didn't, I also appreciate it more if you tell me in the face, that makes me suck it up and make better stuff, so everyone wins in the end. Also, just dropping this out here, next comes either Vaan or Tidus, I'm holding onto Noel for a bit. See you next week!


	44. Briefings, Obliviousness and Card Games

****Author's note:**** Well, this chapter is a light one, why do you ask? One, it MIGHT be the last time they actually get some peace and quiet before the ending, which is kinda far away don't worry, and two, because I needed time to make up a full plot for the next arc. I do have it now, but I'll have to build it up, so yeah, take this chapter for what it's worth, hope I at least get a laugh out of you.

**WARNING: MAY CONTAIN EXCESSIVE AMOUNTS OF RANDOMNESS. Some parts are not to be taken seriously. SOME.**

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Forty-Four**

****Briefings, Obliviousness and Card Games****

* * *

><p>"<em>Maybe this was easy to understand, but I suck at normal interactions. For example, I am so lost at how to ACT right now, I'm breaking the fourth wall."<em> This had to be the most awkward situation possible for him. He didn't KNOW the guys that had died, he had never BEEN to a funeral and he had Terra's condition to take care of. What was that you ask? She's on a wheelchair. And he's driving it. What's wrong with that? They were a group of people on funeral dress-code which were looking at a giant screen as two spiky haired men drove motorcycles around an improvised track. How? Why? Let's take a look at the day before.

* * *

><p>Esthar's military HQ's infirmary, 11 AM:<p>

This one was crowded, and by crowded I mean the ones who had broken bones were sent home for being comparatively better off than the others. Luckily, most of the people who fought Omega had a minor broken bone or two and some bruises, but not Terra. You see, on the walk back to HQ Terra… fell to the ground. This would be normal if she had passed out from exhaustion, but her eyes were boggled open from surprise. Now, let's go back even further into the day, shall we?

* * *

><p>Edge of the Wasteland 9.30 AM:<p>

"I… I can't move!" She exclaimed, trying to move the rest of her body, a useless effort, she could only move her neck.

"We need to get her to the infirmary then. I'll…" Locke began before being pulled away by Zack.

"Locke, dude, I need to test something. Say you have a sour back." Zack asked. Completely taken aback by it, Locke decided it would be better to just go with the flow and do it, and what do you know, Zack's hunch was right.

"I'll do it." Shin offered, taking the girl onto a piggy back.

"Positive results… now to prod deeper into the matter at hand." Zack commented as he slyly followed them, unseen, unheard, just like Edge taught him. That is, until the newcomer bolted past them with Aqua on his shoulders. "OH HELL NO! Get back over here you thief!"

"Terra! It's only a sprained ankle!" Aqua moaned as she hammered on his head.

"_Oh shi… she's awake!"_ Zack realized, doing a complete one eighty on his approach. "Aqua! Are you alright?" He asked, quickly hiding his anger from the blue haired Keyblade master.

"As I was telling Terra…!" She said in a passive aggressive tone. "I just sprained an ankle! He's acting like I lost leg or something!"

"Can't take chances, you might have an infection, or the stress might have concealed the broken bone!" Terra said, but Zack had gotten his memo, or so I thought. He meant "this is my territory" but he wasn't getting any of that, not if Zack Fair could help it. Still, he had to be subtle, snatching her away from his back would be too simple, as much as he hated it, he had to let HIM carry her. Unless…

"You're being overzealous… kid." He added. As far as he could see, Terra was eighteen, no more than that, not that he didn't know the complex backstory or anything, Terra was eighteen, Terranoth was another guy. You could practically see the sparks between the two men's eyes, the background turning into a burning inferno.

"He's right Terra, I can walk… see?" Aqua said as she jumped from his back, landing on her bad foot, immediately falling, swiftly being caught by Zack.

"Seems you really can't… I'll take you then." Zack told her, but all he had on his mind was. _"Suck it scarface!"_Yeah, those four scars on each cheek hadn't left the young man, who was now burning on the inside, but keeping a straight smile on the outside, his eye still managing to twitch though. Yes, he knew Zack, no he wasn't taking any of this crap. As he waved at the duo, he shot a glare onto Zack's, who grinned back, victorious.

"_I'll get you next time Fair… next time!"_ Terra thought.

As they saw the pseudo-fight for dominance, Bartz approached the group.

"That's a Love Triangle!" He exclaimed, they turned to him to see his normally usual outfit now incorporate a giant O on his chest and a cape.

"Exactly!" Noel commented as he pointed towards them.

"Thank you Captain Obvious! Here, have a Potato!" Zidane replied sarcastically as he threw a potato that he got from god knows where into his hands.

"Our work here is done, Exactman! AWAY!" And they just… flew off?

"I'm going to go now…." Shin commented as he ran to the infirmary.

That was truly… I lack the words to describe it, maybe there aren't? Now, back to the infirmary.

* * *

><p>"I really have no idea what is wrong with you miss…" One of the doctors told her as she stopped feeling her body. X-rays, neurologic analysis, physiological, nothing pointed out that Terra was unable to move. On human standards, she was completely fine. That was until the door to the room slowly creaked open, unveiling one of the strangers that had come with Cid. They seemed to place her name as Schala. Strange one, almost archaic, not that her figure pointed at it. She had the appearance of a girl in her early twenties, a pink ribbon cradling her blonde hair as she wore a pristine white dress. She looked like an older version of Naminé. Crono was talking with her. She looked at Terra solemnly and mysteriously, passing through the doctors and placing her hand upon her head.<p>

"Your flow of magic… it's completely overwhelmed. These energies might destroy you… now, how that led to your body shutting down, I do not know." She explained in her divine voice. As much as Shin hated to admit it, that girl did look like a goddess, but then he remembered his last experience with a woman like that and shuddered at the thought.

"I think I've got an answer to that." The voice was more mature than Schala's, it took Terra just a few seconds to recognize it as Rydia.

"From a human point of view you're fine." Rydia explained as she waltzed in, by her de facto family. "But we all know that you're a special kind of human, don't we?" She continued, scaring the doctor off the room. "Magic recoil is the slang for your condition. It usually only happens to VERY powerful entities, it CAN happen to humans, there have been a few documented cases, but the conditions for it are very demanding. You basically have to push your body to such heights that the sole function of containing that energy becomes too much for the body, the magical flow becomes unstable and unsafe and the body just… resets. Nothing wrong with it, but you will have to go some days without moving." As she finished the explanation, the doctor put her head back in, asking if she was needed, to which Rydia shook her head. "The good part is that the body itself returns reinforced. So you basically leveled up, so to say." That was… good wasn't it?

"Thank you for the explanation Rydia…" Schala replied. "It's always good to know more." She shot a sincere smile at her. "Now, get some rest, tomorrow, after the funeral, we'll talk more." And she walked from the room.

"Oh right… the funeral…" The realization hit Shin and Terra like a truck. People died. A LOT of people died. So many people died in fact, that the funeral tomorrow was just for Seifer and Vincent. The rest had to be identified and then proceeding to a collective funeral. They knew they would probably need to move fast, so they moved Seifer's and Vincent's funeral to an acceptable date. And then came the hard part. Zack knew nothing about what happened between Cloud and Sephiroth. Yuffie and the rest had said they were going to visit Shelke, Genesis followed them, knowing he would have to explain what he saw. Now Zack… he left with Aqua on his piggyback, breaking the news would be hard… especially when IT was broken. He looked at the wrap of the formerly proud Buster Sword. Sure, the Lightbringer broke, but it was a good weapon, that's it, a faithful sword of course, and Shin was sad to see her like this but the Buster Sword? The emotional value of it was off the scale, when Zack saw it, coming with the fact Cloud had lost to Sephiroth and Aerith was nowhere in sight… "We should probably talk to Zack." Shin told Terra, who nodded from her bed before boggling her eyes.

"What for?" Zack asked as he reached the room, Aqua walking with a small bandage trying her left leg and one clutch, Terra looking from afar. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"Well Zack, you see… Cloud…" Shin didn't know where to begin.

"He lost didn't he…?" He's alive though." Zack had seen Cloud having a troubled sleep on a bed, but he never thought it had come to this. At least he was okay… but at what cost.

"Yes but… Vincent… died for him." The thin already present presence of heavy atmosphere completely sunk into an almost tangible one. Aqua didn't know Vincent all that much, but she did take her hand to her mouth and close her eyes, she knew he had a close, but hidden circle of friends. Terra just closed his eyes as he let his head slide, no life was deserving of a premature ending… with a few exceptions. Zack on the other hand, remained expressionless, remembering how he saw Yuffie bolt out of the hospital, cursing himself for not connecting the dots. With a roar and a fist on the wall he calmed his anger, he knew that he couldn't do anything now. But when he looked up again, he could see it. There was something those two were still keeping from him. "What are the other bad news? He asked rapidly, wanting to end it quickly.

"Aerith was nowhere in sight. Her crystal was… blank." Terra told him. This brought a tear to Aqua's eye, they had had "girl talk" a lot since Christmas, that was in the least devastating. Zack on the other hand, calmed himself.

"Well, that just means she can't communicate for now. I'm sure of it." Of course he wasn't sure, but he had to hold on to something, he could very possibly break down if he didn't.

"And…" Shin took wrap, carefully placing it on Zack's hands.

"No…"

"I'm sorry Zack, I knew how much it meant to you…" Shin comforted as Zack slowly revealed the broken blade. Terra didn't understand it, but Aqua did… not as much as she thought though.

"I... s-see… W-well at least it wasn't a p-person right?" Zack sutured, trying to put on a straight face. But he couldn't hide it. One, two, three tears fell on the sword. He quickly turned around, pushed Terra aside and plowed through the crowd in the infirmary.

"Zack, wa..." Shin was cut short by the blue-haired sorceress. Terra was opening his mouth but Aqua ordered him.

"Shut up." And she followed him as fast as she could with her bandaged foot.

* * *

><p>Zack didn't go very far, he went out to the garden in the middle of the facility found the most hidden point he could.<p>

"Damnit!"Aqua could hear as she approached him. "He was your friend Sephiroth… Angeal was your fucking BROTHER!" Zack knew in the back of his mind that Sephiroth would do this if he was able too, and he knew just how twisted he had become but… "I was your friend…" He punched the tree again before falling to his knees.

Aqua didn't know Zack for more than a few days, or if you want to count that Zack she only knew him for a week, but she had gathered enough information to know that this wasn't a usual reaction. She didn't know if her approach would work but… the best way to deal with a unusual reaction is with another unusual reaction.

"Looks like you are more than just a smiley face after all." She said as she sat down on his side, watching the tree.

"Don't you have better things to do?" Zack shot back swiftly. Unusual reaction number two, too bad it was so easy to read through.

"You don't like to take people down with you." Aqua stated, this time shifting her aqua-blue gaze to Zack who was already eying her surprised. "So, when you just can't take it anymore you shun everyone until you can smile again." Well, she had got him there, hiding it wouldn't just cut it now.

"Tch, you sure can be nosy some times." Zack said with a small grin. "Still… can you respect that?" He asked as sat, looking back to the tree.

"_Well, that could have gone better…"_ Aqua thought as she tried to think of a better way to cheer him up. The upfront way didn't work, maybe a more… sentimental way could, and she actually wanted to ask him for some time now. "It meant that much to you huh….Don't you want to share?" She asked, getting a confused look from the hedgehog haired SOLDIER. "I mean, I don't exactly know why that sword was so important to you, nor do I know why Aerith was… Trust me, it's better if you let it all out." Zack laughed a bit and replied.

"Well, it's not like I know anything about you either." Well, at least he didn't say no.

"Do you want me to tell you now, or later?" Aqua replied, poking at every chance she had.

"That serious huh…?" Zack could see it in her eyes. Resigned, he sighed as she ruffled his unruly hair and began looking at the sky. "Fine, if you want to listen to my life's story, here it is. It all began when I was just sixteen years old…"

* * *

><p>"Hey, is anyone here?" Noel asked as he entered a dimly lit room.<p>

"Yes?" A pale blonde girl replied as she got up from her seat near a bed. Was this one of the "new guys" Sora was talking about?

"Are you… Naminé?" He asked as he got in closer, finding a silver haired man laid down on the bed. "Did... did I interrupt something?" He asked. Naminé's cheeks flared as she slapped the crap of the newcomer.

"YOU PERVERT!" She yelled before calming down. Were all men like this? She pouted as she remembered her incident with Zidane. "He's a just a patient, like you probably are."

"H-how did…" Noel began, his eyes jolting open in surprise.

"Why else would you be here?" Naminé replied matter of factly. "Just sit down over there." The young man complied and Naminé eyed him for a second before asking. "Just how much don't you remember?"

"Just… a few minutes. The very end of my journey." Noel replied.

"Well, that might be good or bad. Relax." She told him as she snapped her fingers, causing him to fall asleep. It wasn't a blissful sleep like the others however as just when Naminé turned to Kuja Noel started convulsing as he spouted seemingly unconnected blabber.

"Caius, I WON'T kill you!"

Cackle.

"What have I done?"

Cackle.

"SERAH!"

Cackle.

"Hope… I'm sorry…"

"Wake up Noel!" He heard in between the memories before feeling a damp, cold feeling cover his entire body. A bucket of cold water always works.

"HEY! I was remembering stuff!" Noel shot back angrily. Maybe they didn't make much sense, but with just a bit more…

"Yes you were, you also were this close to a mental breakdown." Naminé told him harshly. "You could have told me something happened!" Not that most people knew "memory-science" all that well, but the fact that she had almost turned someone into a vegetable bothered her to no end.

"Something happened to what?" Noel asked confused.

"So you didn't know? You're memories aren't forgotten… it's almost like, they are there, but they don't… exist." Naminé explained, as hard as it was. It was as if you saw those memories, but they weren't there, you couldn't touch them, and if you did, it was like they shouldn't be there.

"So… I take it you can't do anything 'bout those." Noel asked in a disappointed tone.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far. But let me finish with Kuja, then I'll take you as a full time." Naminé replied as she stole a glance of the now soundly sleeping Genome.

"And that'll be…?"

"Contrary to what I told them, when I left Kuja alone for a second he basically exploded in terms of recovery rate. I'll take a look at you the day after tomorrow if all goes well..." She replied with a small smile.

"Well, gee thanks!" Noel began scratching his head due to the smile, not knowing he was being carefully eyed.

"Okay, now get outta here!" Xion shouted as she threw him off the window, the poor guy never saw it coming. "She's taken, jerk!"

* * *

><p>"Now Ceodore. Is that all?" Kain taunted as he stood above a son of Cecil drowning in his own sweat.<p>

"But Kain, we just had the fight of our lives!" He whimpered only receiving a grimace to meet his plea.

"That was hardly the fight of our lives. And if I may remember you, you asked me to train you now!" Kain spat back, grabbing him by the hand and pulling him back to a standing position.

"That's only because Ursula said she was training with Yang…" Ceodore confessed, embarrassed he was lazier then the girl he was crushing on.

"Something tells me she would have been an excellent student…" Kain lamented before picking up a pink dot on the corner of his eye. Scuffing, he jumped above the debris nearby, landing right next to a terrified redhead. "What do you wish?"

"I… I ham…"

* * *

><p><em>"C'mon Kairi, we just got off a very sticky situation!"<em> Sora told her, even Riku agreeing to it.

_"But I didn't DO anything!"_ Kairi mumbled back, she didn't even remember being stopped in time.

_"Still, catch some sleep!"_ Sora told her, patting her on the shoulder with a cheeky grin before leaving for the nearest bed.

* * *

><p>"Interesting… Sometimes I wonder how I accepted someone like Ceodore to begin with…" Kain remarked, before patting Kairi in the back, calling Ceodore. "Ceodore, you have five minutes to get to know your partner. You won't be eating if you two do not defeat me." He said stoically.<p>

"WHAT? But my…" The teen began.

"Cecil _will_ agree." Kain interrupted, sending Ceodore into a pseudo-depression. "No time to be depressed, it's been thirty seconds already."

"Crap…" Both of the teens muttered before going behind a rock to discuss strategies.

* * *

><p>Squall had had it. Due to lack of bedrooms, he had decided to crash in the entry hall, it did have a lot of couches, pity that that was just it, a LOT of couches, more specifically, he had three couches near him, containing a certain type of people.<p>

"Crystal Destined!"

"Masters of the Crystals!"

"Gilgamesh's Squad!"

That kind of people.

"_Seriously, don't they need to sleep? Back in Dissidia they were always the first ones to ask for breaks…"_Squall thought begrudgingly, shaking his head before looking over his couch for the surprising silence that appeared. He almost fell off as he found Bartz's head plastered on his.

"Hey Squall! HEY! Listen!" Bartz exclaimed in tone whose annoyance was only beaten by Navi.

"What now…" Squall mumbled, trying to finish it and go to sleep.

"Tell me something liony." He said plainly.

"What the heck do you mean, _"something liony?"_ " Squall asked harshly, little to no patience left.

"You know, a name for our team! Anything? If you try it, I promise we'll leave you alone!" Bartz exclaimed, immediately gaining Squall's attention.

"_It has to be something deep… something that they'll never pick…__ I got it.__"_Squall thought, machinating the one name that would both give him peace AND not participate in the nonsense. "The Pride." The sudden look of confusion and surprise on Bartz's, Zidane's and Gilgamesh's face would be enough to satisfy Squall… if it didn't turn into a beaming grin two seconds later. "No…" How could they… it was way over their heads.

"SQUALL! It's…!"

"NO NO NO!" He refused to believe he was going to be marked as the guy who named it.

"PERFECT!"

He said nothing, but on the inside all he could think off was: _"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU"_

* * *

><p>"LEZARD!" Ansem boomed as he knocked down the door to the laboratory.<p>

"Calm yourself." Xemnas told him, not having emotions helped sometimes.

"The weasel doesn't seem to be here!" Ansem shouted, ignoring his peer's advice and begging to ransack the laboratory before being forcefully stopped by a force wave from the youngest of them all.

"That will not help us, let us be civilized, like you should be." He said calmly, closing his eyes. "That way." He pointed out, somehow uncovering the hidden passage and entering it. Ansem groaned and followed him.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, inside.<p>

"I gotta admit, this is a work of art Lez, how did ya do it?" Kefka asked jollily.

"Well, you see, I took a DNA sample of every being I encounter… that includes all of you. Most of them are useless and only serve for me to understand your weaknesses… for study's sake of course. Sephiroth's DNA however, had a catch. It was not just his. Therefore, I isolated a strand, conserved it and used DNA replication to create… Jenova." The woman, having only been finished now, bore no clothes and resembled little of her last incarnation. Considering she had been recreated from scratch, she looked like a woman in her mid-twenties, with the exception of her gray skin. Much like Sephiroth and his remnants, shinning silver haired curled around her, stretching almost to her feet. And her eyes, snake like eyes, much like Sephiroth's in many ways, but blood red.

"Mother… Mother!" Like a ten-year old, the high and mighty Sephiroth curled in the embrace of the being that had just been released from a massive test tube.

"There there dear… it'll all be just… _perfect_." She put a sadistic tone on her perfect, further accentuating what many already knew. This woman was crazy.

"Does he have ANY idea of how HILARIOUS this is?" Kefka snorted in between his laughter. While chuckling, Lezard managed to maintain a somewhat neutral stance on the matter.

"It is not his fault. It's in his DNA, I'd wager that if she wanted too… she could do a lot _worse_…" For a moment, Lezard's and Jenova's eyes crossed, a maniacal glint crossing both eyes, seemingly unnoticed by the three newcomers.

"Lezard! What is the meaning of this?" Xehanort said very calmly. "Why did the man that we entrusted you appear right under our noses?"

"What?" Lezard yelled, losing his composure. "How did that come be?"

"Gabranth brought him." Xemnas replied stoically.

"Why that dirty rat!" Lezard exclaimed, swinging his hand at the unknown. "And Jecht wouldn't happen to…"

"He did." Ansem interrupted.

"I see…" He replied before bursting out in a maniacal laughter. "No matter! After completing this, NOTHING matters!"

"Lezy's throwing a fit…" Kefka joked as he saw Lezard completely out of himself.

"Now, Sephiroth, it's time to pay up for my services…" He said darkly.

* * *

><p>"And then Cloud gave it back to me a bit before we met." Zack finished, looking into Aqua's eyes again.<p>

"That's… a lot of… So that's why…" At first Aqua thought that all this fuss for a sword was a bit over exaggerating, but after this, she totally understood why it was so important. Just like when she flipped out when Vanitas broke a simple wooden Keyblade, which was worth infinitely less than this.

"Yeah…" Zack replied, turning again to the tree.

"_Well, that didn't work huh? Well… I guess there's always __**that**__…__ you better not be playing me on this Zack." _Aqua lamented half-heartedly as she stood up and turned around. "Well… I WAS going to take you up on your offer, but since you're all emo, maybe I'll just scratch it."

"WAIT! Pause it for a second, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Zack exclaimed, bolting out of his depression like a love-sick puppy.

"Well, that was easy…" Aqua exclaimed with a giggle. "Let me just take this off tomorrow." She finished with a wink before trailing off, Zack running to keep up. "Still, you're more tri-dimensional than I thought, you, crying?" Aqua joked, hitting him on the back of the head playfully.

"What are you saying?" Zack replied with a pumped chest. "Devil's Never Cry." He said proudly, Aqua making an abrupt stop and eying him darkly.

"You did NOT just make that reference." Aqua said, trying to deny it.

"What, it was just too easy!"Zack replied before seeing Aqua reach for her Keyblades. "I WON'T DO IT AGAIN!"

"You better not." Aqua said darkly, swiping the Master Keeper two inches from Zack's nose. "Still, the deal's off."

"Come on! I'm serious!" Zack said, humorously letting tears fall from his eyes like waterfalls.

"See?" Aqua said with a laugh, helping him up and turning away. "Even the Devil May Cry."

"_Okay, I deserved that…"_

"Don't worry, I'm not a liar." Aqua joked one more time before heading off.

* * *

><p>"You can come out now… I won't punish you." The older Xehanort, who was on the edge of the former giant lake next to the destroyed city, said, causing a small pool of darkness to spit out a familiar face. Cut, bruised, bones broken and barely able to stand was the condition of his long lost student.<p>

"Master…" Vanitas whelped.

"Do not fret Vanitas. You did well." Master Xehanort complimented, giving an uncharacteristic pat on the back of Vanitas' head. "You shouldn't have fought her, but we wouldn't have come so far if it wasn't for you."

"But master, we lost…" Vanitas lamented. This was truly a completely alternate side of him, no one else saw how troubled the dark half was, just his master.

"There is always tomorrow, son…" Xehanort said before enveloping them in darkness, disappearing into the Rift.

* * *

><p>"You guys! I got awesome news!" Zack shouted, erupting into the room where Terra was resting.<p>

"You're… okay?" Shin tried to guess before being hit in the face by a foreign object.

"BEHOLD, THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE! A WHEELCHAIR!" Zack boomed.

"Did he just hit his friend in the face with a wheelchair?" Terra asked, worried about anyone who was actually hanging out with him on a regular basis.

"Common practice." Aqua told him giving completely uninterested look onto the ensuing madness as she sipped on a Cola.

"Let's get some fresh air!" Zack exclaimed as he forcefully sat Terra on the chair and slammed Shin onto it's back. "You drive."

"Why?"

"Considering this is a man's job, you're the only one who qualifies for it. I'm lazy, Edge's not single anymore, Terra's useless." He got more than one mean look from that one, but nothing his extremely high DMW didn't overcompensate. "Also, the dog's coming, isn't he?" Fortunately for him, he got the memo and carefully laid down the sleeping Chocolate on Terra's lap, the last thing he needed was having a life-span as big as Terra's diseased period.

And off they went. The group of eight leaving the HQ for a breath of fresh air. Most of their talking was Zack spewing off generally blabber and mocking Terra's name with the occasional embarrassing story about Edge's life by Rydia. Oh right, those two. They did try to pry some details out, but it appeared that while Rydia was there, no luck would be had. They had some sandwiches that Zack conveniently brought for lunch and they continued exploring the parts of the city that well, weren't blown up. Pulling jokes about Terra's name was so easy it got boring real quickly, so they had to resort to getting back to their stories

"Zack, get over here." Aqua called in the middle of the story that Terra was telling, about that one time they tried to go shopping for Gau. "This is depressing." She mouthed.

"Really?" He mouthed back. "When one side is oblivious… that's depressing, but when both sides are? That's just hilarious!"

"Really Zack? Really?"

"Hey c'mon Aqua, it's not like Terra ever crushed on someone or vice-versa… right?"

* * *

><p>Somewhere, somehow, a blonde man in a white shirt sneezed.<p>

"Catch a cold kid?" A brown haired, experienced looking man asked.

"Nah, Mr. Leading Man. Someone must be talking about me." The young man replied, scratching the back of his head."Must be those kids again."

"Just focus on the job, okay?"

"Fine."

* * *

><p>"Hey, aren't those…?" Shin asked a bit after the story ended, poiting at the group of three men on the horizon.<p>

"World One's Warriors of Light." Rydia confirmed.

"Let's introduce ourselves!" Terra exclaimed, urging Shin to go forward.

"Oh, hey there!" The man in the white training gi greeted. Wait a minute…

"White Training Gi… Black belt… red gloves… red headband. SWEET JESUS! IT'S RYU!" Zack blurted.

"Oh c'mon Zack, how is that, mother of god…" Aqua stopped at the sheer resemblance the monk had with that man, but really, he couldn't be Ryu, he wasn't even real.

"How do you know my name?" Ryu replied, scared.

"Someone grab me a piece of paper and a pen!" Zack begged.

"Everyone, calm the heck down! Ryu's a video game character, this guy… isn't." The male Terra interjected.

"Video what now?" The ninja asked, completely confused.

Shin sighed and interrupted the incessant blabber. "Let's do this again. Name's Shin, she's Terra, those three are Edge, Rydia and their dau- RYDIA's daughter Cuore…"He corrected just in time. _"Dodged freaking huge bullet there…"_He told himself before continuing. "Captain Blabbermouth here is Zack Fair, blue haired girl is Aqua and the tall guy is…" Okay, even he couldn't contain the chuckle. "Also called Terra." The expected laugh from the trio ensued, one that led Terra to stray from the crowd a bit, only to be pulled back in by Aqua.

"Well, you seem to know me, my name's Ryu, this is my best friend Ken…" He began as he pointed towards the ninja, unknowingly creating another laughter crisis, one that he tried to ignore. "And I don't know this guy's name for certain, but he told us to call him Yami." He finished as he pointed to the shorter man with the covered face.

"His real name is Black Mage 8 Bit Evilwizardington." Ken said matter of factly.

"I TOLD YOU TO NEVER SAY THAT IN PUBLIC! You rotten elf!" Yami shouted back, thunder cracking around him.

"And what are you gonna do about it, Evilwizardington?" Ken replied, teasing the man had become his favorite hobby since he couldn't tease that make-shift couple they traveled with, or Lloyd, that guy was so easy to mess with.

"HADOUKEN!" The black mage yelled, covering a massive area in front of him in a massive burst of energy, Ken along with it.

"He learned that from me." The monk explained.

"Is it… always like this?" Terra asked, she hadn't seen a team so dysfunctional ever since she sent Sabin, Relm, Gau and Setzer into the third team on Dragon's den.

"Not always… normally Hikari and Éclair intervene. This is exactly why I wanted to go with them…" Ryu replied, lowering his head in defeat. "How can I train like this?"

"I know what you feel bro…" Terra told him, bumping his fist.

"Guys… we should get this guy to the infirmary…" Zack said as he looked at the twitching figure of the ninja under the rubble.

"And that's why we need Éclair a lot." Ryu lamented.

* * *

><p>It was then that they noticed that it was getting quite late actually, the sun was setting on the horizon. So, after fixing up Ken on the infirmary, they decided to have dinner.<p>

"Oh, I'm going to save this for posteriority!" Zack exclaimed as he filmed Shin feeding Terra with a spoon.

"You're obsessed Zack…"Terra lamented, only to see Aqua also recording it.

"It's a really interesting way to pass time Terra, you'll learn it soon enough." She told his friend, who was having enough of Zack by now.

Nothing really happened the rest of the dinner, only the noticeable lack of Ceodore, Kairi and Kain, who arrived right before the food finished serving, a smile plastered on their faces.

"We get to eat!" Ceodore exclaimed as he jumped onto the nearest table.

"What happened Kairi?" Sora asked as he stuffed on his third plate.

"Well, even Kain can be nicer than you sometimes." She scuffed as she ate her well deserved meal.

* * *

><p>"So, the funeral is tomorrow, right?" Terra asked in their room. Sharing rooms was a necessity, and by sharing I mean there were eight people by room, which they wouldn't mind too much, if they didn't want to sleep!<p>

"Tomorrow is another day, I swear someone said that." Zack joked as he smashed the buttons on his controller, tongue stuck out.

"That was the single most enlightening phrase I ever heard, thank you Zack, here's a K.O." Shin replied and has prophesized, Zack saw the K.O. appear once again.

"Jin's bullshit!" Zack yelled.

"Whatever, I'll rest for a bit, I got sore thumbs already." Shin replied, jumping onto to the couch.

"Tsk, who's next?" Zack asked.

"I am." Terra said matter of factly, you could feel the tension in the air.

"Challenge accepted." Zack replied, this was going to be good.

"Hello?" Ryu greeted as he made his way in. "Can anyone tell me where room 228 is? Is that me?" Ryu asked, fumbling at the sight of Zack's pick.

"You thought we were joking?" Edge questioned. "Oh my freaking god a mirror match… with Ryu…"

"So? What do I do so bad?"

"Fight!"

"Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken!"

"That." Aqua lamented.

"Be a man and tag in your other character!" Terra shouted.

"You too!" Zack shot back. Terra nodded and they did… tag in Ken.

"Oh god…" Rydia lamented.

"Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken Hadouken!"

"Stop spamming!" Terra shouted.

"Look who's talking!" Zack blurted back, still mashing the buttons.

"You both, stop spamming!" Aqua yelled, and the never ending flow of fireballs stopped. "You! Stop using only shotos!" She yelled at Zack. "You! Stop copying Zack's characters only to humiliate him!" She yelled at Terra. "And you! Stop analyzing a video game expecting to learn real-life techniques!" She yelled at Ryu, who looked blankly at her asking.

"Video… Game?" Ryu asked, having no knowledge that what they were doing wasn't real.

"Forget it… Look, I'm going to bed since the funeral is in the morning, if I, by God, hear more than three Hadoukens in a row… I'll tie you both up, get Ryu and Yami and see how YOU like it, okay?" Finally, now that I have your attention, use your brain, not your groin!" Aqua finished as she climbed the ladder to her bed, leaving two, very scared men and a very surprised room looking at her flabberjacked.

"Look at what you did." Terra mouthed carefully.

"Me? YOU picked the same characters as me on purpose!" Zack mouthed back before taking a look around the room. "Let it go." He told Terra with an evil smile on his face, taking off his Iphone and turning on the camera. "My point is unmovable, they WILL thank me." Zack stated as he took a shot of Terra and Shin, the girl had fallen on the young man's shoulder, who had then fallen asleep on her head, the puppy still on the middle of the duo.

"That or she'll kill you as soon as she can move." Rydia replied before yawning. "Anyway, I'm going to sleep, you settle your useless battle for dominance while I'm gone."

Edge, Rydia and Cuore took to their beds to rest for the funeral, only Zack and Terra were left awake, that and a knowledge craving Ryu.

"Would you please show me more?" The man asked, still interested in these "video games".

"Of course, now, let's make two things clear." Zack said. "One, only one shoto per team, MAX. No Ryu/Ken, Ryu/Akuma or Ken/Akuma. Two, no spamming, you know why…"

Terra nodded and they were off.

"Ryu, Jin." The announcer announced at Zack's picks.

"Ken, Kazuya!" He said about Terra.

"Let's get it on!"

The scores never settled though, and before they knew it...

"Good morning!" Aqua exclaimed as she jumped of the top of her bed, her alarm clock triggering at nine AM. "Oh no you didn't…"

"Morning… Aqua." Zack replied, trying to hide the craving for sleep he felt, having spent the night blank.

"How irresponsible can you get?" She yelled at both men.

"He didn't give up! I had to… to show him who's boss." Zack said in between yawns.

"Shut up… you were the…" Terra downright fell asleep on his feet.

Aqua sighed and decided to check if what she thought was true. "How was the score?" She asked, hitting Terra awake.

"Thirty Nine-Thirty Nine." Zack replied, putting an end to Aqua's doubts.

"Fine… Look, the funeral is in an hour, go get dressed, if by any chance you fall asleep or do ANYTHING stupid there, no date for anyone, get it? Vincent was from your world, show some respect." Aqua said, capturing Terra's attention and making Zack serious for a moment.

"Aqua, I know when I can joke around, okay?" He asked in a completely out of character tone.

"Less talk more action." She teased as she left the room with her dark clothing.

"You bastard…" Terra hissed while Zack woke the rest of the people in the room.

"What, why?" Zack taunted, obviously knowing what Terra meant.

"You, me, after the funeral. Let's settle this like men." Terra replied, completely out of patience.

"If you need it, fine." Zack taunted back as he grabbed a nearby case. "But for now, it's time to show some respect, don't you think?"

Zack was serious about it. The fact that the funeral had nothing special to talk about was a testament to that. No jokes, no disasters and most of all, no flirting. They were there to pay their respects to those who had left and, even if most of them didn't know both men well, they all felt a void inside. Because, no matter how they looked at it, that battle was their first, true, loss. What was worth talking about however, was what happened to those who were not present at the funeral. These being, the lion and the fake SOLDIER, who had gotten up early, paid their respects before the time for the funeral and left before the crowd arrived, why you ask. Well, here is what I can tell you about.

"Well, it looks like it's done." Squall commented as Cloud covered his right shoulder with Vincent's cape, adjusting the gauntlet on his wrist.

"Yes. But you know what to do if that happens, right Squall?" Cloud asked cryptically.

"Don't like it, but I will." The lion replied, a trusting but heavy look being interchanged by the two most prominent males of the thirteenth war. "Still, I'm impressed. The Cloud I once knew would have just questioned himself and what to do."

"No use in mopping. Dilly dally shilly shall, wasn't it…?" Cloud replied as he looked at his blank sphere.

* * *

><p>After the funeral ended and a VERY heavy lunch, most of the ones who still needed sometime went to take a walk, leaving only the ones who were ready to move on the food court.<p>

"Hey Terra." Shin called in a quiet tone. "Is it just me, or is basically everyone stealing glances of us?"

"I see them too… I'd like to see just what Zack spread around." She mumbled. Well, Zack hadn't done anything special. Sleeping together was literally right, wasn't it?

Terra chuckled as he saw Aqua get off her seat to get her bandages removed, as soon as she left the court, he flipped the table where Zack was standing and stared at him in a devil-like way.

"It's over Fair, you and me, right now!" He shouted so loud it was a wonder Aqua missed it.

"Fine, it's not like I liked your attitude anyway." Zack replied as he rose to face the tall man. Both tall and chiseled men became the center of the attention of the food court, stopping any other discussions there were.

"Are they… going to fight?" Terra asked as she bit her bottom lip in worry.

"Why would they? I mean, they got on each other's nerves, that's for certain, but to fight it out?" Shin said, confused about the situation until he heard a bellowing laugh from Edgar.

"Well, you are obviously not familiar with the sacred, secret tradition men have followed ever since the bro code was created." Edgar explained, earning a very ambiguous look from everywoman and Shin. "You see, Terra has on his side article 48 of the Bro-code, the law of Dibs. He probably called dibs and as such, he should have priority. BUT according to article 129, if a bro dies and another, equally awesome of course, bro takes an interest in an UNMARRIED girl of his, he may pursue it. Never have this supreme articles clashed and as such, there is only one possible solution…"

"You have a bike?" Zack asked as he pointed out his at the entrance. Terra nodded and threw his Keyblade of the building, it transforming into a floating motorcycle which landed near his. "Okay then, I guess it's time to D-d-du-dudud-duel!"

"You have got to be kidding me…" Shin spat as he saw what they were both going to do.

"You can have the first turn." Terra said brashly as he put his deck on the disk at the front of his motorcycle.

"You're gonna regret that. Starting at 4000, one game, is that alright?" Zack replied as he put on his goggles.

"One is all I need." Terra replied as he stepped on the accelerator.

"They are going to play a card game… on a motorcycle? What kind of "man duel" is that?" Shin shouted, infuriated by the ridiculousness.

"Well, it certainly beats card games on chocobos." Edgar punctuated. He was being serious about this apparently. Shin couldn't help but sigh and look at Terra, who gave the same confused look.

"Well, let's get this thing started!" Noel exclaimed as he stood in the middle of the two bikes. "Ready?"

They nodded and turned the hilt on the motorcycle, their motors roaring.

"SET!"

Most of the men were completely ecstatic, but Shin was just seeing if he could walk by without being too strange.

"DUEL!" Noel shouted, and they were off.

"Let's start this thing! My turn, draw!" Zack looked at his hand and smiled. "This is gonna be quick!"

* * *

><p>"Who goes there?" A guard asked from behind a stone wall.<p>

"We're here to change the shift." As masculine, charismatic voice replied.

The guard, knowing that there was only a shift change two hours away, quickly turned around the pillar, slashing at the unknown man, who simply ducked and let the guard get his own sword stuck on the pillar while a younger blonde hit him on the back on the head with the hilt of his sword, instantly knocking him out.

"Permanently." Balthier joked as he entered the room the guard was in charge of. "Well, well, it seems Al Cid was not half-wrong. But this isn't magicite, now is it kid?" The sky pirate asked his younger companion.

"You think so?" The kid asked back as he put his hands on the back of his head. For some reason, the last couple of weeks he had been… a little bit hairheaded, something it was hard to dismiss for much longer.

"I know so, but I digress, let's take it and turn tail." Balthier suggested as he approached the crystal, scanning for traps and finding none he could see, not that he cared, he was good at weaseling out of certain death as it was, so he didn't feel preoccupied when the ceiling started shaking after him taking the white crystal from the pedestal. "Kid, run." Was all he said as he saw a giant spherical boulder falling from the ceiling. Wait while I put my Indiana Jones soundtrack… Much better. They ran through the main corridor of the ancient temple they had infiltrated, on the way scaring a dozen of unsuspecting guards to death as they jumped into a nearby pool to escape the rock.

"Any ideas, leading guy?" The blonde asked as they ran as fast as they could, but the rock leaned ever closer.

"Run and cross your fingers." Balthier replied calmly as he maintained his composure even in mortal danger. He was of course only baiting the kid to do all the work for him and what do you know, it worked.

"How's this for crossing fingers?" He yelled as he stopped abruptly, his hands flaring in a hellish blaze as mist encircled his front, creating a red crest of flames. "INFERNO!" He punched through the crest, shattering it and erupting in a blazing arrow. The rock combusted into one thousand pieces, leaving only an extremely proud blonde and an acknowledging Balthier.

"_Well, the girl was right, the kid DID get a boost somehow. Now, for the behavior, I'll just have to use my cunning, won't I?"_ Balthier jested to himself before calling the young man. "Kid, let's take away their right to our presence before the guards come to bask in my glory, are you alright with that?" He taunted.

"You're right, I'm more than they deserve."

"Hardly." Balthier commented as they to the exit, now pursed by dozens of guards.

* * *

><p>"And that's how I got here. Now, I'm going to level with you, since I basically know zero about this game and I'll just let someone who knows do the honors." Now that that's out of the way, let's explain the situation, shall we?<p>

Zack Fair: 1800 Life Points, 1 face down magic or trap card, Assault Mercenary (1800/300)

Terra: 2000 LP, Gaia the Fierce Knight (2300/1800)

"My turn, draw!" Zack exclaimed as he drew another card from his deck, a smile lighting his face. "Hey Terra, nice to play with you, but meet my pet! First, I summon Hyper Synchron!" He announced, summoning a new robot to the field. How did you see that you ask? Even the freaking bikes had holographic systems, imagine that…

" Now, what did you learn at school? Four plus four, equals eight! Now watch! Clustering stars will call upon a new force! Become the path its light shines upon! **Synchr****o ****summon**! Come on out, Stardust Dragon!" He chanted as he, in a very over the top way if I may had, fused the two monsters to create a silver dragon. "And now, let's get my other per back into the party in the party. Stardust Xiaolong!"

"Does he really have to do that just to play one card?"Shin mumbled only to be overheard by Edge.

"It's the ace-card rule. In a bro duel, you have to announce it as awesomely as you can!" If he said so… Anyway:

Stardust Dragon (2500/2300)

Stardust Xiaolong (100/100)

"You know what math says, 25002300!" Zack exclaimed before entering battle phase, commanding his admittedly awesome looking dragon to destroy the knight, and his excuse for one to take 100 LP. "And just for this to end quickly, Swords of Revealing Light! You can't attack for three turns."

Terra: 1700 LP.

* * *

><p>"Tsk, humans are still noisy. I can hear them from here…" An orange haired teen scuffed, putting on a pair of half violet, half blue headphones. "A job's a job I guess…"<p>

"Like I'd let you back down from such a profitable one!" A red haired girl exclaimed as she jumped on a piggy back ride. "Now, go!"

"Someday, I'll just switch with Beat… Rhyme looks much easier to handle… and a lot quieter…" The teen falsely threatened as he trudged forward. "I don't know how much I can take of this…"

"You know what Joshua would preach if he was here!" The girl exclaimed as she laid down her pet stuffed cat on his head, trying to look a ventriloquist. "Give up on yourself and you give up on the world."She said in a deeper, very goofy voice. The teen just shook his head and continued forward even after the failure of an attempt at ventriloquism that was. He looked at his hand, numbers ticking down on it and hurried to the scene.

* * *

><p>"Any last words Zack?" Terra taunted. How in one turn he had been able to turn the tables was just amazing, especially for people who didn't know the rules. Well, we did skip a turn, so let's see how the field is.<p>

Zack Fair: The same.

Terra: Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)

"Just pray until the swords run out." Terra taunted. They were really taking this seriously, weren't they?

"Can someone explain me what is going on?" Aqua asked, irritated by the scenario.

"Regrettably my good ma'am, we can't. Now if you'll just sit and watch until the end…" Edgar replied, trying to calm her down, she did sit down and watch, but not without complaining about how those two were stubborn.

"_Okay… okay.__ Now, let's see if __I __can look like an awesome protagonist here…" _Zack thought to himself as he reached for his last card before the swords ran out. "My turn, draw!" And he began laughing. "Well, Terra, it was good while it lasted. I summon…" Everyone started to gasp at what Zack was about to do, what kind of THING could stop that dragon? "Savior dragon!" A baby, PINK dragon appeared. Savior Dragon(0/0).

"That's it?" Shin asked before hearing Edge yell.

"That lucky bastard! Where did he get one of those?" Edge yelled as he looked at the screen.

"Is that thing… special?" Shin asked him.

"You'll see…"

Terra's face was pale when Zack summoned the little creature.

"Well, let's take this guy for a spin shall we? We have one Stardust Dragon, one Stardust Xiaolong and now, a savior dragon tuner… you know what's coming next!" Zack taunted before pulling out a card from his Extra Deck. It was then that his motorcycle even began giving the scene a BGM, not that it surprised anyone anymore. "Clustering stars will call upon a new force! Become the path its light shines upon! **Synchr****o ****summon**! Let's go! Savior Star Dragon!" The new, almost angelic dragon was so big it dwarfed even the Blue Eyes, both in power and size.

Savior Star Dragon (3800/3000)

Zack commanded it too attack, the dragon soaring right through the smaller, but still huge Dragon, ending the hologram's existence.

Zack Fair: 1800 LP

Terra: 900

"Your turn, Terra." Zack flaunted.

* * *

><p>"PENELO! ENGINES, NOW!" Balthier urged as they ran to where they had docked the Strahl, just over a hill nearby.<p>

"Roger that!" The young, blonde haired female replied as she activated the engines, a dark skinned Viera opening the hatches. The engine of the Strahl seemed to roar when his pilot entered the ship.

"Thanks Fran!" The younger man thanked as he made his way to the co-pilot's seat. "Get this thing off Balthier!" He urged as he saw the guards approach the ship, swords in hand and none too happy.

"Easy Kid, we have to leave a mark." Balthier taunted back, waiting for the last second to induce the takeoff, leaving the guards to east sand as they launched towards the heavens. "Now, that's how it's done!"

"Vaan, did you get it?" Penelo asked excitedly as she inspected him thoroughly.

"Balthier has it!" Vaan yelled flustered, shoving her away. The young girl put her tongue out at him, and examined the white crystal on Balthier's hand.

"Vaan… this is nethecite!" She exclaimed frantically, quickly jumping back from the crystal.

"Calm down Penelo, if it didn't nuke us yet, we might still have a chance." Balthier joked. "Well, I guess we have to get this favor done and over with. Let's see how our "client" reacts when I show her the bill."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go, Ashe is waiting for us!" Vaan exclaimed, earning a jealous pout from his childhood friend and a chuckle from the two more experienced pirates.

* * *

><p>The game seemed to be about to end, but you all know how these card games go. They never go where you think they will.<p>

"My turn…" Terra took a deep breath and drew his last card, now seeing Savior Star Dragon reverting to Stardust Dragon. "At least it's a one hit wonder… Draw!" Just as he drew, a victorious smile covered his face. "Hey Zack, you know what's better than a giant Blue Dragon?" He asked, earning a confused glare. "A three headed giant blue dragon!" He exclaimed, revealing the card he just drew. "Monster Reborn! Come back, Blue Eyes White Dragon!" As if it death was nothing to it, the blue dragon reappeared onto the field as they toured near the crowd, both dragons looking at each other. "And now… Polymerization! I fuse this one with both Dragons in my hand to create… Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" The three equals joined in a flash of bright light, leading to the creation of what was, for a long time, the strongest card. He wasn't kidding when he described the dragon. It was a giant version of his previous one, but now it housed three heads instead of one, and he was three times as mean.

Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)

"Now, blue-eyes, blow him up!" Terra ordered, initiating what would be the final attack, since it would cause 2000 points of damage against Zack's 1800.

"Look, I hate to be a prick but… I don't want to lose... you know?" Zack joked as he picked the card on the left-most part of his disk.

"_How did I forget that?"_ Terra shouted internally. But he had already called the attack, the three headed dragon blasting Zack head on.

"Trap card, activate! Mirror Force!" Zack exclaimed as he flipped the card he had laid on the very first turn. A giant dome covered him, reflecting the blasts right into the newly born dragon, ending his stay prematurely. "Sorry, but that's just what I do, win! Now, I don't want to damage your bike by having it end like this, so would you just surrender?" Zack offered.

Well, it was not like Terra had any choice. Next turn would end it, so… he conceded as they both drove back to the group.

* * *

><p>"Never thought Terra would give up, but there was nothing else he could do… so it was the best choice." Edge muttered as he started walking in their direction.<p>

"Exactly." Edgar replied.

"HEY that's my line!" Noel exclaimed.

"Saying Hey, that's my line is my line!" Gilgamesh intervened.

"So what?" Noel replied before freezing on his feet.

"When I get those two…" Aqua muttered as she walked towards the duo, everyone letting her take the lead and following her cautiously. Hell hath no fury like a woman in a love triangle.

* * *

><p>"Well you won, what do you want from me?" Terra asked just as they got off their bikes, before the group reached them. The one who lost, according to article 144 of the bro-code, had to submit to one demand from the winner<p>

"Get off my back for a bit." Zack replied.

"A bit?" Terra asked confused.

"If you get on my case again, it means I'm screwing up, can't have that for her, can we?" Zack replied as he raised his fist.

"Course not!" Terra replied with a smile, bumping his fist just as they both heard.

"TERRA! ZACK! YOU IRRESPONSIBLE, UNERVING, GOOD FOR NOTHING…" Aqua yelled as she slammed both their heads together. "Will you stop thinking with your groin and use your head?"´

"She knows!" They both exclaimed.

"You didn't even try to hide it!" Aqua screamed. They were gonna get it now! Except…

"Noisy…" The orange haired teen commented as he arrived at the scene. "These guys are the ones who sealed Omega?" He wondered as the duo received looks of confusion from the group. Who the heck was he. As if he had heard the question the teen took off his headphones and proclaimed.

"My name is Sakuraba Neku, God sent me."

* * *

><p><strong><span>Next Chapter:<span>**

_"Cid, I have a fair warning for you."_

_"This is how long you have."_

* * *

><p>Zack: Wait wait wait! There's briefings on the damned title, where are they?<p>

Locke: Maybe the author forgot?

Back on the military HQ:

Cid: I feel so abandoned…

Serge: That makes two of us…

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter note:<span>****Well, the reason they didn't get in was… some of them are kinda depressing for a relief chapter, so next chapter you'll get those, Neku's revelations and a new objective which should put everyone on their toes, see you next week and tell me what you think! Also, I'm massive prick for ending this like I did, I know. And yes, if you haven't guessed it, Vaan's next.


	45. Reapers

****Author's note:**** Surprise, I'm not dead! Okay, okay, I'm sorry I missed the date by… four days and I'm also kinda ashamed to say this is only half of the planned chapter, the rest will be up on Sunday. I'm NOT going to do another 10K plus chapter, those are too hard to check grammar and syntax and such. Still, this one can be… pretty surprising.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

****Part 4: Beyond Life And Death****

**Chapter Forty-Five**

****Reapers****

* * *

><p>"God? Really? What kind of God? Because I've seen my fair share of <em>gods<em>." Terra asked in an unusual skeptical tone, her experience with people who self-entitled "Gods" wasn't the best.

"Well, I can't say I'd expect you to believe me on this Branford, but I'll try my best. God as in, GOD, lord of heaven and the person that reigns over after-life." Neku replied with a stoic look. While most of the ones who were congregated nearby swallowed dry when they heard that, Crono remained unconvinced.

"Why would god, if it exists, send you here? And who are you to ask for our trust?" He spat back. "Moreover, if there IS a god, why the hell didn't he intervene yet?" He asked as he approached the teen, looking down on him.

"Neku, is that you?" Sora exclaimed as he ran towards the man to take a closer look. "It IS you!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Not your Neku Sora." He replied. "The one you know is as dead as I am." The surprised looks were so predictable they were downright annoying. "What? How would I know about all this if I was alive?" He asked matter-of-factly. "Anyway, I'm not going to explain this twice, where's Cid?"

Terra gasped. "What time is it?" She asked, prompting Zack to take out his phone, immediately taking his hand to his head.

"Five O'clock! " He exclaimed.

"Weren't we supposed to meet them at THREE?" Shin exclaimed.

"Crap crap crap!" Sora exclaimed as he bolted towards the military HQ.

"So noisy…" Neku lamented, covering his ears with his headphones once again.

"You haven't seen anything." Aqua assured as she remembered Zidane, Gilgamesh and Bartz.

"I think it's kinda cute…" The girl said, giggling.

"Pedofile…" Neku spat, already knowing what kind of reaction that would cause.

"SHUT UP! Look at my body! I'm a teenager! I'm not…" She said as she threw a fit.

"Over four hundred?" Neku interjected, making the red haired girl scream enraged as she tried her hardest to pummel Neku, who dodged calmly with his hands still inside his pockets. "Predictable Shiki, so predictable." He joked as he jumped back and let the girl calm herself down. "Still, maybe that's why I keep you around." He mumbled as he turned his back at her and followed the rest.

* * *

><p>"We're so sorry!" Zack exclaimed as he burst into the room. Some of the people which had to wait for them were playing poker, others were crashing on the sofa and some others were just fuming, but most of the stopped what they were doing when a strange orange haired teen bolted inside with his eyes set on only one goal, his phones blaring to avoid their noises as he only took them off when he was face to face with the man he came to see.<p>

"Cid Lufaine…" He said as he pulled out a pin. "Consider this a fair warning." He continued as he let the pin fall down on his hand. Right now, the pin had a caricature of Chaos stamped on it, a red background filling the blank spaces but, on the edge you could see a lock of blonde hair and a blue background. "If by the end of this war, the pin hasn't turned completely into Cosmos. You won't be even going to hell. The Grim Reaper will make sure of that." Just as Neku said that, the light air in the room suddenly turned chilly, and just as that happened, ironically crimson flames erupted from the ground as a mockingly annoyed voice played.

"Not fair Sakuraba, Cid's my assignment, I'd loved to make his face turn 180 degrees… but I guess it was my turn to be so… zetta slow." A cocky voice joked as a young man appeared from inside the flaming inferno. Ripped grey pants, a black overcoat with a matching baggy hat adorned with a red sash and a black glove with a flame motif covering his left arm, he didn't take long to introduce himself. "Hell's division Reaper, Sho Minamimoto, at your service." He joked. "Now, since you spoiled the fun, can you at least make this quick, I don't have the estimated two million, three hundred and fifty eight thousand, seven hundred and twenty seconds this assignment can last to spend here!" He said hurriedly, spouting what at first seemed to be meaningless numbers, if he wasn't a mathematical genius.

"What's all this about? Hell? Reaper? The guy in the black cloak and the scythe?" Locke asked confused and at the same time sceptic.

"Black... cloak and scythes?" Sho stuttered before erupting in a borderline maniacal laugh. "That guy's older then PI. When was the last time we saw the last Grim Reaper, eh Neku?" He asked as he managed to control his laughter.

"It wasn't that long Sho, remember at the billionth anniversary of the Reapers foundation, it was just fifty years ago." Neku replied mater of factly, Sho scuffing at his confidence and brashness.

"Only fifty? God, I'd though it to be yesterday." Sho shrugged. "But I guess time just goes by faster when you're having fun." Fun was something only Sho could have in his job, even inside what was a Reaper.

"Slow down!" Zidane yelled, making Neku being acquainted with true noise. "My brain's melting!" He yelled as he clutched to his head.

"We'd better take this from the beginning… all yours kid." Sho told Neku as he found himself a free sofa to lie down. "Wake me up when you're finished." And he began to snore.

"Fine, well, are you familiar to how the otherworld works?" Neku asked calmly. Considering the gasps, the stutters and the exclamations about it actually existing, he knew that they didn't. "Well, the otherworld is the completely malleable world where most of the universes' souls go to rest when they die. I say malleable for two reasons. One, due to a space time anomaly created and maintained by God, it's infinite, ever growing to accommodate your needs. And two, it depends completely on the current God." Neku stopped at that point since he knew what was coming.

"Current God? What the…" Shin blurted before Neku dismissing it.

"Ever wondered why are there so many religions… not that your worlds have that problem yet, but some societies had many religions, each believing in a different God." Neku explained, ready to drop a bomb of truth. "Thing is, they're all real to an extent." He crossed his arms and let the outburst from the crowd stop, some shouting how it was impossible while the most trusting simply asked how. As they started to calm down Neku continued. "Even God can get tired of being a leader, or there can even be another that proposes a better solution to how to rule the otherworld. On that regard, if both a candidate approved by a general consensus and the current God agree, God can be relieved of his functions and life a normal afterlife." He explained.

"That… actually makes sense." Terra replied as she brainstormed the information. "But, if I can ask, how long does a God normally hold his place?" She asked out of pure curiosity.

"Well, it would depend on the job he was performing, but out of the twenty-four gods before, I don't think any of them were less than two-thousand years on the job." Neku answered. "Well, excluding the first God, that guy actually lasted for billions of years, it was only the last billion that he actually started changing places."

"Who was that man?" Squall asked with a peaked interest.

"Who else? God. His namesake was used to describe what he was and his charge. He's a surprisingly talkative fellow, it's just hard for him to live a normal afterlife after… well… being God." Shiki intervened. "Still, he goes by Deus now."

"Makes sense." Squall replied, nodding in agreement. "So, who's God now?" He knew he was pushing his luck there, but he had to try.

"Can't tell you. I only knew about it yesterday, and only because only God has the authority to send dead people back. Well, God and the Devil, but he's on a leash lately." Neku replied. "Try to understand, God's only "human" if you knew who he was you could easily blackmail him, for that matter, you only know who was God after he steps down from his post. You can probably bump into him on the street at any part of the otherworld and never notice." Neku added before Squall could say anything.

"Okay, fine, but just to make sure you know what you're talking about, what did you mean by "malleable" world?" Squall asked more out of curiosity than distrust, it wasn't everyday you managed to get an idea of what the world beyond was.

"Curious, aren't we? Can't say I wouldn't do the same." Neku joked, much to Shiki's surprise who thought he would have just dismissed question. "Fine, let's see if I can explain. Every religion's view of the afterworld is also correct. You know the standard view of heaven and earth, Buddhism's sixteen hells, Greeks' Hades, the works. That is because every time a god changes, he reshapes the afterworld at his vision, of what he thinks it's best. Granted, some are better than others, Buddha didn't last more than two thousand years as God mostly because of his zero tolerance." Neku shrugged. "Not that I would know, I "woke up" to see only two years of Freeman's rule as God. And it didn't change that much. You know, Hell, Heaven, Purgatory? It's still the same, the new God only did one thing to differentiate, something that actually worked perfectly. You see, before, once you got into heaven or hell you were there permanently, that… caused some trouble. Hell got out of control because they didn't care less, they were stuck there anyway, and heaven began to become corrupt since you couldn't fall except for VERY extreme situations. Now? Now you can work to ascend and you can go down if you step the line too many times. Once it's only one day, twice it's one month, three times one year, fourth time you better work hard in Purgatory if you don't want to end up in Hell." Neku finished, right on mark, Sho sat up.

"Damn I'm good, exactly five minutes, forty five seconds and twelve milliseconds!" Sho joked.

"Well, anyway, that's all there is about the afterworld. Any more questions before we explain what we are?" Neku asked, surprised at how many response he had. "Just… just wait until I say what I have to say, I'll deal with your questions later…" He lamented silencing the crowd. "Okay, now that that's settled. We're Reapers. An organization within the otherworld whose job is to collect souls. Together with the God Generals that protect God and the Heaven's Vanguard we're actually the only organizations that were always active after their creation more than a billion years ago." He explained, reading the crowd's expressions to respond the next question they would pose. "Yes, we're the people who take your souls away from this world. But don't shoot the messenger, you're already dead when we do, contrary to popular belief, our former boss didn't "scythe" anyone on his seven hundred million years of work."

"Sooo, is the Grim Reaper a part of the "Reapers"?" Bartz asked.

"No, he's a part of the tooth fairy army… what do you think?" Shiki howled back.

"Really? That's neat!" Bartz replied, much to the amazement of everyone in the room. That was a definite step down even from Bartz.

"Is he for real…?" Neku asked, receiving a mass shrug. "Fine… No Bartz, the Grim Reaper was the first leader of the Reapers, he gave up three hundred million years ago. Ever since then until fifty years ago, the position and title of the Grim Reaper was occupied by a red cloaked, silver haired demon hunter you probably never heard of and if you did, I'm not allowed to give his identity away to living people for the next fifty years. The first Grim Reaper was… passionate about his job to say the least. The older Reapers tell us that they practically had no job when he was doing stuff. But with the previous Grim Reaper, oh man, it was work, work, work, he loved his freedom more than anything, scratch that, he loved his pizza more. Anyway after all those years on the job, he finally gave it up to another red cloaked albino haired man, said that since that man had already had the title of the Grim Reaper given to him in life, there was no one more suited for it than he was. And guess what… he's almost as bad. If it weren't for the fact he has his two sisters and his wife doing the work for him, we would be even worse off." Neku explained as he finished his ramble against his boss.

"Okay then, if you Reapers gather souls, why are you here then?" Cloud asked, ignoring the strange looks at his vestments as he made himself be seen.

"Well, you see, that's a very big exception, first, you don't pair Hell Reapers like Sho and Heaven Reapers like me and Shiki together and second, God asked us specifically for this." Neku explained.

"Soooo, if you are from Heaven, does that mean…" Luso began, but just like last time, his idea died even before he formulated it.

"Reapers don't have wings. We're not Angels." Sho intervened in a rather serious manner. "If we wanted to be like those fluffy winged goody goodie two shoes, we would have signed for it."

"AW, but I like those wings…" Shiki pouted.

"Ah, but your attraction for wings isn't as great as your attraction for spiky orange hair." Sho scuffed.

"YOU…" Shiki began before being swiftly restrained by her partner.

"Calm down Shiki, this is getting embarrassing." Neku scolded as he grabbed both her arms, while glaring Sho down who grinned at the situation.

"They don't seem to be on good terms…" Terra muttered.

"One is from Hell and the others are from Heaven if I got that right… does that make him… evil?" Shin deduced, a bit too loud as most of the room froze at the realization.

"HEY! I'm NOT evil, I WAS evil, big difference!" Sho exclaimed, not that stopped the glares of mistrust he could perceive. "What's your problem? The world's garbage! The living one at least. Finding good in the middle of all the injustice is like calculating the last digit of PI! At least the otherworld has a semblance of justice I can relate to." He spat almost hatefully, almost trying to diminish the value of the other's opinions. "Not that I think you'll understand, you have to have brains, you know?"

"Why you!" Riku blurted as he began to dash towards the man, simply being blocked by both his friends, who already knew this was going to happen.

"Fighting won't do us any good, can't you see such a basic concept?" Neku exclaimed in an uncharacteristically loud tone. "The last thing we need is a war here too!"

"War…?" Terra mumbled at the sudden outburst.

"All hell broke loose… Literally." Sho explained in a darker tone.

"What do you…" Terra began.

"What you think he means." Shiki's black cat stuffed animal interrupted, flying away from her lap as it shinned in white, heavy, but at the same time, comforting aura, its deep voice voice was packed a reverberating echo, complete with a soul penetrating feel. "After the incident at Sora's home people started seeing just how powerful Omega was. Knowing that there were already people capable of controlling it, albeit only partially was more than enough to light hope inside the hearts of the most conniving villains, the ones in the seventh circle of hell. Before we knew it, all hell had staged a revolution, that's why the Reapers were sent here instead of the more appropriate Heaven's Vanguard. All of the efforts are being concentrated on quelling that revolution. This isn't your fight anymore… mortals. This is our universe's fight." It finished, his aura vanishing as it fell lifeless on Shiki's lap.

"Was that really necessary? It's not like I couldn't explain it…" Shiki lamented as she caressed her cat. "It's alright Mr. Mew… that old what's-its-face won't get into you anymore."

Observing the dumbfounded looks in the room, Neku shrugged and spoke up. "That, if you didn't guess by now, was God. Not his voice, but that's probably as close to talking to him you'll ever be." Neku stated matter of factly. "Now, let's get down to business. We have three different functions altogether. Sho, take it from here."

"Yeah, well mine's the easiest to understand. I have to tail this bastard over here. You gotta admit Cid, you caused a commotion… to say the least, wouldn't want Sora to cut your head right now." Before Sora could react and ask what he meant he only said: "Classified, take it pinkie."

"I'm here to serve as a communicator. Mr. Mew transmits information directly to God. Also, I'm here to know the exact details of what led Sora and Serge here, starting yesterday. So… begin." She almost ordered as she threw a sweet wink at Sora, laying Mr. Mew right on the middle of the central table.

"But what about Neku?" Zidane asked.

"I'll talk latter, we all need to hear those guys." Neku dismissed, suddenly switching the entire burden towards Sora and the gang.

"And you want what exactly?" Riku scuffed back. "I guess you can't just ask yourself, can you?"

"Naw, you know I can't Riku, if you saw me, I'm flattered, but I'm totally different." Shiki replied, before switching a SLIGHTLY more serious tone. "Why don't you begin at the exam?" She suggested, hitting Mr. Mew in the head as she whispered, transmit to the toy, who strangely nodded.

"Well, I guess that you already know the mess that the exam was, don't you?" Riku lamented. "Yeah well, since the disturbances in the world became so large, Yen Sid canceled it after shortly after Twilight town, we had even liberated some worlds successfully." He said, baffling the ones who were asking for info. "Yeah, that seemed a strange move, but Sid noted that there was something far more… sinister."

* * *

><p>Sitting on a simple brown chair with a just as classic oak table between him and his students was Yen Sid. The elder magician who had taught the King everything he knew and also the one who took Sora and Riku under his wing. His eyes revealed concern and tiredness as he stroked his secular beard. He knew Sora and Riku were outraged at having their opportunity at becoming a master ruined, but what he had felt had been… disturbing.<p>

"Sora, Riku. I do know that I have caused you great displeasure at retiring you from the test, even more so when Xehanort managed to affect it, but I assure you that was not the reason I sent Mickey to interrupt." He took a deep breath and looked at his anthropomorphic mouse friend. "You see, I possess a map that details all worlds known." He explained as he pulled out a dusty old parchment, staring deep into the teen's cerulean eyes. "It displays their location, their number on inhabitants and most importantly, their state." He explained as he scrolled it open on the table, he pointed solemnly to what seemed to be a castle. "Cinderela's castle is on the World of darkness, you can see that by the black coloring, and if you observe correctly, Fantasia, which is still sleeping, is marked in an ethereal taint." He explained as he pointed towards both worlds. "But…" He stroked his beard and slowly let his wriggled finger rest on a piece of burned parchment next to Port Royal, sighing as he said: "This was where Agrabah was supposed to be." He stated darkly.

"What does it mean?" Sora asked, startled at the possibility of his friend Aladdin having fallen into the hands of the Heartless.

"Did it fall to the darkness?" Riku asserted as he approached the table to have a look.

"This world didn't fall to darkness Riku. It didn't fall to sleep either… it just… ended." Yen Sid solemnly said, expecting the following outburst.

"**WHAT!**" Sora shouted, slamming the table filled with rage. "Riku, let's go! We have to see what happened!" He exclaimed with burning passion on his sky-blue eyes.

"This happened two days ago…" Yen Sid continued calmly. "I have since then dispatched any other Keyblade Wielders to survey Agrabah." That phrase stopped Sora in his tracks, just as he had reached the door.

"We didn't find anything." The anthropomorphic mouse known as King Mickey said in his squeaky voice. "There's not even a trace that it even existed."

"The same could be said by Atlantica." Yen Sid said as he pointed towards another burn mark. "And this was the Pride Lands." His voice was becoming increasingly cryptic as he revealed the burn marks. "Can you see the pattern?" He asked as he gazed upon both of their eyes, Sora met them with a negative response, but Riku knew better.

"That is a straight line… and the next one is… DESTINY ISLANDS?" He exclaimed, for once breaking his unshakable calm.

"It..." Yen Sid took a deep breath, the implications of which not being ignored by any of the present, but Riku and Sora wouldn't believe it. "It was Destiny Islands." He moved his hand to another burn mark, right next to Radiant Garden. Sora didn't say a word, he slammed a wall with his fist and prepared to bolt out of the room, the door flying open just as he was about to kick it.

"Sora, don't!" An auburn haired girl exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around the now flabberjacked teen.

"I did say all of the other Keyblade Wielders. Mickey picked her up for back up, she accepted instantly. It was only when we figured the pattern out that we sent them to check on Destiny Islands, it was already too late." Yen Sid explained painfully, it was as if he had just shot a pet dog in front of its owner. "I'm truly sorry for your loss." He comforted, but he knew he could not waste any time. "But I need you to act. The next world in this path of destruction is one of the ones we hold dearest. Radiant Garden." Well, that was enough to quickly slap them out of their incoming depression. "I'm sending all of you there, but before that… Sora, Riku, on your knees." He commanded, Sora and Riku knew better than not to comply and did so. "For all that it's worth at the moment… "He touched the side of Sora's shoulder with his Starseeker."

"_He isn't going to… is he?"_ Sora doubted only before he heard the words coming out of the Elder's mouth."

By the powers invested in me by my former Master and, as the last Master deemed worthy to do so, I now proclaim you Keyblade Masters!" He exclaimed. "Arrise!" And they did. They didn't feel any different, should they feel different? "This crest symbolizes your rank as a Master, carry this as you rid this world of evil." He handed the duo the same crest Eraqus had once given his student Aqua. "And this is for you to pass onto your students." He handed them a box containing more crests. That seemed hardly a necessary thing to do on that particular moment, so of course Sora and Riku confronted him about it.

"Master, why are you giving us this now? Can't it wait?" Sora asked as he tried to return the box, only to have Yen Sid wave it off.

"Sora, Riku, Kairi and even you Mickey… You have to understand that there might not be a tomorrow for anyone of us. As I am finished at teaching, if something happens to me you will need to carry on with the legacy. Now, go, I have nothing more to say to you, Mickey will join you shortly." He commanded sternly, pointing towards the outside of his tower.

"Master Yen Sid… Thank you!" Sora and Riku cried in unison before slowly laving the room with their friend, only the two older masters remaining.

"Now that they are gone Mickey, promise me that you'll do what I told you if there is no way for them to win." Yen Sid said darkly, knowing just what he was asking of Mickey.

"IF the world is lost, then what we're doing is not giving up, it's saving what we can." Mickey reassured. "I will make sure the ones my friends left behind will get through this!" He exclaimed, clasping his hand. "Goodbye, Master." He then jumped out of the window and into the Gummy Ship that Sora had stopped near the window. In a flash, the ship disappeared into the horizon. Chuckling, Yen Sid looked upon the horizon to see it distort itself, a yellow eye crashing through space and time.

"Farewell indeed…" The tired master mumbled, sitting on his chair one last time as his tower was engulfed in a blue, admonishing light, leaving no trace of existence behind, except a floating heart.

"That must be one tasty heart." Vanitas cackled from atop the machine.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

"_Yes? King Yemma? Connect this line to Purgatory… and get me Magus."_

_"Ivalice is the most logical place to look."_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span> Post-Chapter Note:<span>****: Yeah… Next chapter we'll see what happened to Sora & Co., what transpired on Serge's world and how they came together before appearing on Esthar, that and something about Noel and the rest of his cast. So, do you think I went too far with that whole Reaper thing? I hope not, because there's no turning back now, let's see how it goes, shall we?


	46. How the Just Fell

****Author's note:****Due to unforeseen circumstances… I will have to suspend this fic indefinitely, I am truly sorry, I'll explain just why at the end of it, so, **READ THE POST-CHAPTER NOTE!** I can't stress this enough. As for the chapter, have a good read.

**PS:** When I write what Sora and the gang remembers I will sign with "Memories" when I write something that there was no way he knew and I'm just writting it to link the story, I'll signal it with "Lost Records".

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Forty-Six**

****How the Just Fell****

* * *

><p>"Dalmasca! It's been too long!" Vaan exclaimed as he crossed the exit of the aerodrome built in Ivalice's now most prominent rising power. The city, smack dab in the middle of the desert, had recovered from the massive war effort from previous years and now its economy was booming. Many accused the recently crowned Queen Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca, Ashe for her friends, of this and honestly, Vaan wouldn't put it above her, if she wanted to do something, she did it, no exceptions.<p>

"I must admit, our misadventures have given me a special fondness of this place, one that is being diminished by these frankly annoying looks." Balthier scuffed as he shot a flare to a nearby guard, freezing him in place before signaling the group to head to the fountain.

"It is not all that irrational." Fran stated as they walked. "We are, for better and worse, the most recognizable Sky Pirates in Ivalice at the moment, and one of us has already infiltrated the palace all by himself, not to mention our late entrance." She said, mostly annoying Vaan with her statement.

"They think I would rob my own country?" Vaan exclaimed, scaring most of the bystanders and causing even more murmurs. This brought a laugh upon the older sky pirate.

"Come now Vaan, loyalty to your nation? That's unbefitting by the rising star in the skies that they claim you to be." He scuffed, a sly grin appearing on his cheeks for a moment before he added:"Now, loyalty to a lady, that is praise worthy." He mocked, flaring up Vaan's and Penelo's cheeks, albeit for completely different reasons.

"Before this escalates, let us drop that subject Balthier." Fran advised, quickly adding an explanation to Vaan's question. "I suspect they do not think you would rob Dalmasca, but remember Vaan, both the Empire and Rozzaria are meeting on the palace as of this moment. You did carry a grudge against the Empire, and as they do not know the leaders on a personal level, they think a disturbance could rekindle the war between the colossi. Now, I know you would never rob Larsa and maybe Al Cid… just maybe. But they do not now know that, nor do they know they have no interest in war whatsoever."

"As much sense as that makes, it ticks me off in the wrong way… I mean, we helped them get Dalmasca back!" Penelo pointed out furiously, looking at Vaan for backup. "Huh, Vaaaaaaan, you there?" She asked as he saw her childhood friend spacing out yet again.

"Ah, it's nothing. Really. I was just thinking how nice it will be to meet… _Judge Magister Gabranth_." He said, adding Basch's tone onto the last sentence, earning an earnest laugh from the group.

* * *

><p>"Well, as it stands it all connects, still, what happened at Radiant Garden?" Neku asked just as Riku finished telling the story.<p>

"We arrived in time, or so we thought." Sora said, begging to reminisce.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"This looks peaceful enough." Riku commented as they landed the ship on the nearby fissure.

"Still, it can get dangerous very fast, let's warn everyone." Mickey suggested as the group nodded and began to find their way up to the town. Arriving at the residential district they were greeted by a welcome sight. Pushing her flower cart was the resident flower enthusiast. Turning to them with a mild surprised look, she rubbed her emerald eyes playfully before talking.

"What brings you here Sora?" Aerith asked them softly as she approached the group. "Oh, your Majesty…" She gave a courteous bow only to have the King wave it off.

"Gosh, ya don't need to do that Aerith. But I need you to do me a favor, okay? Get Leon and the others, we need to talk." The small one squeaked.

"Oh… sure!" Aerith replied, surprised at the quick change of subjected and how Sora was unusually quiet. "But… who're you?" She asked as she pointed her finger at Kairi.

"Me? Don't you remember me? It's me Kairi!" She replied, awfully worried that something was amiss. Fortunately, it wasn't.

"You're Sora's sweetheart? MY, you've grown!" Aerith complimented, almost sending both Sora and Kairi to the floor with her direct approach. "Love what you did with your hair, be right back!" And she skimped away happily to find the rest of the Hollow Bastion restoration committee.

"That was…" Kairi began.

"Awkward…" Sora finished.

"Oh God, you're finishing each other's sentences, just put a ring on her already!" Riku mocked, head locking the spiky haired teen.

"Be serious Riku!" Kairi demanded, half embarrassed and half surprised that Riku of all people would joke in a situation like this.

"On this situation, the last thing we need is to start thinking too much. What's gone is gone, when we get a rest we'll handle it, for now, let's act like Sora acts." Riku replied with a slick smile that would melt any other girl's heart, but Kairi had grown immune to it over the years, he just used it way too often. Still, he had a point, she could only smile back.

"Riku's right Sora, lighten up a bit!" She exclaimed, nudging his hair fiercely.

"Okay,okay, fine!" Sora exclaimed as he tried to leave the assault. "I'll see?" He showed a somewhat forced, but still earnest wide grin.

"That's more like it!" Riku exclaimed, throwing his best friend to the ground.

"You HAVE to see her!" They heard in the distance.

"That was…" Sora began.

"Fast." Kairi ended, completely involuntarily.

"Dear god…" Riku lamented in a fake tone of annoyance.

"Honestly Aerith, she can't have changed that HOLY COW!" Yuffie yelled as she stopped right in her tracks a few meters away. "I'm going to be depressed…."

"Excuse this duo over here. Leon is going to meet us at Merlin's place. Let's go." The black clad blonde said stoically.

"Cloud? You're back? What happened?" Sora asked excitedly. To that he only got a thumbs up and a rare smile, nothing more needed to be said.

* * *

><p>"So, you're saying that Radiant Garden's next?" The taller man asked, watching over the guests as he leaned against the wall.<p>

"We can't be sure, but it did follow a straight line, ignoring other worlds to the sides." King Mickey explained, surveying the quiet atmosphere.

"Well, I'm calling code red on this one." Leon said matter of factly. "We don't know how long we have, but we need to be ready. Let's go, we have a lot of work to do." He stepped away from the wall as he signaled everyone to follow him, only turning to the trio to talk. "You three need rest, get to the Inn already, you don't need to pay for it on a code red." He stated, ignoring Sora's protests.

Eventually they accepted and as they were waving the committee goodbye for now, Leon felt a strange urge to have one last word with one of them, like it was now or never. He walked faster than them and grabbed a hold of Kairi's shoulder, pulling her slightly backwards as he said."So you're Kairi, huh? Would never had guessed." He complimented but decided to finish it before they would notice her absence. "Look, don't tell ANYONE this, but take care of that kid, okay? We might not be able to…" He finished somberly, shaking it off as he patted Kairi on the back and sent her forward.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, on another world:<p>

"Sheesh, this thing went down the drain after we left." The spiky, flare red haired man scuffed as he knocked an already broken door down. The white hall he was in was completely filled with dust and spider webs, come to think of it, it reminded him of the mansion. "I don't get it, it stays years the same way and suddenly you need to clean it…" He looked at a piece of paper in his hand and got into a thinking stance. "Maybe it's only this zone… I guess it's normal, nobody's been here for almost fifteen years." He commented, since the rest of the castle was still pristine. "Okay then, if I'm right, this should be a passage way." He stopped as he saw the wall that was supposed to be a secret entrance covered with drawings. "Guess blondie found this part of the castle faster." He smirked as he moved some of the drawings. "And she probably found the treasure too…" He continued with a more nostalgic tone in his voice as he saw a crude drawing of a blonde young teen together with a blue haired one and a red haired one like himself. Most of the other drawings contained the teen, some paired him with a blue haired one and a brunette. Some showed a person in a mask, others a bald elder, others a samurai like black haired man and even what could have passed as his brother. "Tsk, guess I'm on the right track." It was then that he noticed a crack in the wall, like it could be a revolving door. He smiled and swiftly kicked it.

"Jackpot!"

* * *

><p>Sora turned and turned on the bed, almost ripping off the sheets. He just couldn't sleep with the situation as it was. Most of the city was being evacuated to the castle, they were there waiting for the morning, and then what would they do? Wait around? What if it had circled Radiant Garden and was just destroying the rest of the worlds. Before he could think on more grim scenarios however, he was interrupted by a soft touch.<p>

"Can't sleep?" Kairi as she pulled the sheets from atop Sora.

"Not really…" Sora excused, rubbing the back of his head.

"Want to get some fresh air? Riku's sleeping like a log." She offered, extending her hand. Sora quickly grabbed it and followed her outside of the room.

"_Yeah right, sleeping."_Riku mused with a devious grin on his face.

They arrived at the terrace atop of the Inn, conveniently finding a bench made for two people at most to seat. They spent a few moments in silence, watching the stars before Kairi taking the initiative.

"Look Sora, I know what you're feeling but you can't let it haunt you in a time like this…" She said meekly.

"I can't Kairi! I tried but… Everyone I know is dead! Only you guys are alive!" He punched the side of the bench with such power it bended. "Then, they force us to wait around, doing nothing like this, all the while, the rest of our friends might be DYING! All this because I was SLEEPING! I…"

**SMACK!**

Kairi slapped Sora out of his outburst.

"Sora, you're sounding like Roxas sounded! We all lost something here, it wasn't just you, why aren't we pitying ourselves?" She exclaimed in a very uncanny stern voice, it was the first time Sora actually saw real anger in those violet mirrors. "Everyone I know DIED there, hey if you want to put it that way, you're the lucky one, you have more friends, me and Riku? Well, we have to support ourselves in our only remaining friend, you! And how can we support ourselves in someone wallowing in grief?" She was pressuring her own hands so thigh she could feel the bruises coming. "Do I want to cry? Of course I want to…" And she did, tears began to roll down her cheeks, still the resolve in her eyes refused to die out. "Look at me now! See? Now, whose shoulder can I cry? I don't need someone to cry with me, I need someone to…" Before she could finish she felt a force lodging itself on the back of her head, pulling her into Sora's shoulder.

Sora laughed in a very characteristic way, giving way to a very Sora-like response.

"Come on Kairi, when did I ever miss the opportunity to do you a favor?" He asked as he beamed with a smile onto the girl he was holding against his chest.

"Dummy…" She whimpered, punching his chest repeatedly.

"We'll get through this… all three of us!" Sora reassured.

Riku, who had his back leaned against the wall that separated the stairs from the terrace smiled and returned to the bedroom, they could have their time alone now.

Pity it had already begun.

* * *

><p>Lost Records:<p>

"_Well, no one's watching, so, might as well."_ Cid told himself as he took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up. He had given up smoking years ago, but something told him if he was going to have a last cig, it was now. He had been charged on guarding the Radiant Garden main entrance, one that led to the plaza, a boring job, no one would try and go through the front door, or would they? Just as he took the cigarette from his mouth for the first time, a muffled scream touched his ears. Now on full alert, Cid threw the cigarette away and made his way to the pillar where the guard should be, but the only thing he saw as a floating heart being gobbled by a monstrous heartless snake. The reptile had to be at least five meters long and almost as thick as his torso. "Tsk, even heartless are getting in on the fun?" Cid grumbled as he prepared a flame thrower he had made specifically for occasions like this. He had long forgotten how to use a spear. "Time's up buddy!" He exclaimed as he fired the weapon against the snake, who rattled in pain. He smiled at it, but he wasn't the only one. Soon, an electric shock coursed through his nervous system as something hit from behind. Looking down, Cid saw a black blade erupting from his chest, and his body finally caught up, paralyzing him with pain, his weapon falling to the ground.

"It really is old man." A black haired teen whispered in his ear as he grappled his neck. It was then that Cid saw it, the snake slowly loomed closer and closer, it's tongue dancing through the darkness in its vivid red.

"Fuck! Not like this!" Cid yelled, horrified as the snake was just mere inches away from him, stalking his prey from the ground. "Not like…" The snake darted towards his chest, it was over.

A small, flying fairy had seen it all, despairing at her inability to help anyone, the best she could do was take her telephone and speed dial one of her friend's number.

* * *

><p>The small brunette fairy suddenly felt her pocket rumble. She quickly broke her conversation with Aerith bad brought the phone to her ear, just in time to ear her friend break down in tears.<p>

"Yuna! You… you have to warn everyone… Cid is… Cid is… I couldn't do anything!" The person from the other side of the line said in between sobs. Before Yuna could react she heard a lot of turbulence coming from the other side of the line.

"Little fairy, could you spare a heart?" She heard man's voice mock before the phone erupted in shouts.

"Rikku! What's happening?" She asked, but she got no response, the screaming continuing as she had never talked.

"NO! Stay away from me! YUNAAAAAAA!" Yuna's heterochromatic eyes went wide with tears as she heard the scream be muffled by a guttural sound of slurping. She was… eaten alive. She could hear Cloud smashing his fist against the wall, the wailing was just that noticeable. But, she knew it, before she could cry, she had to warn Leon of this, Rikku died to give her a warning.

"Cloud… I'll warn Leon, can you go check the plaza?" She asked, maintaining her composure the best she could.

"I can… but I don't think you need to warn Leon." The man answered, poiting behind her back.

"What is that?"

* * *

><p>"Heartless, heartless everywhere!" Yuffie screamed as she arrived at Leon's post near the scar. The man just looked at her with a you-gotta-be-kidding-me look as he fought off three invisibles at once. "Oh, I see you've met them." She joked before jumping into the fray. They didn't take long to finish them as Yuffie bough Leon enough time to charge his sword into a portable Blasting Zone and spin around, ending all three assaulter's life. "Now what?" Yuffie asked as she shook the dust from her clothes.<p>

"We need to get to the city, look!" Leon exclaimed as he pointed out what seemed to be a crack on a window, except instead of a window it was a crack in the sky. Before they could rush to the city, the whole world started shaking.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

Just as the couple had finally fallen asleep, unaware of the happenings of the city, until their rude awakening came. A quake so fierce the windows of the building broke because of the vibration. And not one, not two, but three in a row. Kairi jumped awake from a single quake, but Sora slept through all of them, only waking up when Kairi pummeled his head.

"Wake up you lazy bum!" She yelled at the half-awake teen who scrubbed his hair in an attempt to fully wake up. He had his wish granted as another series of quakes hit the Inn, the sound of breaking glass filling the air again. Only this time, it wasn't glass. The whole sky that covered the city crashed into a million pieces, sending fourth a downpour of heartless into the city. But that was the least of their worries, as a colossal silver robot crashed right in the middle of it. Little did they know what they were up against.

"I think it's time we get out there!" Sora exclaimed, nodding at Kairi as they both jumped off the roof, landing on the overrun street bellow. Just as they were going to summon their Keyblades, a dark ray fell down from the sky, exploding in every direction, wiping out the heartless on the street.

"Let's roll." Riku said, smirking as he appeared from the middle of the explosion.

"Alright!"

* * *

><p>Lost Records:<p>

"That machine… You think?" Paine asked Leon and Yuffie as they ran to the center of the city, only destroying enough heartless to pass through.

"Well, it couldn't have been the Heartless so… it must have been. Be really careful you two, one mistake and you might disappear for all we know." Leon warned, skillfully dodging an Iron's Hammer crush, shooting in the face with a fireball in the process.

"Well, gee, I was just thinking about jumping in front of the thing!" Yuffie whined.

"You never know…" Paine input, getting a smirk from Leon. It was then that, for a second there, he saw a red flash bolting from a nearby alley and dove to intercept, catching a gargantuan snake with the tip of his gunblade lodging into the top of its mouth. The snake screeched and turned into a pool of dark goo, only to reappear a safe distance away.

"A new kind of Heartless?" Squall muttered as he checked if Paine was safe. Just as he made sure of it, he looked again in the direction of the snake, trying to analyze it until he saw a very familiar sight. "Sora?" He called at the sight of his trademark spikes.

"Not quite." The boy said, showing his jet black hair. "But I'm really sorry for Ouroboros here, it just loved eating the last fairy, another one was too much for him." He mocked with a dark, sadistic smile.

"Who the hell are you talking about?" Paine yelled as she charged, only being stopped by Leon's arm.

"You know, small, blonde, tasty?" He enjoyed getting in people's heads before killing them, it wasn't a secret. The emotions were like a banquet to him.

"WHY YOU!" Paine yelled, flying over Leon's arm only to be knocked unconscious by the handle of the gunblade and sent flying to Yuffie's arms.

"Yuffie, listen carefully! I'm only saying this once! Go to Cloud and try to fight off that machine, I'll take this guy!" Leon commanded with such conviction that Yuffie just bowed her head and accepted, jumping onto a nearby ledge, turning before continuing and saying:

"Be careful… Squall." Before jumping down in the direction of the machine.

"Like always." Leon mumbled before turning to face the black haired teen. "It's just you and me now."

"Guess so, I'll take you down myself, no need for Omega!" He yelled back rushing towards Leon.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

The trio was cruising and bruising through the mobs of heartless, Sora and Riku being able to compensate for Kairi's lack of experience by alternating Riku's dark powers with Sora's Drive Forms. They could see shadows on the distance assaulting the machine as fire took a hold of the city, so they pressed on, soon finding a familiar face.

"Your Majesty!" Sora called, Mickey acknowledging them as they made their way towards the Master. Just as they arrived informed them that he saw an unusual snake heartless going through an alley and was trying to give chase to it, but the way through as too clogged by heartless, they needed to let it go for now. They agreed to it and ran towards the machine which was busy trying to destroy any opposition before reaping the world. The first thing they noticed as they were getting closer was that the holes in time and space they encountered were increasing exponentially as they approached the battlefield.

"Is this what it did to our world?" Kairi gasped, still keeping up with them.

"Probably, if it can do that, don't get hit at any cost!" Mickey said as they began to be able to see the four legged beast more clearly, locked in a dance with Cloud and Tifa, never being able to get a clear shot of them, but at the same time, nothing the brawler and soldier did seemed to have an effect, even with Aerith's magic strengthening them. Just before they arrived, they saw Yuffie jump from the top of a building nearby and slam the smaller eye with a vengeful blow, making the creature, if you can call it that, reel backwards in pain.

"That's for Rikku you bastard!" Yuffie yelled as she landed near her friends.

"Rikku? What happened?" Sora asked as they made their entrance.

"Rikku and Cid are gone…" Yuna replied as stoically as she managed.

"What?"

"Well well well, looks like we lured the moles out of their holes."A deep voice, one very familiar to Mickey echoed. Suddenly from the fire, a figure bolted towards the beast, landing on top of its damaged eye just as it repaired itself. The tall, silver haired young man was easily recognized by one of the ones he had fought all those years ago.

"Xehanort! I knew you had to have had a hand in this!" Mickey exclaimed, being met by a bone chilling laughter of the man.

"You guessed correctly old friend, now, as a prize, I shall see that you behold the true power of what fate gifted to me. Omega, no need to hold back anymore!" He boomed, the machine now processing the information before having a massive canon rise from the top of its body.

"**Acknowledged. Surge Canon, ****deployed****!**" It screeched in an inhuman voice as he fired a massively fast beam of pure energy towards the resistance, who barely made it out of the way in time.

"Missed us!" Sora exclaimed as he got up.

"Oh, but I wasn't aiming for you…" He said somberly.

A massive flash filled the skies, a few moments later backed up by the sound of a world shattering explosion with a up to par shockwave. It took some time for the flash to clear, but when it did, Cloud turned around to see Radiant Garden's castle… gone.

"NO! All the civilians were evacuated there!" Aerith gasped.

The truth hit them like a truck. From where the castle stood, over a million hearts flew, disappearing to the night's sky. In an instant, all lives but the ones which were fighting were taken. And it made their blood boil. From the calmest to the feistiest, all able fighters jumped upwards, roaring as they unleashed their most powerful moves. Sora shot a Ragnarok as Riku shot a dark canon, followed by Cloud's Blade Beam and Mickey's Holy, finished off by a bigger, light green Holy wave from Aerith. All ranged attacks seemed to hit Omega, which was not known for its speed… yet.

"Useless!" Xehanort yelled as they noticed that behind the smoke was no Omega, the machine rematerializing behind them and shooting a Wave Canon directly at an unsuspecting Kairi. The only one that saw it coming did the one thing she could do. Aerith pushed Kairi out of the way and was engulfed by the eruption of energy.

Time seemed to slow down as everyone turned to see it, the cheery flower girl vanished, leaving only her pure heart behind, flying off along with the others from the castle. There was no warning, no goodbye.

"DAMNIIIT!" Cloud yelled, his mind going completely blank in rage as he recklessly charged the monster alone.

"Cloud, don't!" Tifa cried, but Cloud had already jumped to his fate. With all his strength and covered by the same golden aura he was against Sephiroth he slammed the bandaged Fusion Sword against the robot's bigger eye. Surprisingly, with all the rage behind the blow he managed to crack it, staggering the giant. However, the victory was short lived as Cloud found himself in the middle of four Wave Canon's routes.

"I'll be right there Aerith…"

"CLOOOOUD!" Tifa yelled as she saw another one of her best friends and the one she looked for so long vanish in the same flash of blue light, Cloud's heart and sword flying away from the explosion, the later finding its way to Sora's feet.

"We can't do anything like this! RUN!" Mickey shouted, getting no objection, even though everyone wanted to do something, they knew they couldn't. For their surprise, Xehanort let them go.

"I feel satisfied… Omega, look for the Heart of this world. Let's end this." He commanded, calling for a race against time, unknown to the rest.

* * *

><p>As they ran they saw it. In the distance, surrounded by hundreds of heartless was none other than a kneeling Leon, blood spilling from his right arm.<p>

"Damnit, I got careless…" Leon had only taken his attention out of the fight once, when the castle was destroyed. That had cost him his main arm.

"LEON!" Sora called in the middle of the flames, cutting down heartless after heartless to reach his friend.

"Just run… you idiots…" Leon said as he coughed blood, Vanitas lading near him with a sadistic smile.

"SORA!" Mickey boomed. "We need to take care of Omega!" He lied, he knew just as much as Leon, this was lost. They could only salvage what was left, and what was left were those three.

"But Leon…" Sora refuted.

"GO!" Leon shouted, giving him false hope by putting all he had on a single fireball which blasted Vanitas away. "I'll be fine!"

"Okay… I'll be right back!" Sora promised, running back to the group , which disappeared on the distance.

"Any last words?" Vanitas asked as he approached the now powerless Leon.

"That kid will wreck you." Leon said with a confident smile appearing his face in the final moments of his life. Furious, Vanitas made it quick and simple. Moments later, the snake had had another meal.

* * *

><p>Suddenly, Mickey stopped. Sora decided to take this chance to know just what he knew.<p>

"Who was that guy?" He asked forcefully.

"Vanitas, no time for an explanation Sora, but he is to someone what Roxas was to you." He dismissed, ignoring the question about if he was a Nobody. "Now, let's make this quick." He said, pulling out a crystal-like blue star. "This is our last chance. Sora, Riku, Kairi hold it." He said, delivering onto Sora, Riku and Kairi putting their hands on it, expecting a miracle. "Sorry..." Before they could ask why they were enveloped by a pale light sphere.

"What is this? Your majesty, you're not…" Riku shouted, punching the sides of it, the sphere now slowly floating upwards.

"We're not giving up." Tifa said, giving a reassuring smile.

"We're putting our hopes in you." Yuffie finished.

"The Star could only take three people." Yuna said.

"Your ship'll be at your landing point in a few minutes." Paine informed.

"What are we supposed to do now then? If we all lost, how can the three of us do something?" Sora asked, enraged at how easily they were giving their life away.

"You always find a way there, don't you fella?" He said, throwing his Keyblade inside the sphere. "Give that to someone who needs it more."

"Wait! Mickey!" Kairi called.

"See ya!" Were the last words they heard from their king as the sphere bolted out of the world in a flash, not even Omega detecting it. "It won't be long now. Thank you…" The mouse thanked the girls.

"No problem, it's the only way." Tifa reassured.

"Yes. Yes it is."

* * *

><p>Lost Records:<p>

Omega soon rematerialized in a chamber inside the earth, in front of a pulsating, Keyhole.

"So, it survived. Not for long though, Vanitas!" He called, both the teen and the snake, now larger than ever, appearing on his side.

"Present." He joked.

"Good. Omega, destroy." He ordered simply.

"**Acknowledged. Surge Canon… deployed.**"

The surge of bluish light enveloped the Keyhole and, as it did to everything it encountered before, completely and utterly annihilated it. The only thing left was a small white crystal, which floated onto Xehanort's hand.

"Goodbye, Radiant Garden. And goodbye Keyblade Wielders." He said, believing Sora and the others to be in the world Omega dematerialized.

The world, now without its heart began to tremble, quickly breaking apart in the middle of white flashes as the ground collapsed upon itself, eventually imploding, taking every living being that lived it with it. Nothing was left but hearts and stardust.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

The sphere crashed in a green field of grass, the impact disorienting the teens.

"Where… are we?" Kairi wondered as she got up.

"No way… what are we doing here?" Sora blurted as he saw the giant, distorted castle that towered in front of them.

"So, you got this place memorized, huh?" A familiar, jovial voice echoed in their ears, not one they could trust so easily. They all jumped backwards and drew their Keyblades as they saw the spiky haired redhead playing with one of his chakrams on the steps to the castle. What was surprising was what he had on his left shoulder. A blonde teen, just a little younger than them, who bore an uncanny resemblance with an old "acquaintance".

"Axel? And is that Roxas?" Sora asked, dumbfounded.

"Nope and nope. Name's Lea, got it memorized? Axel was my nobody, I got a working heart right here." He slammed his chest. "And this is your Senior." The man explained quickly, but he did not allow anymore questions. He had some questions of his own. "What brought you here anyways?"

* * *

><p>"And you told him all about it?" Neku deduced as Sora took a sip of a cup of water.<p>

"Yeah, we did, but before we could ask him anything, the ship arrived." Sora explained.

"And just what happened then?" Shiki asked, still prodding for what they were truly looking for.

"Well, we tried to go back to Radiant Garden pronto, but after one hour of flight everything just began… falling apart. Space, colors, it all started shattering." Sora explained, Neku's face began to darken.

* * *

><p>"That… happened to me too in the World of Darkness, that's how I managed to leave." Aqua pointed out.<p>

"The higher ups are NOT going to like this… at all." Sho commented.

* * *

><p>Lost Records:<p>

Unknown location, immediately after Radiant Garden's destruction.

"To think our life goal was so easily achieved." Xehanort said smugly as he stood in front of a heart shaped moon. "Omega is truly a blessing."

"How did he wind up here anyway?" Vanitas asked.

"I don't know, but it will all be explained when we find this machine's origins. For now, let us reap what we sew all those years ago…" Xehanort contemplated, but he knew the best way to do what he wanted and still take something extra from it. "Omega, do not destroy it, just break it. Ouroboros… you're going to have a feast."

* * *

><p>Unknown location, somewhere in Heaven:<p>

"Yes? King Yemma? Connect this line to the Purgatory… and get me Magus!" The being with an identical doll on its side commanded.

"But… aren't you bending protocol a little too…" A gruff voice replied before being completely silenced.

"OMEGA DESTROYED A MULTIVERSE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS?" The person yelled.

* * *

><p>"Right on it!" King Yemma replied, quickly changing a line to purgatory. "Yes? Joshua? Where is the one in charge? Oh, he left? For how long? You don't know? Hell, I don't care, just get Magus. Yes that Magus. Send him to me, I'll send him where he needs to be." He finished feeling worried as he laid down his phone.<p>

"Yo Yemma. What's wrong?" One of his workers asked.

"The situations is looking quite bleak Yusuke, quite bleak indeed…" The giant told him, starting the paperwork he was going to need.

* * *

><p>"Well, aren't you worked up? Never saw a God break that much protocol in a day." A silver haired man asked.<p>

"Well, haven't seen you since you gave up on your charge. What is your purpose here?" God replied, feeling tired and lost.

"I was going to offer help, but I already know what you need me to do. I'll escort the next team out." The man replied.

"Yes, a team… who shall I send with Magus?" God pondered, opening a massive book, so big it served as the entire wall of the room. But he didn't need to think long, as somehow, someone managed to crash through the door, someone who wasn't the last Grim Reaper.

"I want to go!" Sandy blonde hair, not a day over seventeen. Now supporting the Heaven's Vanguard uniform.

"I won't send you to Ivalice Reks." God replied, not in the least bit annoyed by someone crashing through the castle. All of the God Generals were in Hell so it was normal.

"I don't care. I want to help Vaan. Even if I don't see him!" he said resolutely, his passionate eyes buying Gods confidence.

God had to admit, Reks wasn't the best fighter, but the mission wasn't strictly combat, it was more a recon mission, and with all the efforts needed in hell, well, Reks would have to do.

"Reks, I'll send you, Magus and two more to Valhalla, here, deliver this letter to him. Remember, you are not there to fight, just discover what happened to Noel and more importantly, Lightning and her sister."

Reks gasped at the sight of God, it was… a lot more human than he thought it would be.

"You're a…"

"Yes." God dismissed. "Now, Magus can be… feisty, but if he refuses to read this, just tell him I have the location of his sister, that'll get him to cooperate." God turned to the silver haired man. "Get the two remaining members of the God Generals to go with them. You should be at Yemma's Palace in one hour tops."

"Whoa, you're serious about this aren't you? Who's gonna guard you then?"

"You."

"Fuck." He cursed, but didn't object, because he heard what he wanted.

"I'll have pizza…" God bribed, and it was enough. The person extended his hand to the former Grim Reaper and gave him a letter. Signed permission for temporary mortal life. Four people.

"Kid, let's go!" He exclaimed, grabbing rekks by the shoulder and pulling him outside.

"May I ask who is going with me?" Reks asked curiously.

"You're in luck kid. Auron and… WHAT?" He almost fell when he read the last name. What happened in those fifty years, he couldn't even BE there.

Curious, Reks peak at the paper and saw that name…

" 'Thunder God' Cidolfus Orlandeau."

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter note:<span>****I am truly sorry, it's just, I have some problems at…

You're not really buying this are you? Look at the date… 1/4/12, well, it is in Washington still.

**APRIL FOOLS!**

Don't worry ladies and gents, I'm here to stay, did I get ya? As an apology, next chapter will be out earlier, so tell me what you thought of this one. I could have just skipped the sad parts, but I enjoy this bit of tragedy, don't you? And yes, I promise IamSweeden, next it will have the focus in Chrono Trigger series as you asked for. Also, how Sora came to this Universe and what's Vaan up too, and how is Reks gonna hold up? All that and more in the next exciting episode of Dragon Ball Zeeeeee… I mean, this fic. See ya in a not so distant future and as always, opinions are appreciated!


	47. Deadline

****Author's note:****Yes, I know the last two chapters were… lacking. It's just the backlash from putting so many characters at the same time. Flashbacks. Lots and lots of flashbacks. Fortunately, this chapter ends the obligatory flashbacks and adds a little spice that'll keep the story going until the end, hope you like it.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Forty-Seven**

****Deadline****

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't Cid be from the future?" Reks blurted as he saw that name written into the paper. After Ramza and Chrono arrived from the future God had broken taboo and facilitated every last bit of information about them and their adventures, including companions and such. Thunder God Cid was either highly exaggerated or completely out of this world, quite probably the strongest human ever, bar none. He was also from almost thirteen hundred years in the future, how was he at Heaven at the present day?<p>

"Hell, I've seen weirder stuff." The albino shrugged, but his curiosity was picked. "I'll work on what trick that person used." He mused as they walked downwards through the daunting halls of Castle Elysium. Situated at the highest ring of Heaven, anyone who ever even saw the palace could be considered a hero on his own right, and not just any hero, but only the greatest. The castle itself was a throwback to Norse Mythology, while still maintaining a regal, European look. Paintings of the Norse Gods were the norm, but the decoration itself came from what the previous God labeled as, "Medieval France", golden chandeliers and lamps, crimson rugs lining up the white halls with golden trims. Still, there was technology to be had, the lams were mostly electric and some of decorations had really futuristic designs. Reks tried to get the best he could, it might take a while for him to see this again, if he ever did, most never saw it once from the inside. "Yo kid! Quit spacing out, you got a job to do."

"Sorry!" Reks blurted, shaking off his curiosity for now. The room he had followed the man in was one of the most secured ones in existence, the portal room. Considering where they were and the frankly ridiculous size of the otherworld, they desperately needed ways to move faster on it. Portal's seemed to be the most obvious response to that, and it was easy to implement them, however, most of the portals had restrictions on where they could port too, this one was one of the three that hadn't.

"Well, before we get to Yemma, let's get your team ready, let's see now… Pandemonium… throne room." The man tipped on the controlling port.

"Wait what do you…" Reks blurted as the room was filled with light, blinding him before dimming down to reveal the transparent crystal throne room of Pandemonium. Reks was… nervous to say the least. What kind of evil, distorted, malevolent entity ruled over Hell was now in the same room as him, and the most surprising part was the former Grim Reaper's lighthearted attitude, he was literally yelling:

"Yo, _Devil_, get your ass out here!" He even added a noticeable condescending tone to the name. The halls echoed with his voice and grew silent for a few seconds, just before filling themselves up with murmurs again. "I don't have all day!"

"What is it now? Don't I deserve some respect? I'm the DEVIL, lord of all Hell and all that jazz! Lately it's always: Hades this or Hades that or "Hades get a move on", "Hades you're useless"! You know what, I'm sick of it!" A voice echoed from the distance as hastened footsteps filled the area. Suddenly, a red flame erupted from where the steps were coming, which was tarrying, until Reks got a good look at the one coming in their direction.

"_Is that him?"_He imagined the devil to be more… evil-looking. While the man had his head and shoulders literally on fire, his face seemed… comic. He was dressed in gray garments, covered by a black robe tied to one of his shoulders, his skin was as red as his "hair" and he was PISSED.

"I mean sheesh, you think you can get inside MY castle without permission and get away with it? Why don't you take your pretty Godly but and… uh oh…" He stopped abruptly when he reached the duo, partly because he understood God wasn't there and partly because he had a gun to his head. Strangely, his "hair" had become a blue flame and his skin pale blue after the rage had passed him. "Oh… huh, Grim… didn't see you there, how's it holding up?" He stuttered.

"Well, I'm just dandy, except my reputation was kinda burned when Mateus of all people high jacked the Pandemonium, you see, I vouched for you. And the worst part, I knew you were weak as crap, but I thought "Hey, he can't be THAT bad at management, and besides, it wouldn't be that bad to have a semi-non-monstrous demon as the Devil." I was wrong." He finished as he cocked the gun.

"H-hey! It wasn't my fault! Let's do it like this, I can, you know, pitch in for your brother and you'll let me go?" He replied underhandedly. Before either he or Reks could blink, they heard a gunshot, scaring Hades half to death. Turns out the man in front of him had fired a gun on his other hand only mess with him, said man was now laughing his ass off.

"OH MAN! YOUR FACE WHEN I SHOT IT! PRICELESS!" He said in between laughs. Hades joined the laughter with an awkward of his own, but he was having none of it. "Yo Hades, stop sucking up." He said, more calmly this time. "I'm not gonna kill you, like I care what they say 'bout me, but here's a warning, if you ever suggest sending my brother to Heaven, HE'LL cut your head off right that instant." Hades gulped and rubbed his neck. "Now, we're here." He pointed to Reks."To get him a team, now, I want you to tell us where we can find Auron and Cid Orlandeu, deal?"He "asked" slamming the gun against his head.

"Okay, okay, easy enough." Hades agreed, moving the gun from his head. "Orlandeu is at the castle gates, Auron… just ask Minwu, he's the one in charge of the strategies. He should also be at the entrance. Now, just go… please? I'm under a lot of stress right now…"

"Yeah, we're cool Hades. Just send me a pizza tomorrow or something, lay off the anchovies, you decide the rest. Also, I don't do the Grim Reaper anymore, get that in your flaming head." He commented, patting him on the shoulder. "Kid, let's go!"

"Oh no you don't!" Hades interrupted just as the duo was heading for the entrance."I like my castle as it is, I'll send you to the entrance hall myself." He said, snapping his fingers to create a flaming portal in front of the duo. "Knock yourself out."

"Thanks Hades, you're a cool guy when I don't mention… Hercules." He knew exactly what was coming, so he jumped into the portal as soon as he mentioned him.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERC!" Hades shouted, his voice echoing the Pandemonium.

* * *

><p>"Why did he just do that?" Reks asked, unsure of what could one person do to a structure that would scare the admittedly disappointing, King of Hell.<p>

"Well you know, this one time me and my brothers got drunk and kinda got into a fight… it took them three years to repair the building… Good times." He said, crossing his arms. "Well, those are the gates, let's see if we can find you some company!" He exclaimed light-heartedly as he approached the massive twin gates. They portrayed what Reks could only assume to be the first Devil, Satan, reigning over the burning bodies of the damned, it kinda destroyed the lightheartedness that had came from his encounter with the sorry excuse for a Devil. Outside was, no pun intended, hell.

* * *

><p>Vaan and his "crew" had decided to go directly to the castle, leaving the reunion with their friends at Lowtown until after they cleared their image. Well, cleared what they wanted to clear anyways. Just as they were about to enter the castle however, what Balthier had guessed it would happen happened.<p>

"Halt! What business has pirate scum like you in the royal palace?" One of the two heavily armored guards barked as they blocked the gates with their spears.

"Overzealous guards, they still make them how they used too…" Balthier mocked as he approached both guards and slapped one of the spears away, being instantly threatened for impalement by the other. "Touchy."

"I should off your head right now!" The guard yelled.

"Look, _sir__, _I would advise more respect towards the ones that helped your queen regain her kingdom AND stopped a ship from reducing this fair town to a drifting pile of ashes." Balthier replied, mildly annoying by the lack of respect these guards showed him.

"You think you fool me? Just what did the queen have to promise you to get your cooperation? And now you came back to feed on her benevolence more!"

"Hey, I take offense to that. Helping Queen Ashe was maybe the one thing in my life I did for zero profit. Well, apart from the money I made on the side, but that hardly has anything to do with the queen."

"SILENCE!" The guard yelled, the tip of his spear now poking at Balthier's neck. The pirate could feel a string of blood coursing down his neck, but wasn't about to lower himself to those guards' standards. If Vaan was able to hold back the urge to punch their face in, so should he. "You lying dog! Remove yourself from here before I put you down." He threatened. Right about know Vaan was cussing inwardly and the full might of Penelo and Fran was needed to hold him back from doing anything stupid. Balthier was at his limit aswell, but before he gave those men a piece of his mind, a feminine but strong voice came from behind them.

"Kerrial, Markus, from today onward you are dispatched to guarding the lower level of Nalbina prison without an increase in compensation." The woman who had just arrived said with conviction. Wearing a very out of place green cape on the upper body while her lower body was now the dalmascan uniform trousers and boots, she had both her hands covered in bronze gauntlets along with her shoulders. She also harbored short hazel colored hair with an intricate curve on the end, her eyes like emeralds.

"But Madam Lotice! Our families in Nalbina need the…"

"Before you try and oppose me, I know your financial situation well enough to believe you won't be encumbered by this, your families will even thank me for your company. Now, go gather your belongings and meet me at my office in the guard tower tonight!" She finished just as the guards were about to react, sending them away with one hand. "Maybe next time you will respect your saviors." She told them as they took their leave, revolted and beaten. She then turned back to the group of sky pirates, using her own sleeve to wipe Balthier's blood from his neck with a apologizing stare. "It has been too long Sir Vaan, I am deeply sorry for my subordinates."

"Frimelda? You're captain already? You're better than I thought." Vaan asked dumbfounded. He had sent her to Dalmasca when she asked for a place to settle down after the whole dying stuff, followed by the Grimoire of the Rift and Illua. He had even wrote a letter of recommendation for her to deliver to Ashe but he never would have guessed that she ascended in the ranks so fast.

Frimelda giggled at the compliment and corrected him. "Oh, I was captain ever since the day I gave Queen Ashe that letter, I'm High-General now."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? You're the equivalent of a Judge Magister in less than a year?"

"That's quite impressive actually. Where did you meet this fair maiden Vaan?" Balthier asked,, kneeling and kissing Frimelda's hand.

"Well, me and Sir Vaan met when we were both on Luso's clan… Now I remember! Luso and Adelle came here looking for you Sir Vaan! I had to apologize for not knowing your location, but they said they would return to see you." She said as If she had had an epiphany.

"Enough with the _Sir_ Frimelda, why can't I be just Vaan?" Vaan got easily annoyed by formalities, and that showed. He was curious about what Luso wanted, but for now he let it go.

"Oh sorry, it's just that the Queen talks so highly of you, I started calling you Sir out of principle, I'll stop it if you are annoyed by it…" Frimelda apologized, causing Vaan to go instantly tomato red.

"A-Ashe talks about me?" Balthier was trying his hardest to not burst out laughing at the situation, that would be unbecoming of him.

"Oh, and there was that one time, where the council was talking trash about you and she passed a law where all nobles had to address you, Penelo, Balthier and Fran as Sir and Madam, under the risk of a one percent of their fortune as a fee. Half of the council quit that day, but it was an overall improvement in reality." Frimelda said with another giggle. "I assume you are here to attend the meeting now that the both the Empire, Rozzaria and Dalmacas' rulers are together?"

"Right you are my sweet, may you lead the way?" Balthier replied in a flirtatious tone.

"Of course, follow me." Frimelda said as she completely ignored Balthier's approach, leaving the sky pirate distraught.

"_My touch has been lost?"_

* * *

><p>"Okay then, we get it how you came to this planet, now tell us how did you find us?" Shin asked, taking the questions upon himself.<p>

"Well, we had a run in with Serge a week ago." Sora began to explain before being interrupted by Terra.

"But that leaves almost two months in blank, Squall said the disturbances began two months ago on this planet." She pointed out, Sora sighing at that.

"I guess we'll just HAVE to extend this even longer, aren't we?" He sighed, resigning to it. "Fine, after the space around us collapsed, the vibrations alone sent the gummy ship crashing and burning into an island. A freaking AWESOME island!"

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"Is everyone alright?" Sora managed to say, coughing out some blood. He knew it wasn't serious, just his tongue had been bitten on the forced landing.

"Define, alright." Lea whined as he lifted himself up, clutching to his wrist. "It ain't broke, but it hurts like shit."

"I'm fine, just a bit dizzy…" Kairi replied, getting up from her seat and going to check on the blonde Roxas look-alike. "He's too, can't feel any broken bones and his breathing is stable."

"Don't worry about me. I'm used to having a broken arm, a laceration is a downgrade for that." Riku said as he wrapped some bandages around his right arm. "Can't say the same about the ship though." While the inside of it was only a mess, the outside was quite the opposite. "One wing was torn right off and the other lost its motor. That and we are on top of a tree. In the middle of a forest. With the river bellow leading to a waterfall. In an unknown word. With no supplies. And no one knows we're here."

"You don't have to be so gloom about it." Lea replied, bandaging his wrist. "I'm sure this island has at least some civilization." He stated.

"How would you know that?"Riku asked, to which the former Nobody just shrugged.

"Instinct?"

"Well, we're not doing anything here, let's get out of the ship and try to find people, after that, we can try and fix it."Sora suggested, and so they did. With Lea carrying the teen they jumped out of the ship, into a nearby tree to avoid the river and then to safe ground.

* * *

><p>They wandered through the forest for a good forty five minutes, finding only grass, threes and the occasional one-hittable wolf. It was just when they were about to call out the search and try to find a suitable place for them to stay for a while that they found themselves in the midst of ancient ruins.<p>

"Well, at least people LIVED here." Lea shot at Riku.

"Like that's gonna help us." Riku shot back.

"Guys, calm down, look, there's a road!" Sora exclaimed, poiting at the ground beneath them. "There's even footprints." Considering the elements, for there to exist footprints, the path had to have been recently used.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" Lea exclaimed, completely ignoring Riku's words. "Now let's follow it and maybe we can get something to…"

Click.

The sound of a gun being cocked resonated from behind them, their first instinct of turning back being denied by the womanly voice.

"HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE'EM!" She ordered, and they complied. "Now, very slowly, turn back." And they once again complied, finding a… big, non-floating Yuna?

"Yuna?" Sora asked, confused out of his mind.

"Oh, so you recognize me? You wouldn't believe how many people don't recognize me on this outfit." She joked, spinning around on herself. "Yes, I am High-Summoner Yuna, and you are?" As much as her tone had softened, the guns were still poiting at them.

"You mean, you can't remem…" Sora began, being instantly elbowed to the gut by Riku, who proceeded to introduce the group.

"… and we crashed on the forest nearby." He finished.

"So, you're not from around here… may I ask why were you flying over the island?" She asked, still pointing her guns for safety, they were four, she couldn't risk it. The group remained silent before she spoke again. "Was it about that strange storm?" The group looked at each other and slowly nodded."Okay, I'll give you a chance to explain, let's get to Besaid and get some help from those knuckle heads at the Blitzball team, maybe they can help you with your ship." She sure was certain that the people at the city could move the ship. Not that they couldn't if they tried to, but they decided to save efforts. On the way there, Yuna began to poke at them with questions. "Soooo, where you from?" She asked. "You're not from an unexistent city, are you?" She joked. "Inside joke." She said as they looked at her funny. "But seriously, Bevelle? Luca?"

"Destiny Is…" And once again he got a punch to the gut by both Riku and Lea this time, but the damage was done.

"Look, you have no idea of what I had to believe the last couple of years. I'd be hard pressed to believe you can come up with a story more unbelievable than that of my husband, even if you tried." She said in a more nostalgic tone, taking her hand closer to her face, gazing at her ring.

"_Damnit, why are __the good ones always taken?"_ Lea cursed inwardly,

"Fine, just don't send us to a mental hospital." Riku made Yuna promise, she complied and they promised to tell everything after they took their ship down. Not long after they arrived at the small village at the steps of a temple. The small establishment was nothing more than a few tent-like houses surrounded by ruins but it seemed pretty lively for what it was.

"I know it's not much, but welcome to Besaid, now wait here while I go get my good for nothing husband out of the team's physical practice." She said as she blasted off into the back of the camp.

"Riku! What gives?" Sora complained, finally being alone with his assaulter.

"Are you that dense Sora? Wherever we fell, it's obvious that it's a very different world than the ones we visited, and you already made us loose our cover, we could have made up an excuse but noooooooooooooooooooo, let's tell her we're from another world!" Riku reprimanded, to which Sora lowered his head and complied."Lucky enough, she seems to have seen some weird stuff, maybe she'll believe us."

* * *

><p>"Tidus! Get your team out here, we have visitors!" Yuna ordered as she reached the clearing the team was doing stretches and physical preparation.<p>

"With all respect Yuna, it's MY team, I'm the coach." The wacky hairstyled man intervened, Wakka was his name, Blitz was his game.

"Then you'll have no trouble ordering them around…" She asked with a soft smile as she put one of her arms around his neck from the back. "Will you?" She asked the same tone, but now holding a gun at his throat.

"N-not at all! You heard the girl, form up and move out!" The coach ordered, grabbing a sandy blonde haired young man as he passed. "Geez man, start wearing the pants here."

"I'm trying dude, I'm trying…" He replied, following the girl religiously.

* * *

><p>"Sorry for the delay!" Yuna exclaimed as she arrived with her personal army. "Now, Sora, where did you leave your ship?"<p>

Sora immediately freaked out when he saw two of his, albeit older, childhood friends in the back, but the more level-headed Riku covered his mouth and spoke for him.

"Well, we can't really explain it, we just know that it was a tree next to a massive waterfall." Riku explained, to which Yuna took a thinking stance.

"Maybe it's the Arouch's Fall, ya know, where we train our dives." Wakka suggested.

"That's… actually pretty useful Wakka, good job!" She complimented, giving him a wink as the sandy blonde haired man groaned. "Oh… is Tiddy Widdy jewous?" She mocked, grabbing the man from behind childishly.

"Seriously, what have you been drinking for the last couple of years?" The man lamented, hitting the girl on the head.

"Winning!" Yuna exclaimed, jumping off and running away.

"That doesn't even… Get back here!" Tidus yelled as he chased his wife.

"GET A ROOM!" Wakka yelled so that they could still hear it from afar.

"Well, they sure act the same." Sora mumbled, Riku and Kairi nodding as they followed through with Wakka and the others, Lea laying down the teen on Wakka's cottage.

* * *

><p>"Can that thing fly? It's made of… treats?" Yuna commented as she looked at the appropriately named Gummy Ship.<p>

"Hey, just because the blocks needed to build that look squishy and delicious does not make it edible. I know from expe… It's not what you think!" He tried to excuse himself but it was too late.

"You tried to EAT parts of the ship?" Riku screamed in the middle of his laughter. It was the first time in a while Riku lost his composure like this, but it was just too much, and it was contagious too, soon everyone was laughing at the brunette.

"C-can't we just take the ship out?" Sora said in an attempt to change the subject.

"Well… I guess." Yuna said, stifling her laughter. "Okay, looks like this one's a tricky one. Wakka, Tidus, can you kick it into the air?"

"No prob. You catch it?" Tidus asked back.

"Yup, and your team carries it." She said matter of factly, before the rest of the team could complain Tidus and Wakka had already jumped, kicking the lower end of the ship upwards. "Float!" Yuna chanted, a bubble of intangible substance surrounding the ship and making it slowly fall on their side.

"Look out!" Sora yelled as Tidus and Wakka feel into the waters.

"Don't worry man, this is part of our practice course. GERONIMO!" And he really did wind up jumping from the waterfall, much to the apathy of the locals.

"Okay then, float!" She chanted again, the ship now floating in midair. "Let's go boys." The team grumbled but they knew better. "Now!" And not a single word was uttered.

* * *

><p>"And that mostly concludes our first meeting with Tidus and the guys. We told them our side of the story, they believed and told us the story behind Tidus to explain why they had believed us so easily, and holy cow, that was one for the books!" Sora said, putting his hands behind his neck.<p>

"It wasn't until Cid came along two months later that we understood just what had happened. We still don't know what happened to our world exactly, but we know where we are and all that." Riku finished.

"You just waited two months? Highly unlikely." Neku intervened. "Look, we know what happened, but they don't, it's not a matter of if they know, but who tells them."

"I don't see why it's so big of a deal really, but if you want the full story, I'm alright with it." Sora replied, Kairi nodding to him, something he returned.

"Well you see, imagine that we're on a book, and we skip details because we don't feel like telling them. Then, people would bash the author of said book and A) not read it or B) read it and talk trash about it. And I know for a fact that this is all an elaborate story told only to please the masses, you see, there are a series of…"

"Locke's being paranoid again, get on with it." Shin said, everyone starting to ignore the thief.. er adventurer.

"Okay then, this is probably how Naminé and the others are here now that I think about it, it all started when Kairi FORCED ME to go grab flowers for a necklace with her. As I stated FORCED!" He yelled, trying to quiet the giggles.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"Well, it's been nice so far." Kairi commented as she picked up some flowers from the clearing they found in the midst of all the trees.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, shaking his head to not fall asleep as he laid down on the grass.

"We've been having some rest here, the ship's almost rebuilt and we made new friends!" She exclaimed, now starting to knit a crown.

"Yeah… it's just strange though. Lea never talked about that blonde guy… who's he?"

"I don't know… But I'm sure he'll tell us when he's ready. It's done!" She cheered, looking at her crown of roses. Still, the air grew chilly as she felt an unknown breath whoosh past her skin.

"WOHO! Can _I_ put it on?" An hysterical voice cried from behind her. The terrified girl jumped back, tripping on rock and falling with her back to the ground, frantically asking:

"W-Who're you?" The man in front of her seemed to be dressed like a clown, a very maniacal and evil one at that.

"Me? You can call me Kefka, my little angel. When you get to the otherworld, tell them I sent you, 'kay? I'm a known supplier you know?" He taunted, walking ever so slowly on the girls direction, the boy, not wasting any time jumped on his feet and made a mad dash towards the clown, but, as soon as he got near his childhood "friend" they both found themselves locked in a glyph of light, not being able to move a muscle. "You're every bit as predictable as they told me you would be, really, at least my kitty would scout for a trap. I wish I could just blow you up right now! You know, out of principle!"

"Don't fret, you shall be able to in a minute." A voice came from behind and everything went blank for the duo.

* * *

><p>Lost Records:<p>

"AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW it's no fun if they can't scream in despair! I don't wanna!" Kefka whined over the bodies of the two teens. "I'm outta here, you do it Lezy!"

Lezard looked over the bodies and back to the three crystals on his hands, a dark, borderline maniacal grin taking over his face. "Let's let them be, they may prove to be… very useful."

* * *

><p>"Riku found us eventually and we took one whole week to wake up. When we did, Spira started getting mangled by heartless and manikins, so we spent the one month before meeting Serge cleaning up. That's partially the reason we don't have Lea here either." Sora finished, looking relieved out of his mind.<p>

"Whatever they did, they must've stolen our essences there." Roxas concluded.

"They did." Neku stated matter of factly. "Now, Serge, I want an explanation. Going by logical thinking, you shouldn't be able to remember anything, much less be here if you did."

"Well, whatever happened, this caused it." He raised the jewel he had kept in the bag. "This is the Chrono Cross. We don't know what it does or how, it just has some kind of influence through time and space." He explained.

"Yeah, we know that, but really, what happened?"

"Well, you know all about the split worlds, don't you?" Serge asked, most of the room just stared blankly but Sho nodded and said:

"Yes, in one of them you died and that computer went world-conqueror mode and in the other you lived and it was just peachy. Then you got sent to the said world, kicked the computer's ass, kicked a genocidal dragon's rear and finally finished a job Crono here wasn't able to by relying on a stone. After that the world's came back together and you up and forgot everything. That's it in a nutshell, isn't it? Oh, and you saved someone who your girlfriend is a clone off…" Swift kick to the groin.

"Next time you call me a clone I'll chop them off!" Kid threatened, pulling out her knife to make the point get through.

"In a nutshell, yes, if you want to know any better, you'll just have to… play the game!" He let out an evil laugh before continuing. "You're just wrong in the part I forgot about everything. I just forgot about like 90% of it, and the stuff I remembered didn't exactly make sense. Then, one day when were visiting the beach again, those two showed up with the Cross." He pointed at Glenn and Kid.

"Kid just appeared one day at Viper Manor, demanded to talk with me for no reason and shoved the Cross in my face. They all thought we were insane, more so after we broke out of the manor to find a boat to Opassa." The swordsman explained.

"Well, the way I got there was… confusing. I woke up in a Inn in an island on Termina, no explanations, nothing. To be more precise, this Termina wasn't either one that I knew. The Dragoon's still wandered and it wasn't over martial control Because of that, I decided to play a visit to Glenn before heading out and find my way to Opassa. Thank god I did, I realized then that this Cross had the power to restore memories of things it technically had already seen. So, we headed down to Opassa."

* * *

><p>"Serge, you don't know me… yet. I know you have no reason to trust me either, but just… hold this for a second." Kid asked, extending the Chrono Cross to Serge.<p>

"Why should he…?" Lenna asked before getting interrupted by her childhood friend.

"You're… Kid aren't you?" Serge asked rhetorically. "I remember… your face. I can trust you… I know it." Serge said as he his eyes wandered from Kid's into the jewel in her arms. "I remember this too… what was it called?" He mumbled as he reached out to the jewel his head getting lighter the closer he was to it and, as he touched it, exploding into a rain of memories. Screaming, he clutched his head as he fell to the ground on his knees.

"Serge, you alright?" Leena exclaimed as she tried to get the jewel out of his hands, being shocked herself by the powers of the jewel.

"Geez, they make us look like the bad guys…" Kid joked just before the initial shock ran out. "Feeling better?" She asked, immediately being tackled to the ground by the duo.

"You guys! Never thought I'd see you again!" Serge exclaimed.

"Yes, yes, now off you go, this position is way too uncomfortable for me as of now." She fumbled, pushing both assailants off her. "Now, before people get all mushy and stuff. Does anyone have ANY idea of why this thing appeared? No memories, nothing?" They all shook their heads negatively.

"Ever thought that MAYBE this was just sympathy? You know, a rewards of sorts?" Glenn suggested. "We did save the world." His statement lasted for only a brief seconds as the jewel illuminated, a whirling passage appeared in front of them, extremely similar too…

"Is that… Angelus Errare? That can't be good." Leena commented as she observed the whirling textures. The portal itself was only a different color from before, now supporting a pristine white. Suddenly, Kid shivered as a phantasmal figure revealed herself to the group.

"Schala?" She whimpered as she saw a person who could pass as her twin emerges.

"My friends… If you are seeing this now it is because the Cross has determined that the danger is too great to take second chances. Lately I have been detecting a strange power in different Eras. This led me to analyze it before coming to you. Every Era I visited was utterly gone. I have no idea of what this might be, so I sent, which had been involuntarily assimilated, and the Cross to your Era, only to awaken if needed. I beg of you, trust the Cross, it may be our only hope to resolve this mystery. I shall do my best to encounter you should you be in need of help. Godspeed, you have done it once, save us again. With Love, Schala." And then the phantasm, having accomplished its goal, vanished into thin air.

"Well that was… to the point." Leena commented.

"Guess it's time to save the world again!" Kid exclaimed, begging to do stretches. "Now, y'all ready?"

"We're not preparing for… oh, hold on." He looked at his sheaths, only to find the equipment he used before already lodge in it.  
>"We even have our mandatory, illogically big RPG backpack." Kid exclaimed, poiting at her bag. "Some people can fit cottages in here!"<p>

"Serge?" Leena asked, trying her best to find someone with common sense.

"Let's jump!" He exclaimed, shattering Leena's hopes. "The sooner we end this, the better."

"I guess you're right… Off we go then." Leena agreed.

"At three. One… Two… THREE!" And the group hopped onto the distortion, quickly finding themselves on… another beach.

"Are you sure we went through it?" Kid asked before taking a look at her surroundings. "Oh, yeah we did." She commented as she saw a very confused team of Blitzball players just watching them.

"I'm going to go call Yuna and Tidus…"

* * *

><p>"And that's how we met, now, you probably know this already but Cid appeared shortly afterwards to give us a rundown of what was happening, and urged us to reach the coordinates he had given us. The rest is history. We arrived, kicked but and now we're here. Now, cat, why don't you tell us your oh-so important secret? I'm really freaking tired of acting like an historian!" Okay, so Kid was not the most patient of people, but to her defense this situation which contained 90% flashbacks was too much like an episode from an anime including a certain orange ninja.<p>

"Hey, you can't just skip parts!" Bartz yelled, demanding more details. Neku however, seemed to agree with Kid as he deadpanned:

"This is your deadline." As he showed a ticking clock on his hand carved on red numbers. "Twenty-seven days." The crowd froze. "In twenty-seven days as of right now, that seal will break and if we don't have a way to deal with Omega by then, well, it's game over."

"Wait! The seal should how as long as I want it too!" Schala counter-augmented.

"_Should_, not _will__. _Look, this is a very optimistic view on it, it may break right now. Furthermore, even if it did hold up for a longer time, have you thought of the damage Omega has already inflicted to the basis of time and space as of now? We're hanging by a thread, the Void may be fully unsealed if the state of it worsens. And you know what's inside of the Void, don't you Bartz?" Neku asked, Bartz gulping at the thought.

"So.. what do we do? We go to Spira?" Terra asked nervously.

"No, the most logical course of action is Ivalice. You see, the Epoch crashed in there." Shiki said, immediately gaining Crono's ear.

"So, I reckon you know what to do with the Epoch." Cid asked, Neku nodded and he smiled. "Okay then, Ken, Ryu, Yami, we have a job to do, these people are in good hands." Without even a goodbye, Cid and his group vanished for apparently no reason. Even Schala, who was part of his group didn't know why he had decided to leave.

"Well, Sho, I guess you mi-"Shiki began as she tried to mock the now vanished Reaper. "Oh he's good…" She admitted. "Okay then, we got the map for the planet, the rest is up to you."

"Okay, people, listen up! We need to get to Ivalice! Anyone as a working airship?" Shin asked loudly, not wanting to waste time, they were literally on a race against the clock right now.

"We…" Sora began.

"One that can handle more than six people." Cid Highwind intervened. "I've seen that, you can't fit almost anyone in there."

"What about the Lagunarok?" Laguna suggested, jumping onto a table.

"Laguna-what?"

* * *

><p>"Why do I get the hard jobs?" Joshua cursed as he walked around one of the forests of the Purgatory. "Now to convince this guy to do something, that's not going to be pretty…" The blonde haired "teen" had been looking for the one person no one in the Purgatory knew about. Also, the one person that was technically impossible to be there due to having died in the future. "If I was Magus, where would I go… Tch, how would I know that?" He was getting tired of it, but orders were orders, he would find him soon enough. And he did. When a Scythe swung at him, carving itself into a tree, its blade making any movement from Joshua impossible.<p>

"Who're you and what do you want with me?"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"I shall show you TRUE penance!"_

_"Are you suggesting that the Occuria might have a hand in this?"_

_"Noctis. Caelum Noctis."_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter note:<span>****: This week's topic here is something some may not have noticed, I've actually divided the story into parts, and since I'm such a nice guy, I'll save you the trouble of skipping over forty chapters:

1-8= Prologue: The Girl Who Did the Impossible.

9-19= Part 1: New Bonds

20-34= Part 2: The Ones Behind The Shadows

35-44= Part 3: The Lion's Kingdom

45-?= Part 4: Beyond Life and Death

Also I might have said that there would be four parts to the story. I lied. Six is the bare minimum, but don't take it to heart, it might be more. As always, thanks for the support, if you have any question or if you didn't hate yet another flashback chapter be sure to leave a review and see you next week. Oh, and have a nice Easter, chocolate eggs here I come!


	48. Not Exactly Valhalla

****Author's note:****Nothing that fancy to say, except that flashbacks are over, I'm starting the next arc this chapter so read up!

**PS:** There will be Cameos in this chapter (by it I mean people who are not from Square-Enix games), but that's just what they are, Cameos, they will NOT influence the story one bit, nor will I spend a lot of time on them, so don't freak out.

**PSS:** Frimelda's a badass in this story like she was in FF Tactics A2, just a heads up.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Forty-Eight**

****Not Exactly Valhalla****

* * *

><p>Reks was surprised at first, from what he had heard, no one in Hell was worthy of living a calm, peaceful life if he didn't work for it and reach purgatory or heaven. Well, there was a city here, a very big city. If it wasn't being in a siege and the sky wasn't crimson, it would have been a welcoming place. Pandemonium was Hades' city, so you would notice that he made no effort to differentiate it from Ancient Athens. Yes, he copied a city. The weirdest part was that at the town square was, next to a statue of himself, a statue of Hercules, the same Hercules that Hades spent every living moment plotting against in the past.<p>

"Heh, I remember that. Losing that bet didn't go exactly well for him, now did it?"The man scuffed, examining the statue. "At least he keeps his word. Sometimes."

"What bet?" Reks asked curiously.

"Well, quite some time ago we organized a tournament, you know, for fun, to see who was the strongest in the three realms. God and Hades made a bet. If Hades won, they would switch places, if God won, well, he had to build this right next to his statue. The bet was who had the strongest overall fighters. Hell lost… by a lot." He smiled at the statue. "Good ol' days. Before that guy happened to cross over to this multiverse, things were so laid back in here, now? Now I have to work, A LOT. I can never forgive him for that!" Okay, so his motivations weren't the best, but he at least cared for order. "Oh and by the way new guy, this city ain't for the ones in hell. It's for the ones who keep them in check. You know, Reapers and such."

"That explains everything, a city like this would be far too good for the likes of the people like… Vayne." Reks spat, clutching his fists as he said it. "Can I ask you something?"

"Make it quick kid, we have work to do."

"How did they get out of here? How did they escape?" Reks asked solemnly, he remembered how livid some people in the force were when they heard it. Mass murderers, all of them, for no reason and without a care in the world. Those were the people who got their life back, not the ones who deserved it, those.

"I can explain you how people from other life and death systems got back, Seph's a no brainer. But here? I'm sorry Reks, but we don't know. One day they were here, the other they wiped out most of Cornelia." For the first time, the man lost his carefree persona, instead gaining a deathly frown. "When they get back here however… they're gonna wish that I'd let them reincarnate." He hissed, scaring Reks with his sudden change of behavior and tone, one that as quick as it came went away. "Well now, let's get to work shall we? Follow me Reks."

* * *

><p>"I can't believe you actually named an airship after yourself Laguna." Squall reprimanded as they arrived at the dock. The "Lagunarok" looked like the Ragnarok in every sense, it just followed its creators color scheme, blue.<p>

"Hey, I'm getting old, I need to leave a legacy for the next generation!" Laguna shot back, even tough he was in his mid forties.

"The ship will probably malfunction before you're even CLOSE to dying!" Squall pointed out. Laguna made a very hurt face and began stroking the ship.

"Don't believe the evil man sweetie…" He mumbled as he stroked the ship.

"But didn't you say the fuel for these ships was running out?" Cloud questioned, crossing his arms in distrust. As much as Laguna tried to alleviate the climate inside the group, that deadline put them on the edge and was really taking away the great atmosphere from before, it would take more than Laguna to do that.

"Well, that's the beauty of it. This was our escape ship, and, it's completely powered by SOLAR energy! That, and the battery is full, so eleven if there was no sun for a week, it would still be able to fly! Awesome, isn't it?" Laguna exclaimed proudly. "She's ready to go, she just needs a pilot!"

"Well, that might be the problem here." Cid Highwind said, catching their attention manly because he was the most obvious solution to pilot it. "Look, that Whale is way over your heads, if you want to repair it, then the only one to manage it is gonna be if I call the shots. That and none of these antiquated bastards can pilot a ship even more advanced than the Shera."

"You're making a fuss out of nothing Cid, it can't be that bad." Tifa replied. It was true that they decided to let most of the people stay in order to rebuild the Lunar Whale and protect the city from any other assault, but really, pilot an airship? Please.

"That hunk of metal doesn't have a wheel toots, that cuts the pilots by ninety percent, and we can't have any engineer go in it, god forbid we give one of those up." Cid explained, throwing his cigarette on the floor. "So, unless we find a competent pilot, we are gonna have to make a decision here."

All the while Neku had distanced himself from the crowd as much as he could, but Shiki saw right through it and, seeing how they were going to make unnecessary risks out of pure detachment from Neku, she pulled him back. He got the message.

"Fine, I'll give you the solution." He scuffed. "If that makes you happy, Tron should be able to do it, didn't want to go through the trouble of handing the soup right into your mouth, but someone seems to think otherwise. Still, who's coming?" He touched a point they really didn't think about. Running around with everyone on the ship would lead to: one, unsustainable food demands, two, complete helplessness at the city, three, suspicion from the other countries they visited and finally four, the Lunar Whale needed some serious manpower for repairments.

"Dibs." Zack called, grabbing Aqua and Terra by the necks and pulling them in."They're too, they just don't know that yet."

"That's probably for the best. Not like Zack would get ANY work done."Tifa joked.

"BURN!" Terra exclaimed, slamming a giant slap onto Zack's back. "Seriously Zack, you're kinda pathetic sometimes. Aqua's got a really bad taste." And he went just a little bit too far.

"What, you want to say that again? You wanna repeat that? You want to start something? Let's go, one on one! I'm pumped up, I'm ready to go!" He Zack yelled, standing up and glaring daggers at Terra.

"Wha-"Terra begun, Zack headbutting him before he got the chance to finish.

"COME AT ME BRO!" He yelled, jumping on top of the downed Terra, smoke covering the fight as his and Terra's head popped up from time to time. Cloud had the unfortunate idea to try and stop it but he, Edge and finally Shin got themselves involved in the slugfest. Whether he did it on purpose or not, Zack single handedly turned the dire atmosphere in a laugh fest. As the fight continued they just ignored it and kept discussing who needed to go.

"Well, no reason for anyone who HAS crystals to stay, is there? For all we know those things might just bail us out." Bartz said, Zidane devilishly nodding in agreement.

"That's a lame excuse if I ever heard one, but I guess you two can come." Squall said, knowing how they would just sneak in, like they did every time he tried to leave them stranded.

"YES! Squall has accepted us as a member of the Pride!" Zidane exclaimed, jumping to hug Squall, only to have him side step and smack him in the back of the head.

"Any volunteers?" Squall asked.

"I haven't gone into the frontlines for a while, what do you think Cel?"

"We'll go, Terra's in a bad shape as it is. Someone needs to take care of her and Locke." The blonde general agreed.

"We'll go, I mean, staying here would only delay the part where we get back to Spira." Sora said, that's six more going, seven if you counted Naminé's "patient".

"You got that right kiddo! I'll go to that Ivashmalice, maybe throw a bar fight or too and drink till I'm so drunk I can face that whiner again!" Jecht yelled at the top of his lungs, having single-handedly slapped the crap out of everyone in the fight, sitting over his body with a gourd of sake in his hand. "Now, let's go already, I didn't listen through an hour of crap just to get all worked up, for all I care just draw straws." He was drunk as hell right now, but hell, it was Jecht, he still managed to say semi-productive things when he was drunk.

"Fine, look, I'll go with Serge and the team. Layle stays since he's not from Ivalice, neither is Aya so she can keep him company. No buts." Crono stated. Layle just shrugged, already concocting a plan of his own and Aya knew she could force Layle to get her in if she wanted to.

"I think we may be sending too many people, but we have more than enough for now, so whatever." Laguna commentated.

"So… Terra, Locke, Celes, Cloud, Zack, Aqua, the other Terra, Sora and Co; Crono and Co; Serge and Co; are you taking Shin?" Neky asked, taking a deep breath.

"Yes we are." Zack said, already scheming. "Yes... We are."

"Squall, those two, Gilgamesh will find a way in, Shelke needs to operate Tron, Jecht, Gabranth is a taken and that's it?" Neku asked, receiving a nod. "Okay then, let's get on with it." He said, not wasting anytime as he got into the ship.

"Squall, here's a map of the ship."Laguna said, handing an electronic device to his son. "Go get'em lion." He patiently waited until everyone entered the ship and turned to some of the ones that felt left out. "Girls, there's a hatch to the cargo ship, who wants to go first?" He asked, smiling at the overwhelming response.

* * *

><p>"Up you go." Laguna joked as he trust Garnet in. "That's it… finally." He had successfully hidden three four women, one man and one child inside the ship, and it was time for him to make his move.<p>

"Laguna, that's hardly responsible." Kiros told him as he was about to jump inside.

"And you're promoted, have fun temporary president Kiros."

"Wait wha-"And Laguna had closed the hatch. Kiros' only solace was that his son would murder him, or get very close to it, when he knew what he had done. "Well, nothing to do but go forward." He lamented as he pulled out his phone, he had a lot of explaining to do.

* * *

><p>Unaware of what was happening in the cargo haul, Squall had told everyone to settle down and pick their rooms as Shelke installed Tron onto the ship. This led to Zack, Shin; Terra and Aqua finding a room for themselves, the male Terra cursing as he was catapulted to Sora, Riku and Roxas' room. Just as they were unpacking, Terra's puppy started squealing, indicating that someone was at the door.<p>

"Calm down Chocolate, I'll go get it." Shin offered, opening the front door only to be pushed in and have the door locked behind him as Neku, and only Neku bolted into the room. "Dude, what happened?" Said Reaper made his way onto the now disabled girl and stated in a even greater degree of seriousness than average:

"Terra. Look, this is strictly off-record, if someone knows about this, I can get put on probation. So, can you keep a secret?" He asked, now referring to everyone in the room. They gulped and nodded, now fixated on Neku's hand, which was now reaching for his pocket. From inside the baggy shirt came an envelope, one that he laid down on Terra's lap, turning around and making his way to the exit. "If somebody asks, you just woke up with it." And he left the room. Needless to say, everyone started staring at the envelope, even Terra, but she couldn't just open it, for that she needed to actually move. After realizing that, Shin picked the envelop up from behind her so she could see better, but, even before they opened it the room came to a still. What was written on the front was what completely blew up in their faces.

"To: Terra Branford.

From:

* * *

><p>"Leo Cristophe! I've heard so much about you." The man stopped for a second before continuing. <em>"Did I <em>_just complete another scene's line__? Meh, I'm just that good."_He shrugged before approaching the blonde haired man. The man stopped looking at a map of the city and stood up to great the man.

"I don't believe we've met before… may I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" Leo asked, not knowing if he should trust someone he met in Hell.

The former Grim Reaper smiled, taking his head to his ear and whispering. "I know about the letter. That's illegal you know? Not only for you, but for the messenger AND the one who received." This sent a chill down the former general's spine, who quickly stepped back and took a good look at the man.

"I can explain." He stated. And once again he erupted in ocean of laughter.

"Chill dude! It's not like I'm going to eat you or anything. I'm just messing with ya!" He started patting Leo's shoulder while Reks brought a palm to his face. "That's actually a really nice thing to do for your… I guess you can call it your step-daughter or something like that?"

"Well… thank you?" Leo fumbled at the man's sudden change of behavior.

"So… what's the newest and "youngest" Heaven's vanguard Captain doing here?" He asked.

"Well, I'm in charge of keeping the city safe. It has proven to be… easy with Cidolfus in my team." He commented before taking a look to the side of the man. "Reks! What are you doing here?" He asked angrily.

"I'm sorry sir! It's just that… I couldn't just stay here and watch!" He replied intensely, laying his head down in an apologizing manner. Leo sighed and looked at the man.

"Is this about him?" He asked worryingly.

"Oh, it's not a bad thing if that's what you're worried about." He replied, taking Reks under his arm. "We're here to get a team together to send him down." He explained, the eyes of the seasoned general boggling at the thought.

"Well, you were a better man than me this time Reks. I wish I had had the strength to do it." He congratulated before turning to the older man. "So, in what can I be of assistance?" He asked.

"Well, have you seen Orlandeu? Hades kinda told us he would be around the castle gates…"

"Oh… well, he's defending the city gates, by himself. He doesn't need anyone else." Leo said in a somewhat disappointed tone."I'm ashamed of it, but our troops lost all motivation. They just need to see him fight. Well, except those three. Three decided to just head deeper int their territory and find their leader." The way he brought that up made the Grim Reaper get the memo.

"And Auron is one of those three?" He asked.

"Unfortunately… I can take you to meet Orlandeu if you want…" He offered, but little did he know, Orlandeu was going to be busy for a while. A thundering roar echoed throughout the city walls as an explosion of crimson fire reached the top of the seventh ring of hell, the ground and ceiling shaking in what seemed fear. They quickly got up the wall, Reks using his wings as the man just jumped just to see a burning symbol in which thousands of bodies were buried, still flaming in a purplish flame. In front of the symbol was cloaked man, one that Reks assumed to be Orlandeu.

"Kore zo… Messatsu!"

"That Kanji… Ten… Heaven. Well fuck, it's him again! Reks, we're leaving, Cid will take care of him!" He said hurriedly. "Leo, where were they headed?"

"Ask Minwu, he's on the lower side of the wall." Leo replied. Seeing at how quickly the man grabbed Reks and jumped out of the wall he wondered what was that man. "I should be going too…" He told himself as he jumped downwards.

* * *

><p>"Weren't those your companions?" Cid Orlandeu interrogated angrily as he saw the men burning in the sea of destruction. His voice seemed more jovial and he moved more fluidly than ever before, he was going to win that fight, but this? "What matter of fiend are you? I'll smite you out of principle!"<p>

The red haired man grunted, still having his back turned against his enemy, the same letter that was drawn on the ground burning on his back. "Heh,omoshiroi!" He answered, again in a language Orlandeu didn't understand, but, for some reason, he knew what he meant.

"Can you not communicate with me or do you only wish to toy with me? Either way, I shall not let your actions go unpunished! Now! Your name!" He demanded in a last attempt to make this an honorable duel, poiting the legendary sword he held on his right hand, the Excalibur to the demon in front of him.

"Ore no namae ha Gouki! Shin no Chikara misete miyo!" He introduced himself, now casting his foot in a half moon motion to as he turned, landing with right foot forward and his left one back, his hands clutched on either side of his body as the same purple fire rose from him.

"So your name is Gouki… I shall remember it. But your crimes are unforgivable, I shall make you repent!" He exclaimed, readying himself for battle. Gouki started laughing as if he had just heard a joke.

"Watashi haanatani hontou no kugyou wo shimesa nakerebaranai!" The man replied as he laughed, then returning to his battle stance.

* * *

><p>"Cid… you won't take any help from us, will you?" A young man in a white vest, a turban and mask hiding his head commented as he watched from afar. Contrary to what we have encountered in our little tale, this one didn't hide his new features as a pair of long, flowing white-feathered wings extended from both his shoulder plates and a circular golden halo floated around his head. Yes, you could choose to hide them until you needed them, but for Minwu, it was something to be proud of, so he found no need in hiding them. He started to reflect if he was indeed going to heed Cid's wishes or if he was going to wake the army up, as the boredom had taken a hold of it and only he and his companion Ricard watched over the field of battle. But his attention was focused elsewhere as the red coated man came rushing into the scene. "And you are?"<p>

"Former Grim Reapear D…" A blast of purple fire blew past them, crashing into the wall to the citadel and stirring the soldier barracks for the first time in days. "Let's skip the introductions. Where's Auron?" He asked hurriedly.

"He was headed due North last time I saw the three of them. If you manage to get a hold of his team, can you send them back here?" The white mage asked as he looked at Orlandeu barely blocking a karate chop with the EDGE of the sword.

"Sure." He replied absent mindedly as he looked around, finding what he was looking for a few meters away to the right. "If my bro asks, tell him I'll pay for the damage!" He exclaimed as he jumped onto a nearby motorcycle. "Reks, use your wings for once! Keep up!" He ordered as he started heating up the motor."Minwu, get everyone ready, Orlandeu won't be here for long."

The white mage nodded as he saw the duo speed of into the distance.

"Well, I believe it's time to get our hands dirty." Leo commented as he reached Minwu. "I know a pair or two that will be more than happy for it."

* * *

><p>"General Lotice, mam!" Two of the guards saluted as they saw her commander arrived with the "guests". "You apprehended Balthier and Vaan? As expected from Dalmasca's finest!" They were obviously sucking up, something that even in normal circumstances Frimelda despised, even more when they showed such lack of respect like this.<p>

"Why should I apprehend our guests?" She dismissed, leaving the guards dumbfounded as she entered the throne room. Vaan and Penelo still managed to poke fun at the guards before entering the closing door, that didn't help their situation all that much.

"Are you implying that the Occuria have a hand in all of this?" A teen's voice resounded across the throne room. "It is true we are not in the best of relationships with the Occuria, but they have not taken any further actions against us after the destruction of the Sun-Cryst. Neither have we any evidence that they can." The black haired boy, dressed in an intricate blouse beneath a dark vest, baby blue shorts and green leather boots was standing in the middle of the red carpet that led to the throne, surrounded by a battalion of guards. One of the guards however, stood out like a sore thumb. His helmet in hand, the Empire's symbol painted in crimson on his black cloak as he was covered in pristine armor on the rest of his body, Vaan could easily recognize the man who he had hated for no reason all those years ago. Looking around saw, in the midst of a crowd of women could only be one man. The same man who took of his dark glasses and whistled as he saw the ones that had just entered the room, drawing all attention to him. Al Cid Magrace was never known by his subtlety. Vaan was going to examine the rest of the room, but he decided to have a little fun instead.

"Larsa! Long time no see!" He shouted, making a devious dash towards the young Emperor. This resulted in the entire battalion taking out their swords in defense of their emperor, one getting overzealous and actually swinging at Vaan's neck once he was in range. The man in the impressive armor sighed and, with his bare hand, stopped the blade in midair as he shot a stern look at Vaan."Thank you Judge Magister Gabranth! You saved me!" He sarcastically thanked, shooting a defying look against the guard who had tried to decapitate him. However, before any more aggression could rise from any of the sides, a female voice filled the halls.

"It would appear as if neither can Vaan act like a grown man, nor the guards can let go of their misconceptions… I see only one solution to this. Guards, leave this room!" The clear brown haired woman ordered without hesitation, unheeding the cries of protest of the council.

"Lady Ashelia! You mean to lock us, the royalty of three kingdoms with a group of armed thieves?" A forgettable face from the senate growled angrily. To his outburst the woman only gave a small smile.

"You are right senator, the council may leave the room, we do not need your services for now." She said, gracefully sitting back on her throne.

"This is outrageous!" They blared.

"You heard the Queen, it wouldn't be wise to disobey, she has been known to stand up for her companions." An older man said, standing between the queen and her council.

"Ondore! What are you scheming?"

"Me? Oh you're very much mistaken Count. This Marquis is but the narrator, not an actor." Marquis Ondore replied, calling for the guards to "escort" them outside, locking the door as they left. As soon as the door closed, the queen stood up from her throne and slowly made her way down the stairs that led to it. For a queen, her garments were extremely simple and to the point. She only had a long, silk white dress and a silver crown, no more. She made her way to the newcomers and stopped in front of the younger captain, gazing into his eyes.

"Long time no s-"

**SLAP.**

Al Cid let out a small "huh", shaking his head in the process. One moment Vaan was saying hello to the queen he helped crown, the other he was on the ground with his eyes glassed.

"Hey, what was that for?" Vaan interrogated as he regained consciousness.

"Oh, I apologize. You seem to put yourself in danger so frequently that I thought you to perhaps enjoy the pain. It turns out you are only an irresponsible pup who thinks it can fly!" Ashe replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she made her way back to her throne. If only Bartz were here, Vaan would be the "flying pup" for the rest of his life. "The rest of you, welcome to my palace, please, make yourselves at home."

"Same old Ashe." Balthier commented, making a playful bow."So, how's being a queen treating you?" he asked. First, he Ashe turned to him and shot in daggers with her eyes, but, as soon as she sat down on her throne she told a very different story.

"I do not want to admit it but… it bores me. Nay, it RAVAGES me! Do not misunderstand for I love ruling my country, but the formalities, the council, being proper with the nobility… It feels so unneeded, so plastic, just a masquerade of intentions and lust for power. As much as I fight, there will always be corrupt nobles whose only desire in life is power, be it from friendship, favors or even marriage. Liberty and companions? For a queen? A children's fairy tale that is." She was pouring her heart out, something she was always afraid of doing, the walls have ears they say, but in that room there were only friends, Al Cid had even sent his maids away. "I can't do this alone…"

"Hey! Don't say that, you're one of the, if not THE, strongest person I know!" Vaan replied, taking a step towards the throne but shutting down immediately as Ashe shouted out for the first time since she knew her.

"What do you know? The one who left everything behind for freedom? You were born without chains, THIS…" She ripped her crown from her head. "Is the greatest chain of them all!" She slammed the crown into the ground before falling down to her throne again. "It's useless…" For the first time since she became queen, Ashe cried, the room fell silent at the sudden outburst and just watched as Ashe sunk her head in her own hands.

"Ashe…" Vaan carefully made his way towards the downed woman, reaching with his hand in attempt to comfort her. "Don't cry."

"_Ashe… Don't cry."_ A man that could very well pass as Vaan told Ashe when she was crying just _like_ she was now.

"Get away from me!" She exclaimed, pushing Vaan away and storming out of the room, ignoring all the guards and heading straight to her bedroom.

"You must excuse Lady Ashe, she has been under… stressful circumstances." Ondore tried to excuse as he closed the doors to the exterior.

"Ashe suffered a… assassination attempt." Frimelda said, almost as if dropping a bomb on the sky pirates.

"WHO?" Vaan roared.

"That's what we were discussing Vaan. Both Ashe and Ondore, who saw the killer leave the palace, name him as someone who is no longer with us." Larsa explained, picking up Ashe's crown. "Dalmasca's would-be king."

"You don't mean…" Vaan stuttered as Al Cid sighed, putting his glasses back and leaning against a nearby wall.

"The birds have sung me of such a tale, the desert flower's would-be murderer is none other than… Rasler Heios Nabradia." He confirmed.

* * *

><p>"Gotcha!" The Grim Reaper exclaimed, from his red jacket pulling out a strange object. Taking a deep breath he rode onto the burning wasteland that was Cid's battlefield in hopes of reaching the man in time. He did so, grabbing the man and pulling into his motorcycle.<p>

"What is the meaning of this?" Cid protested, only to have the object shoved on his left hand.

"Just him off, got it? You're going off on a mission soon." And he threw him back into the battlefield without even trying to explain what the object really was.

"Hello! I'm a potato!" The brown object exclaimed, moving slightly in his hand. Its voice was totally computerized, one of a woman.

"What?"

"Don't you think we should have explained him?" Reks asked as he managed to catch up to the motorcycle.

"That takes time, time is of the essence, _besides, I don't want to be near that guy more than I need to_." He mumbled, but the last part wasn't something Reks missed.

"Who is that man?"

"Classified. Sorry. I'm not one to go by the rules, but this would take too long to explain. Here's it in a nutshell. He's been around for as much as I've been around here, that's millions of years. Now, the fact that Orlandeu keeps up with him is amazing, he's been fighting ALL the time." His face didn't lie, he really was surprised at how Orlandeu could hold his own against such a demon. "But hey, I guess it wasn't just over exaggerating after all!" He exclaimed as he tried to clear the mood. The last thing he would tolerate was depressive tones.

* * *

><p>Ashe laid down on her bed, thoughts of what had transpired a few days ago filling her mind.<p>

* * *

><p>She only knew what had happened after the assassination attempt, if she knew she wouldn't have let her guard down. Two nights ago, two cloaked figures emerged at the castle gates, demanding an immediate audience with her. Of course it was denied as they were told to wait till dawn, something they weren't very accepting off. Those were two soldiers Ashe had to compensate their families for. Before Ashe could awaken, the courtyard of the palace had tuned into a fully fledged battleground, however only Dalmascan blood was being spilled on it.<p>

"Everyone stand down!" Frimelda ordered as she entered the courtyard. "Who are you and what do you want?" She asked frontally to the one invader. None of them knew there were actually two of them, one had vanished right after murdering the first two guards.

"Me?" He asked mockingly as he took off his hood, revealing a dark brown haired man. "My name is Delita Heiral and I'm just a fellow king who wishes to have an audience with your queen." He then dashed towards the general, swinging his Save the Queen on her neck's direction, only to be blocked easily by her. "But I was so rudely denied… Oh, so you're the one who possessed my sword." It was only then that Frimelda noticed how her Save the Queen was the carbon copy to Delita's.

"You're no king! Tell me your true intentions!" Frimelda yelled, swinging her blade with such force that it catapulted Delita to a nearby wall, him landings skillfully on his feet on the vertical floor.

"Make me…" He said darkly and mockingly, raising his sword who had now turned into a crimson hue. "Divine Ruination!" He chanted, sending a row of crimson pillars of energy onto the woman, who smiled back noticing how Delita was underestimating her.

"You seem pretty confident… I would advise against it! Holy Blade!" She swung her sword down, crystallizing it into an single pillar that single handedly cut through the others. Delita grimaced but maintained his composure, clapping at the attack.

"Impressive, so I take it you're this era's Orlandeu? If so, I'm disappointed." He mocked, preparing to fight it out.

It was Frimelda's turn to let out a heartily laugh, something she didn't do very often "It's been a year since I got a REAL fight!" She reached for the scabbard on her left leg, the one she so rarely used. "But to find disappointment in a fight before it starts? I'll have to teach you a lesson before you can match up to me!" She exclaimed as she drew her pride, the masterpiece of a sword named "The Fallen Angel". A feather motif drew its silver handle that led to a silver rune incrusted golden blade." Have at thee!" She said as she ran up to Delita with both swords in hand.

Delita had barely any time to be surprised over the fact that a Paladin had chosen to wield two swords at the same time before needing to block a double overhead slash heading to his face. "You're just a novice it appears…" He laughed at what he thought to be a inexperienced move of using both swords in the opening attack, swiftly pushing both swords upwards and trying to cleave his attacker's legs by cutting low. This proved backfire as Frimelda backfliped, not only saving her legs from being separated from her body but also slamming her right feet onto Delita's chin, sending him stumbling backwards while Frimelda landed safely on the ground, dashing towards the distracted young man with a pincer attack from both swords. When Delita managed to regain his senses he attacked instinctively and blocked the Save the Queen with his twin and the Fallen Angel… with his arm. He could feel the armor crack and blood gush from his arm as he realized something as he stared into Frimelda's emerald eyes. If it weren't for his armor, his arm would have been cut off.

"That's the blademaster for you!" One of the soldiers cheered.

"End that scum Madam Lotice!" Another shouted, striking a very old nerve on Delita's mind.

"I AM NOT SCUM!" He roared, pushing Frimelda away and slashing at her chest. Frimelda blocked the sword with its twin and slashed with her golden one. Delita managed to step back from the slash but he couldn't predict what would come next. Just as the slash should have ended, Frimelda stopped the momentum immediately as she made a quick one footed dash towards Delita, slamming the back of her hilt onto Delita's injured chin, now hearing a crack from it. But that was the least of Delita's problems as he felt a metal-like flavor tarnish his mouth. And only then did the body responded to what had just happened. A sharp and excruciating pain took over his chest as blood started gushing out from his pierced lung as Frimelda pulled her sword out of his chest. "_She could have killed me right there, why didn't she?"_ He wondered, falling to his knees and looking up to see the look he hated the most. Was that a look of… pity?

"Your fight is not with me Delita. I don't know who is holding you back, but until you settle it, you'll never amount to anything." Frimelda told him, sheeting both her swords and turning her back at the man, ignoring any cheer from the crowd. This just made Delita burn inside.

"Don't you DARE patronize ME!" He shouted, going for a cheap shot on her back, only to have it dodged and finding an elbow right onto his wound. "I pray my associate makes your queen's death slow!" He cussed before opening a portal and hightailing out of the castle like a wounded dog.

"Associate?" Frimelda asked horrified."ASHE!"

"Who goes there?" Ashe had heard the commotion outside and was going for her sword when she heard the door be knocked down. She grabbed the giant sword she kept as an ornament in her room, the one that was made to honor her treaty with the Occuria, it symbolized how she was able to use the Occuria's own pride to sever their chains on Ivalice, at least for her it did. The figure walked in calmly, despite having a seemingly very angry woman wielding a giant claymore in the room. Ashe couldn't help but feel familiarity towards the intruder. A very annoying one at that. "Vaan, if this is another one of your pranks I'm not laughing!" Vaan HAD done the same thing on her birthday almost a year ago, she appreciated the gesture but it wasn't worth the amount of bitching the council made after learning about his "joke".

"Again Ashelia? You mistake me for that rat yet again? I'm hurt." That voice rang a bell inside Ashe's eardrums. A bell that she had been trying to remove for years now, it was useless remembering that voice she had thought. Not anymore.

"Who… who are you?" She asked hesitantly, her hand trailing into her heart just from hearing that voice.

"The one you truly want me to be… I am here for you." The man slipped his cowl from his head, his light blonde hair and blue eyes making Ashe's heart skip a beat.

"Rasler…" She called, taking one step towards the man she once called a husband, only to have him take a step backwards.

"But not the reason you or I want me here…" He said as he drew his sword, breaking Ashe's heart as her king pointed his weapon at her. "My life for yours. It is a trade I'd rather not make, and I will not if you listen to what I have to say." It genuinely broke both their hearts to be in that position, but, as a testament to how they pledged their lives to another, Ashe nodded him to continue. Rasler guarded his sword and began to tell her what he wanted too. "It's been four years since you took over Ashelia. Four years since the Occuria's power in this world was severed. It was a noble effort on your part, and an impressive one at that, but now I ask you, where have you arrived? The politicians still live by their own agenda, Rozzarria has been a victim of another plague, one that will surely extend to Dalmasca, even you are seeing this, whatever you do is just a drop of pure water in an ocean of filth. Ivalice is falling apart as we speak. What has breaking away from the Occuria gotten you? Other than the loss of security that having a greater entity sealing for you gives." His words sounded tired and cold, reflecting just how he felt.

"The Occuria did nothing to stop the last plague!" She shouted, not wanting to believe where the man she trusted so much was getting at.

"Punishment! What Cioldfus Bunansa and Venat did was beyond forgiveness! Upsetting the balance they worked so hard to maintain!" Rasler was scaring her right now, and he noticed it easily, quickly calming himself down. "What I'm trying to tell you Ashe is, now that the rogue has been dealt with, why not give Ivalice back to its keepers? They can smite the injustice from the land. Yes, it is difficult for us, who know about them to live, knowing that our fates are being controlled, but for the people Ashelia. Do you not think they would be much happier?" As wrong as that sounded, Ashe could see what he meant.

"No! That's just twisted! I will never do it!" She cried. "You are a fake! The real Rasler would never be as insane as you are!" Rasler for one seemed to have been truly hurt by her words, something she didn't expect.

"Lady Ashe!" Ondore's voice called.

"Are you safe Ashe?" Frimelda asked from the end of the corridor.

Knowing his time on the palace was reaching its end, Rasler made a quick dash towards Ashe, who was too distracted by the voices to react. He grabbed her sword hand and she thought it was over there. But then he confused her even more. In one fluid motion, he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her to a passionate kiss, one that she couldn't, or didn't want to break away from. They stood there, in different circumstances than last time, but both thoroughly enjoying the moment like it was their last, until the steps stopped.

"Rasler? How?" Marquis Ondore asked, dumbfounded.

"If you want Ivalice to flourish, bring me the Treaty Blade… I'll be waiting for you in Giruvegan." He whispered to her before breaking the window as he jumped out of the castle. She rushed to it and looked down, but he was nowhere in sight. The guards never found him.

* * *

><p>The memories became too much for Ashe to bear, she had to do something, ANYTHING! She looked at the sword they had decided not to use, seemingly seeing Rasler and her be reflected on the blade. Without further ado, she took some air and got of her bed, changed to her old adventurer clothes and a cowl, grabbed the blade and started descending from the tower.<p>

"Wait for me… Rasler." She said determinedly.

* * *

><p>"Magus. I'm under orders from the higher up itelf to bring you to Yemma's castle." Joshua stated calmly.<p>

"Tell your higher up that I don't speak with messengers. If I am so desperately needed, come here yourself." The dark mage replied, removing the scythe from the tree and jumping to the tree tops.

"What if I told you, I have information about a certain girl whose name starts with S?" Joshua taunted. It didn't take long until he found a scythe lodging near his neck.

"Speak." He ordered.

"I'm not stupid Magus. I'm not opening my mouth until we are at Yemma's, I don't want to turn this into a chase. Oh, and you won't slice my throat, you need me."He said with a smile on his face.

The sorcerer grimaced and just gave up. "Lead the way…" He grumbled.

* * *

><p>"I see them!" Reks exclaimed as he saw what looked like three men in the distance.<p>

"Oh, you don't say?" His accomplice asked back in a sarcasm filled tone. "They look busy though…" As he said that, one of the men was catapulted backwards, just the one they needed. "Why, hello there." He greeted as he helped Auron by letting him fall on his bike.

"If you're here, it's bad news." Auron commented, already mildly annoyed by the man's actions.

"Ding ding ding! Righto! Now, what do you say about leaving on a mission to the leaving world?" He asked as they kept ridding towards the fight, not a care in the world.

"I wouldn't say no exactly… but we might have a lead here, those twins might know a thing or two about what's happening." The samurai commented as they approached the fight.

"Okay then, we just have to finish it quickly!" He exclaimed, taking a gun out of his holster before seeing who was fighting. On second thought… STOP SLACKING!" he shouted at the blonde man in the red gi and the black haired one in the white one.

"Fine, geez, a man can't pass the time now, can he? Let's go, "aibou"." The blonde said signaling them to go.

"They are mocking us Eald'narche!" A tall, blonde haired man with marking on each his cheeks told what seemed to be his younger brother, who had an eye patch covering one of his eyes.

"Those dirty dogs! They shall feel the full might of the Zilart. Come Kam'lanaut, let us…" The kid and his brother couldn't react as they both got their guts punched in, perfect synchrony.

"Will you two just shut up?" The blonde asked, pushing his fist deeper into the gut before barraging the older one with a tempest of kicks. "Ora ora ora ora! Shinryuken!" He exclaimed as his flaming fist connected with Kam'lanaut's chin, spiraling upwards in an arc of flame. His companion was much more brief.

"Shin… Sho-" The red-head banded fighter cried just before he hit Eald'narche's gut, feather's flying from his back. "Ryu-"He exclaimed as he hit his chin with his other fist, the duo pausing. "Ken!" They erupted upwards in a display of blue energy and feathers, the fighter landing much earlier than the flying Zilart.

"Have some more! Shippu Jinraikyaku!" The blonde exclaimed as he delivered another barrage of kicks to the falling brother, now spinning upwards with a whirlwind kick.

"Ikuso! Shin…" The other exclaimed, putting crossing one leg to gain momentum. "Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!" He caught the falling smaller brother in a whirlwind created by him spinning his right leg consecutively in midair, catapulting him after several hits against his brother. "Ken!" he called.

"'Kay, Ryu!" The other replied as they jumped to eachother's side and yelled in perfect synchrony. "Shinku… HADOUKEN!" Sending from both their cupping hands a giant ball of blue energy that finished off the Zilart brothers, who fell near Reks, completely knocked out. "And that's…" He exclaimed, raising his hand for a high-five.

"How it's done!" Ryu completed, high fiving Ken.

* * *

><p>"You sure did a number on them…" Auron lamented as he observed both K.O.'d opponents.<p>

"You told us to be fast!" Ken excused.

"Since when do you speak English Ryu?" The Grim Reaper asked curiously.

"Got lessons on it by force. I knew I shouldn't have given that fangirl a chance." He lamented, crossing his arms.

"Oh c'mon! That's just how women roll." Ken comforted.

"I guess so…"

"What do you want?" Eald'narche roared as he found himself in the middle of the group.

"Information. Eald'narche, why are you still here? Why didn't they take you with them?" Auron asked.

"Brother, you're not going to give them away, are you?" Kam'lanaut asked.

"Yes I am brother. It's their fault for leaving us behind." He replied before turning to them. "Apparently, we were too "weak" for their standards-"

"I can see why!" Ken commented, having a laugh with Grim Reaper. Eald'narche didn't say anything, it was true in a sense.

"So they took Nag'molada, whoever he is and left us stranded." He was straight and concise. He didn't like who he was working for right now.~

"Yes, but how DID they get out?" Auron asked.

"They said something about help from the inside… But alas, I know no more. If you wish, I can help foil their plans more. We have no problem on workingwith you." He offered.

"Geez, talk about a grudge… Fine, we'll take you in and run some tests before we know you're not lying." Grim said, turning to Auron.

"Well, now that that's over with." He pulled out a strange gun and shot the floor beneath them, opening what looked like a whole in reality beneath them from where they fell. "Have fun!" he shouted towards the falling team members. "GLaDOS, take it up!" He said over the gun.

* * *

><p>"Now you're thinking with portals!" Just as Orlandeu was about to clash with Gouki again, he found a portal appear right in front of him, sucking him in and closing immediately.<p>

"Nani?" Gouki asked enraged.

* * *

><p>"General… General fon Fabre!" Minwu called as he agitated the young man on the bed.<p>

"Let me try." A dark red haired man asked. "LUKE! GET THE HELL UP!" He shouted, flipping the bed.

"OW! Asch, the hell?" The twin-like man asked.

"Orlandeu's gone, we have work to do, NOW!"

"Fine…"

* * *

><p>"Why do I feel like we're never going to appear on the plot again?" Ken asked as they walked back towards Pandemonium.<p>

"Probably because that would make this a crossover." Ryu answered.

"But isn't THE GAME a crossover?"

"A crossover within a crossover! Crossoverce-"

"NO! You DON'T use that joke anymore! Inception's been out for more than a year!" Ken yelled, shutting the Grim Reaper up.

"Fine, don't get all angst. Anyways, if we don't appear anymore." He pulled out his guns. "Their loss, because we're total badasses." And so, they jumped to help the army take care of the siege.

* * *

><p>"So, we wait for my "team"?" Magus asked as he stood in front of the giant in the massive table split in two. He didn't have much patience for waiting, and Yemma saw that.<p>

"Watch out!" Reks shouted, falling face first on the ground, Orlandeu and Auron turning to land on their feet.

"You said?" Joshua joked.

"Anyway, you all need to get to Valhalla as fast as you can, so, give me your permits so I can send you there."Yemma asked hastily. Reks did so and suddenly, he felt his wings and halo disappear. "Corporate rules. You're now officially alive!" He exclaimed, slamming a different symbol on their sheets. "See ya!" He casually said, porting them outside without them being able to get a reaction.

"We didn't even explain anything!"Yusuke protested.

"It's on the letter, that and I don't want to be near Magus." Yemma admitted. "Now, I'll just have to pick some now Mahogany for my new table…"

* * *

><p>"What just happened?" Reks asked before he took look at his surroundings. They were on the middle of the street, on a seemingly advanced city which looked nothing like what they were supposed to be heading to. What's worse, people started freaking out at their sight.<p>

"It's never simple, is it?" Auron sighed.

"Intruders spotted! Go go go go!" A soldier shouted as a legion came from out of nowhere, windows, roofs, you name it. Soon, the group was surrounded. "Sir! Should we shoot?" he asked anxiously. From the middle of the crowd came a regal-looking black haired man in a Soldier-like uniform.

"No, stand down! I want to hear who they are." He ordered, the army doing what he said without tardiness. "Welcome to my kingdom. My name is Caelum. Noctis Caelum."

* * *

><p>"Found him kupo kupo!" A strange, flying moogle told a pink haired woman as she was approaching the city.<p>

"Thank you mog, lead the way." The woman, clad in a valkyrie like white armors stoically said, never sparing a glance or looking away.

"Are you sure Lightning?"

"Yes, yes I am."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Stop it Noctis, she hasn't done anything wrong!"_

_"Where do you think you're going Ashe?"_

_"I have returned, my beautiful flock!"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter note:<span>****If you didn't notice, I'm going to alternate with Reks' group, Ivalice's group and the main one for the time, just saying. Just leave your opinions on the reviews if you have them, and have a nice week, see ya next weekend!

* * *

><p><span>Translations for Gouki's Japanese:<span>

Kore zo… Messatsu!= This is... Messatsu! (The translation is very dependant on the situation, plus it sounds cooler.)

Heh,omoshiroi!= Heh, interesting!

Ore no namae ha Gouki! Shin no Chikara misete miyo!= My name is Gouki! Show me your true power!

Watashi haanatani hontou no kugyou wo shimesa nakerebaranai!= I shall show you TRUE penance!

Nani?= What?


	49. Tainted Flash in The Night's Sky

****Author's note:****I took FOREVER, I know, please don't shoot me. Oh but some of you will, the clue is in the title, you may not want to believe it, but just read. Anyway; versus XIII isn't out, so I'm just playing with what I've got, in the event of someone reading this after Versus came out, well… it was made on April 2012, we didn't have much information about it.

**PS**: I want to play a game: Spot the Cameo. Bonus points for people who actually know who he is… or just Google it.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Forty-Nine**

****Tainted Flash in The Night's Sky****

* * *

><p>"A pleasure to meet you Noctis." Joshua replied as he stepped forwards, the sound of sizzling flames coming from the soldiers' hands making him stop and raise his arms in a show of peace. "I'm unarmed." He reassured: Seeing that, Noctis raised his hand and all the all the men recalled their magic.<p>

"Likewise…" The young man replied, extending his hand for a hand shake, one that Joshua complied. "Your name?"

"Yoshiya Kiryu. But everyone calls me Joshua."

"What's he doing here?" Reks asked Auron in a whispering tone.

"Yemma must have been desperate to get him out…" He nodded at Magus before continuing. "Probably made a mistake. But he seems to be doing well." He finished as he tried to listen to Joshua's attempt to bail them out.

"_What am I doing here?"_ Joshua sighed subconsciously. _"Where are we even?__ We can't be all that far away from Valhalla but…__ How do I explain this? Wait…"_ He drove his hand into his pocket, feeling what he knew would be enough proof for what we wanted, if it ever came to it. _"I guess I just have to go with the partial truth."_

"Have you perhaps heard of Valhalla? Or should I be more general? Etro." As soon as Joshua uttered that word he jumped to his right to dodge a barrage of lightning.

"Tenebrae scum! I knew we shouldn't have trusted you!" A soldier shouted, recharging for a second barrage. Not disagreeing with the man, the older soldiers did nothing to stop it, even when Noctis ordered them too."For the King!" He exclaimed as he was about to shoot again. Orlandeu began to draw his sword but as he did, Noctis took matters onto his own hands.

"Prompto!" Noctis called, a gunshot being heard almost instantly. The man fell to his knees as his right hand began gushing blood.

"No need to thank me!" A jovial blonde shouted from the top of a building.

"Sir! Firearms are illegal in our country, what would your father say about this?"

"You should be more worried over the fact that you disobeyed direct orders from your Prince!" Noctis roared. "You!" He pointed at the fallen soldier. "Consider yourself discharged. If anyone tries anything else… use our imagination." He said darkly at the end, the soldiers gulping and settling down like statues. "Continue."

"Well, from your reactions, I can tell that while acquainted, you do not have any information about the Goddess." Joshua deduced.

"Well, Etro is Tenbraenian mythology, we do not know much except for the base. She's the goddess of death that leads souls to the Realm of the Dead, isn't she?"Noctis asked, receiving a positive nod from the young man. "Well then, why are you so interested in her?" He asked, shaking off the thoughts of a certain blonde that seemed just as interested in the goddess.

"Valhalla." Joshua said stoically. "It's called Valhalla and that's where we are headed." Most of the soldiers started bursting out in laughter, even throwing the occasional, "just kill yourself then" comment. Not Noctis, that man seemed serious, he wasn't one to distrust that look in his eyes.

"For what?" Noctis asked, surprising most of his soldiers.

"There's no simpler way to put this… the dead are coming back." Joshua said, minding his words. There was no direct proof people were coming back from Valhalla, but it was highly probable that once either Xehanort or Mateus got a hold of it, they would. "That and there are some people we know that may be stuck in there. Haven't you seen any disturbances lately? Strange creatures, crystal human-like beings? That's because Valhalla may be in contact with this world, and, since we know for a fact that Valhalla does have a hole to the Void inside it, it's just easy pickings."

"I see… It's true we have been consistently attacked by the creatures you describe, but, on a more concrete basis, I don't have any reasons to believe you do I?" Noctis asked, Joshua nodded, it was best to be sincere.

"But you do." A female voice echoed from the sky, a single white feather falling near Noctis' feet. As he lowered himself to grab it, he felt an air current. Knowing what had just happened he slowly returned to his standing position. He knew someone was behind him.

"And you are?" Noctis asked stoically.

"What does my name matter to you?" The woman replied in an equally stoic voice. Their backs turned against each other.

"Well, this was easier done than said." Reks commented as he looked over the pink haired knight. "You're Lightning Farron aren't you?" He asked. How did he know that? Well, he didn't, he just guessed it, trying to get an answer.

"And you are?" She asked, turning back to reveal her face, now standing eye to eye with Noctis.

"_What the…"_ Noctis asked himself, shaking his head to try and dismiss the ethereal light that came with the newcomer. It was just too familiar, and to be this close to it hurt his eyes, especially in the night. "This can't be…"

* * *

><p>"They say that when Etro aids a soul in crossing to the otherworld, its passing creates a flash of light invisible to the living." The stunning blonde-haired woman told Noctis as they looked out of the window. "Wouldn't you like to see it, even if only once, Prince?"<p>

"I can see it…" Noctis confessed, taking the woman by surprise. "I can see it, the light that no one else can." At first he thought she was going to brand him as a mad man, that or take it as a sick joke, it didn't matter, he just had to make her go away.

"Really? My gosh, that's such a big relief! I can too!" Now that… he didn't account for. "Is it a faint golden light around that appears near the clouds?" She asked, trying to see if he was not leading her on, if he was, she had just spilled her greatest secret.

"Look, Fleuret-"

"Stella." She intervened, nodding her head to her left. Noctis flustered for the first time since…forever?

"F-Fine!" He shrugged, trying to sound unaffected. Newsflash, he didn't. "You're joking right… Look!" He said, poiting out to the sky as a maelstrom of golden light swirled before disappearing in a flash of light.

"There it is again…" Stella commented, giggling when she realized it that she had gotten her answer. "Well then, aren't we the chosen ones?" She joked, catching Noctis off guard.

"What do you mean? Chosen ones?"

"Legend has it that whoever is able to see the light of the dead shall be given power of the Kingdom of the Dead from Etro herself. How did you get to see it Noctis?" She asked, now more rhetorically than before, she knew the answer.

"Guess we both almost died." Noctis said, chuckling at the irony.

"True…" Stella replied with a giggle of her own. "Goodness, look at the time, I shall see you again someday Noctis, trust me!" She exclaimed as she made her way out of the aisle.

"Stella." Noctis called, not changing his tone of voice. Stella turned and looked back, confused. "You know, it's good to know… that I'm not the only one. 'Till next time." He said, turning his back and walking away.

"Likewise… Until next time "Prince Noctis." She joked again, leaving the room.

* * *

><p>"<em>Damm<em>_it Noctis keep yourself together, it was all a lie!"_ He dismissed, now focusing on the conundrum in hand, how a living person could house that light.

"Lighting is it? I have a question to ask, have you ever been… dead?" That was a bomb of a question to ask someone, one that suggested Joshua he knew something he didn't.

"Define 'dead'." Lighting asked impassively.

Noctis thought hard on the answer but he decided to go with the answer that would tackle both the new subjects.

"Residing in the Realm of the Dead, or Valhalla as they call it." Noctis answered. Lightning chuckled and said in a sardonic manner:

"Then yes, I've been dead for a while. Still, that's a bad definition of dead, as that would mean I'm trying to die again."

"You're trying to get to Valhalla too? What's so important there in any case?" Noctis asked, even more intrigued at his "guests".

"And why should I tell you? And don't throw me that army bullshit, I'd bet that most of, if not all of the people here could take it down, and at least two wouldn't break a sweat." She threatened as she glared at Orlandeu. You know what they say, it takes a strong person to recognize another. This didn't fall very well with the guards, as they were about to test what she had just said.

"Fine, I get it." Noctis said as he turned his back, confusing most of the crowd. "This isn't the best place to discuss this, let me take you to where I live, the quote unquote_ palace_."

"But, sir….!"

"You're dismissed." He shrugged off, waving for the soldiers in front of him to move out of the way. As they followed Noctis they saw him take off his cell. "Two limos." He said stoically.

* * *

><p>Ashe ran through Rabanastre's night covered streets, doing her best to conceal her identity under her cloak from the occasional passing stranger. It wasn't long until she arrived at the aerodrome. Why was she going alone? Because deep down she knew what she was doing was stupid and irresponsible, not to mention the probability of getting out of this alive was a slim as it gets. Still, you know what they say, love makes you blind, even if it was forgotten more than three years ago.<p>

"Hello…" She greeted in a hushed voice. The lady at the desk jolted from her sleep and unfortunately caught a glimpse of her covered facial features.

"My qu-?" She began before having Ashe's hand cover her mouth, signaling her to tone it down. "It is an honour my queen, how may this lowly receptionist be of service?" She asked in a considerably lesser tone of voice.

"Would you point me to the…" She looked around to see if she wasn't being followed and swiftly said. "The Strahl?"

"You mean, the sky pira-"

"Yes yes, now can you?" She asked. "Do not fret, as long as you tell them I took it, I'm certain Balthier would never hurt a lady." She reassured as she saw the fear on the woman's facial expression.

"Certainly, milady." She replied as she ruffled her paperwork. "Dock Twelve." She said, poiting towards the dock. "Do you require some es-" But Ashe was already dashing towards the ship. She had been seen, and after asking for the Strahl, she had to move fast.

* * *

><p>As she made her way to the Strahl she spotted a familiar moogle wandering around the dock, tools in hand.<p>

"Nono… Come here if you may." Ashe ushered. The moogle wondered who was this cloaked woman and edged closer, only to be surprised at the sight of his old acquaintance.

"Q-Queen Ashe? How may I help you?" The mechanic asked. Truth be told, he wasn't the Strahl's mechanic anymore, his baby, the Brilliante I had been finished for about a year, one ship he had sold Vaan for a hefty amount of, most probably stolen, gil under the condition Vaan aided Hurdy when he was in need for a ride. He was now at work on his second ship, the Rosa Brilliante, which was to serve as Dalmasca's flagship, under the payment of Ashe herself of course.

"You have worked on the Strahl, have you not?" Ashe asked, Nono instantly getting where she was going for.

"Why do you want to get in Ashe?" He asked as he saw there were no guards, making this conversation casual.

"Please do not ask… just open the hatch, I shall take full responsibility." She almost begged. Nono could see the pitiful mental state his Queen was, so for once, he broke his oath as a mechanic and pulled out the Strahl's master key, handing it to her.

"I should warn you that…" Before he could say anything more, Ashe had already dashed away towards the Strahl. Nono smiled and shook his head. "Nevermind, you'll be safer that way."

Ashe entered the Strahl and sat down on the pilot's seat, not bothering to check any of the ship before putting her lessons in piloting to practice, that was going to come and bite her back, but she didn't know it yet. The night wasn't welcoming either, for the first time she noticed the signs of storm on the clouds. Refusing to be dissuaded, she started up the airship, commanded the woman at the reception to authorize the departure and flew off into the night with Rasler on her mind.

"The eff…?" A sleepy voice asked as the person felt the change of pressure.

* * *

><p>"Dear Terra.<p>

It's been too long. I admit my letter to you had to be written in short notice so forgive me if it sounds superficial. First of all, I must say that both me and your parents couldn't be more proud of you. That's right… I'm sorry but there was not enough time to get Maduin to write this as he is in the field right now.

Do not worry about us, the afterlife has treated us kindly, even myself who I still believe not deserving of it. I'm now a captain at the Heaven's Vanguard, I couldn't stay still for long, you're father is much more illustrious, he's a God General, zealing for the safety of this universe's pillar. Your mother… well, she's been indecisive of what to do, she has all the time in the world however. For now, she's just watching her little kitty grow. Those are her words, not mine, she has always seen you as her little kitten. For some reason they were waiting for me the moment I arrived at the afterlife, we're good friends… and I'm your Godfather. Not that will have any meaning until… 'join us', but don't you dare be hasty about it.

As far as your life is going… as noble as taking care of an orphan city was, do try and find someone special for yourself Terra, it's all your mother talks about these days. From my knowledge you had a perfectly good candidate until you, well… rejected him indirectly. Don't do that again to the other one.

Well, pleasantries aside Terra, here's what we know. First, the hole in hell was largely unnoticed by many, something of that magnitude would have risen suspicion, this leads us to believe that they may have had help from the inside, nothing's confirmed, but it would look like so. Be on the lookout for any supernatural entity that may appear to be good. Second, while I cannot disclose much about your crystal, if you want to keep your non-human side in check you must keep it close to you at all times, that I can say. Third, It has reached my ears that you have a Memoria Magus on your group, if I'm not mistaken there may be something to gain from revising memories coming from your other half, at least that's what Maduin is implying, again, this is illegal, so hints is all I can give you. Finally, the gate that leads into the last world is sealed inside the deepest reaches of Ivalice's formerly most imposing construct, the Pharos of Ridorana, but you should leave that for latter.

I'm afraid the time for Neku's departure is close, for that I must cut this letter short. I had hoped to tell you so much more, but alas, it was not meant to be. In case this is our last contact before you 'depart', on the name of myself and your parents, we love you, live strongly! You're the strongest person I ever laid my eyes on, you just didn't know it at the time.

With love, General Leo Cristophe.

"Well, that's it… Terra?" Shin asked as he finished reading the letter.

"It's… nothing… Wipe it for me will you?" Terra replied, referring to the lone tear that had found her way out of her violet eyes. Shin quickly did so, but since he didn't have a tissue, he wiped it with his index finger in a way Zack would have joked around if Aqua didn't silence him for the time being. "I just wish… I could write him back that's all…"

"Well, why don't we ask Neku? I'm sure he wouldn't say no… Okay, he'll say no, but we'll just MAKE him!" Shin suggested, slamming his fist against his palm.

"Really? Thank you! That means a lot to me, you're so nice…" Terra replied happily. This was Zack's cue to fall down on the ground and laugh to death, only half of the room being oblivious as to why.

* * *

><p>"<em>Well, they have elevators… and the architecture isn't too shabby either, but this isn't Pulse or the <em>_Bhunivelze__… what is this place?"_ Joshua wondered as they used the elevator to climb a really, really tall skyscraper. Noctis had been silent the whole while, the rest of the group would follow, but Reks and Prompto had engaged in a friendly banter about airships, apparently it ran in the family. Magus however didn't take his eyes off Lightning, Joshua could easily read that as a sign of mistrust, not that he didn't also do that. _"It was a little too… convenient…"_ He told himself as the elevator dinged. Its doors opening to reveal a man waiting for them. This man had a distinguishably spiked dark brown hair, dressed similarly to Noctis but what set him apart was his glasses.

"Noctis." The man said in a collected voice, much too collected, as if he was not comfortable with what he was going to say.

"Is something the matter Ignis?" Noctis asked in a cold tone, seeing right through the not so well guarded secret, but he wasn't mentally prepared for what his childhood friend was going to show him. Ignis thought long and hard before telling him, but he knew delaying it wouldn't change his response.

"Noctis, be courteous, you have a visitor." The first part was more of a warning than a formality. One that would fall into deaf ears as soon as he stepped to the right to reveal the one person Noctis couldn't handle right now. For the first time in his whole life, the mere sight of that blonde hair made him snap… violently. All lies. Before Ignis could react, or anyone for that matter, Noctis had bolted towards the messy haired blonde maiden, summoning his mechanic sword as he slashed towards the now terrified young woman's torso. Kill her? No, he wanted to see her squeal the truth out before that. That wasn't meant to be as an elaborate claymore shunned his blade away just before it connected.

"Stop it Noctis, she hasn't done anything wrong!" The middle aged man ordered, putting his body in between Noctis and the newcomer. "I taught you better than this Noctis." He reprimanded as he turned to the woman. "I apologize for my son Stella, but he has been… affected by the recent happenings, I assure you he will behave."

"Don't… for what he must be thinking right now, his actions would be the best course of action." She replied, now discarding the man's protection and walking up to the impassive young man. "King Caelum heard my side of the story, will you?" She almost begged in a way even Noctis couldn't say no to. Truth be told, he didn't want to have to hurt her, he didn't want her to have been involved, if she wasn't well… it was a miracle.

"Fine…" He turned to his other guests. "But before, let's recap everything for them, maybe we can reach a consensus if we all put out information together." He suggested, the crowd nodding.

* * *

><p>They moved into a room with a throne, well, it didn't surprise them after they had hear the man was called KING Caelum. The man's figure was… imposing to say the least. Everything about him reeked power. The way he sit on the throne, the way he dressed, the aged beard on his chin gave him the look of the monarch he was. Just as everyone got into their positions Magus took one last look at Lightning before waving it off for now. What nobody had seen was that, as soon as Stella had said that that man was King Caelum, a sharp grin appeared on Lightning's stone cold face, even if just for a second. He was going to keep an eye on the valkyrie armored soldier.<p>

"It all started at a party one and a half months ago." King Caelum began. "With no previous indications, dark creatures just appeared out of only god knows where, right at the center of the city and began causing destruction all over. Long tale short, we managed to, with the help of the army and Noctis and myself, scare them off by destroying more than half of their numbers. The problem came afterwards. You see, we did issue a warning to the other countries about the invasion. Turns out, Tenabrae was the first one to call for help. Noctis himself wanted to go, for obvious reasons, but I decided against it and sent his friend Gladiolus to lead the charge instead. Turns out Tenabrae was just bluffing and used that to erase more than half our army from the map and go on a conquistador rampage on the other countries. Without us and our crystal to stop them, Tenabrae was by fact the most powerful nation army-wise. Now, the reason why Noctis had such a reaction was because the last call we had from Gladiolus was before was army got decimated, and it was from the Fleuret household, more specifically, her household. Now, explain to them what happened Stella." King Caelum finished, sitting back on his throne and lacing his fingers in observation. All the while Joshua was thinking.

"_God damnit, nothing of this even sounds remotely familiar, where did we end up?" _He was starting to get annoyed at the fact even his superior intellect couldn't figure out just what happened. _"This is another world, granted, but where are we? How does this exist hidden from even God?"_

Stella carefully tried to see Ignis' and Noctis' reaction, Gladiolus was their childhood friend after all. She couldn't read them, they were too impassive. Prompto seamed alright with listening to her, but that was the usual. An outlaw like him had another look at life. She sighed and began, the explanation was simple and short, but it looked to be a HUGE stretch.

"Well… I must say Gladiolus WAS in our household, but…"

* * *

><p>Lost Records:<p>

"There's something strange about this… where's Stella?" The tall muscled man wondered as he walked through the corridors of the mansion. The troops where resting in a nearby military quarter and he had been invited to sleep in the nearby Fleuret estate. But it was so… cold inside. Not that they didn't treat him right, but it felt oh so artificial and Gladiolus wasn't a man to stand and watch things develop. He noticed that the guards never guarded one place at the time, they were always moving, he took note of that. They had told him Stella was suffering pneumonia so she was locked in her room, he asked to see her but they denied it saying it was too dangerous for the infectiousness of the disease. Yeah, right. He lurked around the mansion trying to act casual for a good fifteen minutes until he saw a room which had two guards stationed at the door. "Now we're getting somewhere!"

"Stop it right there!" The guard yelled as Gladiolus approached. "I'm under direct orders from-" Gladiolus didn't even let him finish before punching his face in. The other guard couldn't react in time to stop the same from happening to him.

"Sorry guys, but as long as you have a face I can punch, you're at a disadvantage." He joked, trying to open the door but, surprise surprise, it was locked. "Hey, Stella! You in there?"He shouted, getting no answer. "I don't have time for this…" He mumbled. "I'll be right there!" he yelled, sending the door flying towards the inside of the room. What he saw was Stella tied up to the bed, her voice muffled by cotton.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"Thank you…" Stella thanked as Gladiolus after he ripped off her restrains.

"No problem, what happened?" Gladiolus asked.

"I… don't know people just started to spout nonsense about a Goddess all of a sudden. At first they were labeled mad men and sent to the asylum, but it got out of hand really quickly, I think we're the last ones sane here!" She said exasperated.

"Chill, we still have the army." Gladiolus replied, trying to keep his head cool. "_I wish Ignis was here… he would've been a far better choice…"_

"Sorry…" Stella hesitated for no knowing the man's name.

"Gladiolus, Noctis and I go way back."

"Gladiolus… your army is lost. I overheard them talk about a new batch of followers…" Stella said, getting the exact opposite response she expected.

"We better get the hell out of here then!" He exclaimed, grabbing her wrist and turning towards the entrance, only to find it blocked.

"Well, well, well… what do we have here? Ungrateful humans turning from their Goddess' blessing?" He said, although they could see that he was just mocking them only by his tone.

"Stella… trust me!" Gladiolus shouted. Before she could react they were already bolting down the window of the fifth floor. Those were more than forty meters high. "Damnit! No balconies?" The tall man cursed as they fell. Before he could say more however, a golden light emerged from Stella as she materialized a masterpiece of a red rapier which she carved on the wall, using the attrition to safely land on the ground. Without a word they sped off.

* * *

><p>Lost Records:<p>

"Where did they go, _Oracle_?" Sephiroth asked the pink haired girl on his side. She had her hair tied into a side ponytail and dressed in an intricate form fitting clothing, a white top with pink and golden motifs as well as a dark pink leggings, violet boots and golden bracelets on her arms. She closed her eyes and opened them with a strange symbol on them, shaking her head in pain after it.

"I know where they are, follow me." She wasn't a slave however, as a sick smile planted itself on her innocent features.

"We ran and ran but wherever we went, there were fanatics closing in. it wasn't long until our only escape was climbing a skyscraper. No one saw us go in, so we reckoned we could have some time to think. We were wrong." Stella explained.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"Look at that, you were right, you're quite helpful… for a human." The same silver haired man joked just as Stella and Gladiolus got out of the elevator.

"Not one more step." The girl warned as she pointed a bow towards the duo.

"Just who are you?" Stella shouted in despair.

"Us? Well one of us is a spectator, the other is a herald of the goddess they speak so much, you can tie the loose ends yourself… when you join the ones in the city." He replied as he took one step in their direction.

Suddenly, on the corner of his eye Gladiolus saw something. An airship rotating towards the building. They were already cornered so… why bother? Then he realized it, there may be still people out of that curse. Then, he saw the hatch open as it approached. He had to take this risk. Without thinking, he threw a bolt of lightning forward, blinding everyone as he grabbed Stella's arm. She could feel a tremendous amount of force pulling it, almost enough to tear it off, but it was a necessity for what he was about to attempt. She was catapulted into thin air. As she flew she wondered why Gladiolus would do such a thing, even the duo that captured them seemed confused… or was it frustrated? She found out it was frustration as she hit something hard and saw a hatch close in front of her. She had just been thrown into an airship. Only her…

"Gladiolus!" She screamed as she slammed the hatch, only to rush to the control room instead. There she found a person she thought to have lost to that plague.

"General Sänger Zonvolt?" She mouthed. "How?"

"I was on a recon mission Stella. When I came back to see what had happened to this city… I laid low and waited for my chance, as I saw everyone move I took it and stole and airship from our docks and tried to find the cause. It's really not surprising it would be you if I may had." The dark blue haired man replied, his eyes focused on piloting the airship. His clothes looked to normal soldier clothes, maybe that's how he managed to steal the airship. "Take a seat, this may get turbulent." He said as he spotted a battalion in front.

"But Gladiolus…" She began.

"That man did a commendable thing! He knew there was no chance for a person to jump that distance, so he did his best to make the most important of the two cross it! You are the proof that this not our country's doing and I'm going to take you to King Caelum even if it takes my life! Now sit down and prepare for a rough flight!" He ordered. Stella had to agree and as such, she closed her mouth, and closed her eyes, praying for Gladiolus.

* * *

><p>"And that's what happened, you can ask General Sänger if you will." She finished, exhausted.<p>

"Fine then, now, what about you Lighting?" Joshua asked before anyone else could.

"I was brought to Valhalla by Etro herself to defend her from a madman called Caius Ballad. He wanted to kill her for a reason it doesn't concern you. I died and my sister and her companion defeated him for me. Then I woke up near this city with no idea of what happened in between. From what I heard, something bad happened. That's about it." She said, right to the point, no details.

"Why do you keep yourself so hidden?" Magus asked. He responded to the "excuse me" with another question. "That girl which they mentioned, why did you not ask for a description? She could be your sister for all you know."

"What do you know about that?" Lightning hissed back.

"If it were me when I was looking for mine, it was the least I could've done…" He replied. He could see Lightning's face darken with anger, and he enjoyed it. "I feel sorry for your sister." And he got punched in the face for it.

"Take that back!" The soldier shouted.

"Oh… so you do care. Not as much as she deserves it but oh well…" He mocked again.

"Fine! Have it your way! Stella, describe her." And she did. What happened next was not what people expected to it. "No… no no no!" She cried with a deep despair tainting her face. "Damnit all!" She shouted as she bolted out of the room.

While most of the room's atmosphere was drained from it, Magus reacted the complete opposite, applauding!

"Such a good show! That is the example any brother or sister should follow!" He exclaimed.

"Magus…" Auron growled.

"What is it? Can you not see? If you cannot I really am sorry for you. Why did I have to be teamed with such idiots?" The sorcerer spat as he turned his back on the crowd. "Can you spare some accommodations? We are done for today."He said smugly. King Caelum sighed but he did call some workers to lead him to the guest's room.

"I understand you may want to keep some secrets, but if any problem surges that your secrets may be the solution, can I trust you to tell us?" he asked Joshua who had avoided talking about them.

"Certainly. He replied courteously. For now, let's deal with the matter at hand." He said as he turned his back. "Any information that is useful I will pass on. Nothing more though." The less he talked the better, at least for now. There was NOTHING guaranteeing him which side was the correct one. Just as the door closed Noctis turned to his father.

"Why would you let them go without discovering their purpose?" He asked, outraged at his father's behavior.

"Because Noctis, if you paid attention you could see they mean well. It's something that will come with experience." He said, dismissing his. "However…" He began, Noctis stopping in his tracks. "There are two of them I do not trust. You can probably deduce which ones."

"Yeah." Noctis replied, closing the door behind him. As he walked away from it he simply said. "I'm sorry." To the woman who had been waiting for him on the other side of it.

"It's alright…" Stella replied before asking to be shown to her room.

"I wonder how long it will take…" King Caelum asked himself. "I have seen through you, and you know it."

* * *

><p>As Ashe was flying towards Giruvegan she noticed a bit too late the signals from the clouds. She was about to run into a massive storm. Had she read the sky well, she could have adjusted her trajectory to go around it, but now it as too late, she either turned back, which would delay her massively or she tried her luck and go through it. This was an EXTREMELY bad idea for someone who had only controlled practice, but it was common sense that she wasn't actually being rational at this point, so just go with it.<p>

"I will get through this!" She groaned as the ship trembled for the massive air pressure around it. "What was that?" She exclaimed as she heard a large crash. Looking right she noticed that the right wing had been badly damaged by the wind, ship starting to spiral out of control. "NO! We're so close! Work!" She demanded, slamming her hands into the control pad. "Please! Work!" She pulled every lever in a act of despair but that just made it worse, the ship was now diving vertically into the ground. However, stopping her rampage against the controls were two familiar arms that came from behind and started pushing buttons, stabilizing the ship easily and taking the wheel. "Rasler?" She mumbled as she turned to her savior. Needless to say, it was not Rasler.

"What were you doing Ashe? Scratch that, that's obvious, let's put it like this: Where do you think you're going Ashe?" Vaan asked the queen without taking his eyes off the airship's route. He was… upset to say the least."Nevermind, get out of the seat, I'll take us out of this storm." He ordered grumpily, rightfully so, he was almost killed because of another person's incompetence… that's what he told himself, but we all know that's not why he was angry. Ashe, knowing that that man had just saved her life decided to step off the chair and give it to him, now asking the questions.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

"I don't trust docks with my, or in this case, Balthier's ship. As you are a proving, they're not very safe." He shot back, making Ashe cringe at the irony. "So, I sleep on my ship, always. Now, you answer my question. Where were you heading?"

"Well."

"Giruvegan right?" Vaan asked, Ashe only shily nodding in response. "I knew it. I knew it ever since the time I heard the story that you would do something STUPID like this… But I can't blame you, I would do the same for Reks, and he's only my brother. That guy was your husband… albeit out of convince." The last bit was uncalled for, but he didn't care.

"That was not…!"

"That WAS why and you KNOW it. You just accepted it! That's not up to discussion right now, what's up to discussion is: Do you still want to go?" He asked rhetorically.

"Of course! You can take back the Strahl afterwards if you desire."

"Spare me the high up talk Ashe. I'm not letting you go alone." He stated, and before she could reply he continued. "I'm not going to tell you what to do. I'm not going to interfere in your decisions. I will however get you out of there alive. Deal?" The offer was almost too good to be true.

"_Just what is Vaan thinking?"_ Ashe thought. _"Still… he never lied to me before…__ I guess I can let him come."_

"Very well… do as you please." She decided to say.

"I can't…" Vaan replied somberly, but Ashe decided not to question him, she was tired and Vaan was piloting which made her feel… slightly calmer. She felt safe now. Dismissing any other thoughts, she sat on the co-pilots sit and just drifted to sleep. "Why do I even bother?" Vaan said sarcastically.

* * *

><p>"Attention everyone! Meet at the deck, we have some good news… and some bad ones." Squall's voice rang over the ship, prompting everyone to leave their rooms and start walking towards deck. The Lagunarok had departed an hour ago, stopping to pick up the Gummy ship on its way to Ivalice. Now, considering how the Gummy ship was placed in the cargo haul… well Squall didn't like what… or better, who he found there.<p>

"The bad news is…" Squall said as he walked around the deck, by passing the apologetically smilling small crowd. "These guys got in. I can't say I'm surprised about Edge getting in, but I actually thought more of my father… my mistake." He said as he glared daggers at Laguna.

"Edge, Rydia, Cuore, Garnet and Lenna. Can't say they're useless." Laguna replied, trying to bring up argument.

"I'm not discussing this with you old man, you brought Rinoa here just so you could win any argument didn't you?" He said as he pointed at his wife and kid. "Fine! You can stay, but make yourself useful."

"He's glad." Cloud translated the Squallglish. Well, the way they talked was so different of what they felt it could go as a fully fledged language with a bit of luck. Maybe Squallglish isn't the best name, but you get where I'm coming from.

"But as I was saying, I didn't call you here for this clown. I brought you here because there is someone you most likely will want to see to get some more explanations." He said. "That's your cue." As if he was waiting for it, the door opened and, right alongside was walking the person that was most qualified to lay a clear light on the situation, all while sounding "fabulous".

"I have returned, my beautiful flock!" Kuja greeted, extending his arms in hopes of an ovation.

"Oh brother… Not another one of those." Zack cursed.

* * *

><p>"Joshua, why didn't you tell them the truth?" Reks asked as they were about to go to sleep.<p>

"Because… I couldn't trust everyone in that room. I just HOPE I'm wrong." Joshua replied.

"You're not." Magus stated simply from his corner of the room. "Why are you going to sleep is what I'm asking myself. It's about to start…"

Orlandeu stood up and finally talked:

"As long as this world's matters aren't affected by ours, we should stand and watch." Reks couldn't help but find it strange how and elder man could have such a young voice…

"I highly doubt they aren't… but let's see if I am wrong… for once." Magus said in a mocking manner as he looked out the window. _"__T__he things I do for you sister…__"_

* * *

><p>"I knew you were coming." King Caelum greeted as he saw the doors to his throne room open.<p>

"No guards?" The figure asked as it stepped into the light.

"No unnecessary casualties." The monarch replied as he stood up, summoning his claymore.

"No delays." Lightning finished, drawing her gunblade.

"Just the fight!" Caelum shouted, dashing towards the woman, clashing in the middle of the room with such force it shook the building. "Tell me, why do you support her… Why do you defend Etro? Maybe she was righteous once, but do you call THIS righteous?" He asked, pushing her away with a massive swing.

"Me, be Etro's herald? I thought you see right through me, but in the end you're still so blind!" Lightning replied in a mocking fashion, lading on the wall before vanishing. Caelum could not see her, but he felt the wind vibrate next to him just in time to block the pristine gunblade. "If you want to fight me, I'll tell you… you won't live to tell anyone else!" She exclaimed as she pushed Caelum back. "I'm not Etro's herald to this world. I AM ETRO!"

* * *

><p><em><span>Next Chapter:<span>_

_"Father! What's happening?"_

_"The answer lies in the heart of the Great Crystal…"_

_"Orlandeu… are you really a man?"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-chapter note:<span>****Oh I can hear the wails of you Lightning/Serah fans right now. You must've been all like, "please let her not be evil please let her not be evil", only to have your hopes crushed… Muhahaha? The reason why this is happening is something you will have to read and discover. Feel free to review/make death threats... Yeah, mostly death threats. Your tears feed me. See ya next time! It's battle time!


	50. Dark Valkyrie, Sword Saint

****Author's note:****Why hello ladies and gents, it's been fifty chapters since we met! Imagine that fifty chapters, and soon, one year. We'll talk more when that time comes okay? For now, I just say, read the post-chapter note.

**PS:** Anonymous, since I can't reply to you by PM; I might as well do it here. The answer is… I hate Penelo, and I mean HATE Penelo. Since I like Vaan as a character that makes it so I completely ABHOR VaanxPenelo. Yes I played Revenant wings, yes I know its 90% canon, but god, they're like brothers, it feels like Incest to me. If it makes you happier, I'll give a plausible explanation for it next chapter, okay? Sorry if I'm annoying you or being too rough.

**PSS:** Also, Serah may be acting OOC, but that's the point for now.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Fifty**

****Dark Valkyrie, Sword Saint****

* * *

><p>"And that's that!" A short haired redhead said, sheathing his sword after seeing his opponent flee.<p>

"As soon as the big man fell, the rabble drifted away." A look alike said, his hair longer and redder. "Still, Luke, you're getting sloppy." He said, turning to the man.

"Asch! I'm dead! Can't I have some peace and quiet?" He replied, annoyed with the man's battle-crazed antics. "Besides, your job makes you fight a lot, mine, as important as it is, is pretty laid back, you see, I can leave my shift and nobody would even notice.

"You mean being a God General is laid back? I'm going to have to claim copyright on the name because when they were first made they were always moving." Asch said, cursing how the top of top was slacking.

"Well, unless of course you're me and you have two functions, being a God General is a pretty passive job." A voice came from behind. Luke and Asch turned back, flustered from having their conversation being heard. "Yo." The blue haired man greeted, sheeting his golden sword on his back. Saying that he was buff was an understatement, that was 6'2 feet and 230 lbs of pure muscle. A red headband tied his hair that surged in a messy way. His left arm and his lung area were covered in clear blue and silver armor, just as his knee pads. The rest was a rag tag of clothes on brown tones. Still, what really made his stand out was the long, red cape that he wore, one that divided into three tails at the end, golden embroidery on the edges.

"I-Ike?" Luke stuttered at the sight of the tall and muscular man. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough." He replied, crossing his arms in a threatening fashion. "And that's General Ike for you Luke, normally I don't like formalities, but we are going to have to have a talk with you… and your wife." He finished with a mocking grin, how Luke was going to hate that.

"NO! ANYTHING BUT TEAR!" The man shouted in a… more than usual attack of childlessness.

"Anything?" Ike taunted, touching his chin with his hand.

"Anything!" Luke replied foolishly.

"How about you pay me… an all you can eat buffet on Genius'." Ike demanded, that was the ONE thing Luke didn't account for.

"NO! HELL NO! NEGATIVE ANSWER! I WILL NOT!" He shouted back, knowing just what fame the God General had. "ONE, you don't have a stomach, you have a hole on your belly! TWO, a normal meal there would take me one week from my salary, if you were to go there I'd be lucky If I even profited this year! And THREE, how can I hide the enormous hole that would leave in our SHARED bank account?" Well, that was an expected answer.

"You'll get no sympathy from me!" Ike spouted, grinning at the use of his catchphrase, but he soon regretted as Luke appeared to be truly desperate. "Fine, look I'll talk with Lloyd, he'll talk with Genius and you just have to pay for the ingredients, okay? That should narrow it down to a normal meal… a normal meal for me that is." He finished, knowing he would get what he wanted.

"Fine… I guess I can cover up one month of salary with something…" Luke lamented.

"What I was saying Asch, is that because the last time there was a try to kill God, if you can even call it that, the perpetrator got a giant spear in the face from above just as he stepped off Hell." He explained, scratching the back of his head. "In short, our job is theoretically the hardest but in practice it's piss easy."

"Wow Ike, theoretically? Have you been studying?" A short, black haired man asked as he appeared with a gust of wind. He wore only a black robe and carried a pretty big book on his right hand.

"Shut up Soren." Ike told his best friend.

"Don't listen to him, if his partner on the shift didn't love to spar, he would probably fall asleep on it." The seemingly younger man taunted, shooting a mocking but cold glare at Ike.

"And that's why I asked Lloyd to do the shift with me, now stop destroying my authority and tell me why you're here, you never show up unless you need to." Ike replied, half trying to change the subject, half preoccupied.

"Well, General Leo pointed out something I personally had found bothersome in the whole fight and we couldn't help but stick with it. Ike, did you see any recognizable face?" He asked rhetorically, instantly cutting of Ike. "Besides Akuma." He said, leading Ike's face into a rare contemplative state.

"No…"He said, almost reaching a conclusion. "Then…"

"There are three ways this could have happened. Extremely unlikely but some of the most important figures may have declined involvement…" He saw the other looks and he did give in. "As I said, that's extremely unlikely. The other two choices go from bad to worse. Maybe this was an unorganized attack and they lack organization. That may be good but it also points out that they are in an extreme number advantage…"

"How?" Luke asked, not knowing why that was possible, didn't heaven have A LOT more people?

"You have to understand, most people in Heaven are the ones that lead peaceful lives. In hell, even if you were evil without fighting, once you get here, you have to fight or you're damned. This makes so that while Heaven has a lot more better fighters, Hell has a lot more _fighters_. Also, we are here on their territory, they have nearly unlimited reinforcements here, we have to call them from above." The small mage explained calmly, just as Ike had an epiphany.

"They're not disorganized… The timing on Akuma... Those people that never fought…" he started.

"Oh, you paid attention I see. Yes, that's what Leo saw that I didn't. That's why I'm here."

"They're stalling…" Ike concluded.

"How do you know?" Luke asked, insecure of how he had arrived at that conclusion.

"We did the same." Ike explained. "I don't know WHAT they're stalling for, but it's something big." He said, now looking to the trio that arrived.

"The advantage we thought to have was never there… and all this time we played with it! No matter what I do, I always end up failing!" Leo shouted, punching a nearby rock as his past failures came back to haunt him.

"Don't fret Leo. You couldn't have known." Minwu tried to comfort, but it came from an unexpected source. Suddenly, without any other sign, Ike burst laughing.

"Finally! A real fight! It's been so freaking long! I'm ready for it!" He said, slapping his face awake. "Tsk, I sound like Tibarn now, but I need this!"

"That's… an awfully optimistic way to put it." Leo said, flabbergasted.

"Well, he never lost a fight that mattered…" The green haired woman besides Leo said with a giggle.

"Fine." The Grim Reaper said, appearing out of nowhere with a rose on his mouth. He striped it from it, retouched his albino silver hair and gave it to the woman before dodging a roundhouse from Ike. "We'll just play with these guys until the _main cast_ fixes it. Whoever gets the most ones gets a wish granted." He said.

"Sounds fun. I'm in!" Ike said, punching his palm.

* * *

><p>"You're what?" Noctis yelled from the entrance.<p>

"Noctis, why are you here?" King Caelum questioned, even though he knew the answer.

"Lightning never appeared on her quarters. It wasn't hard to understand who was the one that didn't deserve our trust." The man said as he created a glyph from behind him, summoning an intricate, mechanical sword. Its blade was a conventional silver one, but the handle seemed to contain a motor.

"You don't have to do this alone King Caelum!" Stella exclaimed as she arrived, rapier in hand.

"This is hardly fair isn't it? I am one, you are three." The self-proclaimed Goddess said in a mocking tone.

"Well, after what you did to Gla-" Noctis had only begun to speak as he was forced to dodge a bullet from the former soldier's now transformed gunblade.

"Did I ask for your opinion?" She interrogated, her head being now mere centimeter's away from Noctis'. If it wasn't for his quick reflexes in raising his sword, his chest would already be leaking blood from her blade. Never the less, Noctis did manage to repel the woman's blow, transforming his sword into a spear right after that as he swept at the torso, forcing her to duck. As she ducked her eyes caught an approaching rapier from bellow and she was forced to commit herself to midair as both the spear and sword passed above and below her respectively. She then remembered something just before something befell her. She instinctively raised her sword to stop the monarch's downward strike, stopping it just in the nick of time, but getting slammed to the ground in the process. Grunting in displeasure, she summoned a rose-shaped crystal to her hand and slammed it to the ground, erupting in a blinding light that pushed the trio away as she shouted: "ODIN!"

As the light dimmed Noctis managed to get a better look at what he was about to face. A humanoid creature clad, or even made off, armor. The helmet showed a pair of imposing horns, his left hand had a marked shield attached to it and its other hand wielded an S-shaped blade.

"An Eidolon… so you really aren't human." Stella gasped as she saw the imposing figure start to move.

"Stella, Noctis! Finish the thing and then join me!" Caelum ordered. Before Noctis could ask what he was going to do he lunged at the woman in front of him, ducking over Odin's slash and, as soon as he arrived near her he cast Shell and immediately after aimed a Firaga Burst on the ground. The ensuing explosion was enough to catapult both across the ceiling and to the top of the building.

"King Caelum!" Stella shouted, her arm being grabbed by the black haired young man.

"He's alright, he's though. However… we have a job to do!" He exclaimed, positioning himself for battle.

"You're right… Let's go Noctis!" She said in a newfound vigor.

"_Pass, you shall not."_Noctis and Stella heard being whispered on their minds.

"Oh great, it's the master Jedi Yodalf the White." Noctis cracked before returning it's spear to a sword.

"_Mock me, you dare?"_ Well, the Eidolon was just asking for it, but I digress. Jedi Odin then proceeded to use The Force to summon lightning bolts upon the duo of nobles. Or he just cast Thundara, whatever floats your boat. Either way, and because this joke is getting old, Noctis and Stella easily dodged them but made one crucial mistake, they went on opposite directions. Capitalizing at this opportunity, the summoned beast rushed towards Stella, who at least looked to be the weaker of the two and started wailing at the woman with his S-shaped blade. Each time Stella blocked one of the dance-like slashes she was pushed back as rose petals flew everywhere. It wasn't long before she was dangerously low to the large window on the back of the room. Noctis did the worst he could do, he was totally predictable. An ambush from behind was just what Odin had expected and, as the battle-made being he was, took advantage of it with a mind-blogging turn to a Skyward Strike, such force had the blow b that Noctis' block only managed to get him stuck halfway through the ceiling. Now, on another situation, this would be comical, but the crack on Noctis' should and his blood-dripping head said otherwise as he wrestled to get out of his confinement.

"Hang on Noctis!" (Hah, "hang on"… Not the time? Fine.) Stella shouted before needing to hang on herself as she felt her body being thrown out the window by the creature's shield.

"Grab my hand!" She heard, instinctively grabbing on to the first thing on her vision. She felt her body collide with the side of the building and rationalized that this was probably not the best time to look down, so she didn't. Instead she looked up to find Prompto holding onto her. "Whew! Close one princess!" The blonde man joked as he started pulling her up.

"_How is Odin not attacking him?"_ Stella wondered until she was completely pulled up. "Ignis…" She muttered as Noctis' childhood friend did his best to hold back the summon.

"Hey! You two, get Noctis out of there!" Ignis shouted as he blocked one of the now separated blades from Odin, jumping over the follow up. Both Stella and Prompto nodded and started to think how they could, Prompto getting the idea earlier.

"Princess, get ready to catch the Prince!" He exclaimed as he switched the round on his s firearm. He shot five strategic spots around Noctis and watched his explosive rounds denote, causing an efficient but slightly dangerous way of freeing Noctis. Stella then rushed to the falling man and grabbed him midair, quickly casting Curaga as she hit the ground.

"Thanks… but Prompto, you ever do that again and I'll lock you in a room with your fangirls… the ugly ones." He threatened, Prompto shuddering briefly before getting back in position for battle. They were still fighting after all.

"Oh well, guess we have to get rid of this guy, don't we?" Prompto scuffed as he watched the giant miss Ignis again and again.

"Let's be quick about it." Noctis snarled, worrying about his father on the roof.

* * *

><p>"Kuja, PLEASE tell me you aren't going to make a play out of this…" Zack whimpered, finding no sympathy in the man who was born to act.<p>

"Now, that just wouldn't be me, would it?" He said, unleashing haughty laugh before catching on the corner of his eye something of his interest. "But you may be in luck! Quickly, follow that ship!" He ordered as he pointed towards blur that was coming in their direction.

"That's the Strahl…" Gabranth stated before running up to the window. "What is Balthier doing here?" He wondered.

"We can't follow that! Our ship's too big for that!" Laguna replied. "BUT!" he quickly made his way to the controls and pressed a series of keys. Before they knew it, Laguna returned with a smile. "I tagged it with an electromagnetic transmitter." He explained as he turned to Shelke. "Your computer can handle that, can't it?"

"You have to ask? Tron's probably more advanced than this ship!" She taunted, opening the laptop and preparing to do some work.

"Great! Now, we obviously can't send all these people after one ship, now can we?" Laguna asked, Kuja nodding in return. "That's why I have the perfect solution hiding on the cargo board, follow my lead!"

* * *

><p>"Vaan…" Ashe mumbled as she woke up from her sleep, looking to her left only to see his seat empty. "Vaan?" She called, fumbling out of her seat, looking around the interiors of the ship. The mentioned sky pirate was found with his head hanging from the ship's hatch, much to her confusion.<p>

"That's one awesome ship!" He exclaimed just as the Lagunarok swayed off his eyesight. As he looked back he saw Ashe panicking as she tried to assume control of the ship, to no avail.

"It's called auto pilot Miss Ashelia. Are you so uninformed about the latest technological advances?" He quipped.

"Sorry if I don't have an unhealthy and almost disturbing fixation on flying boats!" She replied, her face tinged red in embarrassment. Oh how stupid she might have looked as she tried to steer a ship steering itself. "But it's not like I asked a grown woman about her age or anything!" She retorted.

"Ouch, right in the heart!" He joked, faking pain in his chest as he clutched it with his hand. "How old are you again?"

"Why you annoying little brat!" Ashe retorted, genuinely annoyed at how Vaan was playing around with her on such a time of crisis.

"This annoying little brat is just two years younger than you." He joked yet again. He knew all too well he was pushing the wrong buttons, and that's exactly what he wanted to do.

"If you did remember how old I am, why did you ask?" She asked filled with frustration.

"Well I did it because I'm a jerk maybe, or maybe because…" Gave her a small pat on the head. "You seem to have loosened up a lot after it." He said in a calmer and unexpectedly sweet tone.

"…Idiot." She muttered after a brief pause in which she gathered that he was, in fact, right. Not that she would admit that and made her way into the coaches away from the wheel.

"Worth it!" Vaan said as he fist pumped the air. "Self-five!" He exclaimed, highfiving himself.

"I never acted like this before… why am I now?" She asked herself as her mouth was muffled by a pillow. _"Smells nice… wait… is this… Curses!"_ As soon as she realized that she was hugging the same pillow Vaan was using to sleep on the ship she threw it at the back of his head, slamming the poor pirate's forehead into the commands. The ensuing turbulence was expected but not something she didn't enjoy. For once, even though she didn't even realize it, Rasler was completely out of her mind.

* * *

><p>"So, what is the wondrous surprise you have in store for us, oh president Laguna?" Kuja said in a completely over dramatic way. That week in bed hit him too hard it seems.<p>

"Well, you see this?" He asked rhetorically as he grabbed small container and pulled out six different colored capsules. "We call them Eggs. They are the most important breakthrough of the last couple of years." The people in front of him found that extremely hard to believe, but he continued. "That's mostly because they can do… this!" Laguna pressed a button on the side and launched the red capsule. It was engulfed in a white light that, once faded, revealed an unbelievable object.

"How the hell did that happen?" Zack shouted, confused at how what seemed to be a winged, jet motorcycle floated in front of him.

"Eggs can be used to store a multiple amount of things much larger than themselves using a Rift-inducing micro-chip." Even though more than half of the people there hadn't a clue what he just said, Laguna continued. "These are Rheairds." He explained as he released the other seven, one donning a different color. "Due to using the same technology as the chip, these are the only objects we can store in Eggs for now. They are exactly what they seem, Jet powered flying motorcycles."

"CARD GAMES ON FLYING MOTORCYCLES!" Zack predictably yelled.

"Totally!" Laguna replied. Sometimes Squall wondered if he was really in his forties. "Now, whose ready to chase some of them airships?"

"Question!" Terra asked, even though she wasn't going to able to ride one just yet. "How do you pilot them?"

"Just like you would a motorcycle. Turn the handle up for speed and wherever you lean both handles it will fly." Laguna explained.

"That sounds… easier." Cloud pointed out.

"But… is it fast?" Terra asked, her somewhat hidden liking of speed shining through.

"Twice as fast as this airship actually!"

"When I get my body back… can I ride one?"

"Be my guest!"

"Thank you!" She replied with a smile. That smile was a dangerous weapon in a room full of guys, most of them didn't listen how Laguna had a hand on the design. I mean, who would?

"Well then…" Laguna began as he opened the hatch. "Who's first?"

"Don't need that!" Shin said. "I'll be right back." He promised Terra as he jumped off the ship, whistling. From behind the crowd a golden blur made its way through the hatch and caught Shin in midair, speeding onto the horizon.

"That guy has been playing too much Skyward Sword…" Zack commented before jumping on the red Rheaird. "Coming Aqua?" He asked, but she had already jumped, summoning her Keyblade Ride. "Geez, wait up!"

"Shelke!" Tron said. "The way the Strahl is going… there's a massive crystal energy deposit coming from it."

"Are they heading for Giruvegan?" Gabranth wondered, jumping onto the black one. "I must get to the bottom of it." He said as he sped off.

"I must say, a race to stretch my wings is all I needed!" Kuja had no need for a Rheaird, he just jumped off and flew on his own. "To be more clear, you answer lies in the heart of the great crystal. Giruvegan's heart.

"Let's go Luso!" Marche jumped on the golden one and was off.

"Aye! Come on Adelle!" Luso called, grabbing her wrist as he jumped on the silver one.

"Control your team Crono!" Serge mocked.

"Giant crystal? Me gusta!" Layle said and, more to annoy Crono than anything else, he jumped on the yellow one and off he went.

"Crono, I'll take care of them." Ramza promised as he and Aya shared the blue one.

"Well, guess we're out." Laguna said, starting to close the hatch. Without warning, three, very predictable persons jumped out of it.

"Bahamut!" Rydia chanted, the King of Dragons bolting out of the glyph she created, catching her and her de facto family midair.

"Greetings." The silver scaled dragon greeted just before he felt a disturbance on his back.

"This is kinda cool!" Jecht exclaimed as he took advantage of a free ride. "What?" He questioned. The group just sighed and continued in hot pursuit.

"I'll be in contact with you by phone, okay?" Shelke told Zack.

"Fine." Zack replied. "Wait a sec, the hell is that?"

"Hey Zack!" Sora greeted, ridding what seemed to be a hover board. "Got this at my exam, just now testing it! Wanna race?"

"You can't race our guide Sora!" Kairi reprimanded.

"Correction, you can't race that bird… SLOW DOWN!" Zack called, seeing as Stardust was just leaving their field of vision. "Guess we have to step it up a notch!"

"Alright!" Sora exclaimed, pushing what he could out of his machine.

"Wait a sec… Isn't that lizard weaponless?" Locke asked, worried about a swordsman without a sword.

"Goodness no! I gave him the Apocalypse!" Terra told Locke, Celes arching her eyebrow at that. She never lent HER the Apocalypse.

"Terra, we need to talk." Celes stated as she began pushing her wheelchair away.

"What about us?" Cloud asked.

"We shouldn't just follow them, our main goal was to investigate Ivalice after all. Let's head for Dalmasca first, they'll be able to handle it… I hope."

* * *

><p>"<em>Thunder roars!"<em>Odin shouted, parting both blades and sending discharges of thunder crashing in three different directions. Noctis and the group easily dodged it all as they regrouped with Ignis.

"Plan?" Noctis simply asked his more collected childhood friend, who was adjusting his glasses.

"Overwhelm him. It's easy to see he's more of a support than a real fighter." At his call, all four jumped on top of Odin. True to Ignis' word, Odin could do little to keep four very persistent humans from him. His swords were made for mid-range and he couldn't exactly use magic with the incoming blows.

"_Shield of Ur!"_Covering himself with his shield and protective magics did nothing to help him, Noctis' alternated from sword to spear to axe to even guns, Stella showered him with magic as she wailed, Ignis' used both his blades to their full advantage and Prompto had just pulled out a machine gun. Odin knew he wasn't going to be able to move if he didn't do something. But the question that was on his mind was, should he do something? As he slammed against the wall he came to a decision. _"Concede, I will!" _

"What?" Nobody expected Odin to go down so easily, he clearly could do so much more. They continued weary, but let the giant speak to their minds.

"Corrupted, my summoner has been. Promise to save her and let you go I shall." The proud knight said in a saddened tone.

"Why should you trust us with that?" Noctis asked, unconvinced at such a quick surrender.

"I knew only recently of what is behind. Lightning it's not." Odin was now moving to try and get free from the wall, being only mildly successful. It was causing quite the ruckus. "Begging of you I am. Disobey her direct orders I cannot."

"We'll definitely let her see how wrong she is!" Stella replied.

"Stella!" Noctis said, irritated.

"Noctis, if he's asking for our help, complete strangers, then he must be desperate." Sure he could be deceiving them, and Noctis knew about it, but there was something in those shinning blue orbs that kept him from saying no.

"You're too naïve Stella..." The prince muttered before turning to the King. "If that's true, who's behind all of this?" He asked, trying to shoot a cover story if there was one.

"See it we never have. We know only…" he was interrupted as soon as a spear bolted out of his chest, coming from the other side of the wall.

"Y'all talk too much." A female rough voice dripped in Australian accent said from the other side of the wall, forcefully pulling the spear out of Odin's chest as he gasped and turned back into a rose crystal.

"You look so much better as a crystal, don't ya think?" A red haired woman with two pigtails and a revealing pink dress asked playfully, or more like sadistically in this situation.

"I think he don't agree all that much Vanille, but he's just a tool." The woman, as rough looking as her voice pointed out told her companion as she patted him the head.

"Of course, now, will you all be good and let me and Fang take care of you?"

"OH you can "take care of me" any time you'd like!" Prompto replied, receiving a dirty glare from the group.

"Great, let's have some fun!" She took from her belt her really strange rod and put herself in an dance-like battle position.

"Noctis… Stella…" Ignis begun as he pulled out a flash grenade. "GO!" he threw said container on the group, prompting a giant explosion of blinding light. Both nodded as they understood just what they were trying to do, jumping through the hole in the ceiling to help King Caelum as the others stalled.

"Bad, bad boys." Fang mocked.

"We're gonna have to teach you a lesson, aren't we."

"No witty comments." Ignis told Prompto as they prepared to fight.

"You're the boss."

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't we help them?" Reks asked from a nearby roof.<p>

"As long as we have no proof that this indeed connected to us, we will not move." Orlandeu replied, still clutching to the Excalibur. "Don't mistake me, I do want to help them with all my heart, but it is not our fight!" And he continued on looking, hoping for the slightest chance to help his newfound comrades. Still, what bothered Reks the most was that he thought to have seen brown hair on the supposedly elder man. Why?

* * *

><p>"For an old business man you do pack a punch!" Lightning congratulated as she watched over the kneeled King. Still, she was right about one thing. King Caelum wasn't a soldier, he was a businessman and a king, his stamina was nowhere near hers. "But now it ends." She exclaimed smugly, raising her gunblade in an equally smug fashion.<p>

"Such useless movements… this is how it's done!" The middle aged man exclaimed as he broke the farce and back flipped from his kneeling position with his claymore, effectively causing a deep wound on Lightning's left arm. Crying in pain she let go of her sword as she knelt down, ironically revering the position both were in.

"How can you still move so fast?" Lightning gasped. If she was drained at that time, how could an old man still move?

"Your brashness defeated you. Do you really believe I'd pick a fight with a soldier like you, or even a goddess as you declare, if I wasn't confident of my skills?" Caelum asked, now prodding Lightning's neck with his claymore. "Now, I want some answers. What do you-" His vision became blurry and his chest felt like it was going to explode as he something penetrated his right lung. "W-who…"

"Why hello… King." As King Caelum looked back he met the snake-like eyes of a silver haired man, one who looked exactly the same as Stella's description.

"Tee-hee. Almost got caught, eh Claire?" The pink ponytail girl that Stella described waltzed in in a heart-chilling joy considering the situation. "And, if you don't want to see your father well, you know… you'd better get out of that hole." She mocked as she looked down the hole in question, only to see Noctis and Stella jump off it with their hands in the air.

"Noctis, stop being so soft!" His father shouted. "There's no situation possible where we all get out of this alive!"

"Actually… there is. Your crystal for your lives." Sephiroth demanded, retrieving the Masamune from his chest.

"Why? Just what do you want with our crystal?" Noctis spat hatefully.

"We don't really want your crystal, it's just that we don't want YOU to have it." The girl explained, leaving nothing explained and only raising more questions.

"So… how are we doing this? The easy way… or the hard way?" Sephiroth asked, now touching King Caelum's neck with his sword as he knelt in pain.

"Hey Orlandeu, isn't that…" Reks began, trying to prove Orlandeu how they had a reason to interfere, but he hardly needed it as Orlandeu wasn't sitting there anymore.

"Let's follow him." Joshua said, prompting everyone to jump to a nearby rooftop to get in closer.

"Whoever you are, our lives are not worth more than our countries', we're not leading you to the crystal!" Caelum said in a last attempt of insurgence.

"Well, I understand you aren't… you're useless to us then." Sephiroth said without a crack on his cold exterior, swiftly moving his sword in an arc.

"Dammit!" Noctis exclaimed, thinking on going forward but he spotted Lightning cocking her gun at Stella. To stop an unnecessary casualty he merely looked on as Sephiroth movement was complete, taking a good look at what seemed to be his father's last moments. Except… even though Sephiroth should have decapitated him, the swing left him the same way as before.

"Hmm…?" Sephiroth was mildly annoyed at what had just happened. He completed the swing but… he looked at his Masamune and noticed that more than half of it was gone.

"Missing this?" Orlandeu taunted as he showcased the blade in his hand, everyone but Sephiroth looking in awe at the elder general.

"Interesting, you are?" The SOLDIER asked as he measured his newfound opponent.

"Commander Cidolfus Orlandeu. Although I was better known as Thunder God Cid." The man presented himself, causing Sephiroth to raise one of his eyebrows.

"Oh… and how might you be here?" Sephiroth asked.

"I can ask the same question." Cid replied.

"And you'll get the same answer." Sephiroth pointed out.

"Exactly." Cid agreed.

"Well, but you see… wouldn't it be heartbreaking if a certain prince and a high ranked noble would be found with bullets planted on their temple?" Sephiroth mocked as Lightning approached Stella and leaned her gun against the blonde's head.

"It would truly be a disaster, if there was a gun in firing condition to do it! Crush Weapon!" He chanted as he carved his sword against the ground so fast that before the sound had even propagated to Lightning's eardrums a giant sword rose from the ground below, cutting her weapon clean in half.

"Holly…" Was all that Noctis could say after that otherworldly demonstration.

"Mog! Bow, now!" The girl demanded from a nearby moogle.

"I'm sorry Serah… but Mog can't do this anymore, kupo…" The moogle replied in a saddened tone. What he had seen today was the last drop.

"Don't you DARE turn against me you worthless moogle!" The girl screamed, jumping towards the moogle before being hit by a… fridge?

"That's not how a girl should act, not is it?" Joshua mocked as he dialed yet another combination on his cellphone, now raining fire hydrants.

* * *

><p>"Need a hand?" Reks asked as he and Auron showed up to push Vanille and Fang away.<p>

"Could use two." Prompto joked.

* * *

><p>Lightning took a step back as Noctis and Stella drew closer and closer.<p>

"Not so fun when you're losing, now is it?" The prince taunted as he pointed his spear at the pink haired "goddess". "If you're a goddess, why don't you just erase us? Shouldn't be that hard?"

"That… damned crystal!" Lightning spouted.

"OH! So THAT'S why… is it disturbing you? I'm so sorry…" He mocked as he continued to approach. "Why don't you make this easier and just surrender?" Lightning would never admit defeat, but even then, for the time being she groaned and decided to stay put.

While this whole turnaround was happening Sephiroth and Orlandeu were already locked in combat. Sephiroth, who had decided to use some of his newfound power to recreate the green blade of the Masamune, slashed at the man in front of him, who simply ducked and before Sephiroth knew it, he was already bleeding from the left side of his chest. Groaning as he stumbled backwards, his fighting instinct was still enough to jump over the follow up and kick Cid off the edge of the building.

"CID!" Joshua called, but had to return to his cellphone to keep Serah's magic away.

Smelling blood in the water, Sephiroth jumped off the building in an attempt for revenge, plunging downwards with his sword. Still, no matter how hard he tried, Orlandeu was always one step ahead. Just as Sephiroth was reaching him, Orlandeu stuck his sword on the wall and used it to propel himself higher than the SOLDIER, immediately rising the sword and chanting.

"Bolts of heaven, punish evil! HALLOWED BOLT!" As he plunged his sword downwards, unleashing a massive torrent of lightning onto the man bellow him, impacting and flooding the whole city's streets with its energy. The blast was so powerful you could even see a small light on the planet from outer space. Sephiroth felt his body burn again, but more importantly, his emotions were burning. To be defeated again by a human? Not on this world. Silently, he concentrated all his power into a wall spell as his clothes transformed as his seven wings sprouted. He would get revenge.

"That was amazing Cid!" Reks congratulated as he saw the man landing. "Wait… what?" His earing and his sight hadn't tricked him. A long, flowing brown hair tied in a ponytail and only the faintest trace of a beard. That wasn't an old man, Cid was effectively his age! "How can you be so young?" He protested, believing to have found an impostor.

"What's the surprise Reks? When you die old you don't go to heaven old, you go back on the prime of your life. That's common knowledge, even for one that has been dead for such a short while." Joshua explained, making so much sense Reks felt like an idiot.

"It's alright, I must say I was surprised myself when I got this body back. That's why I am so powerful now, I am an old man in a young body. All my experience can be used to its full potential, and well… I was already a so-called monster before." Cid explained, slowly turning back. "Is that a sufficient explanation?" He asked the winged man that was now floating in front of him.

"You could say that… maybe I should show you my true power now!" He threatened as his halo formed behind him. He wasn't ready however, for the information Orrlandeu had.

"That's interesting… should I draw my sword now?" He asked. It was then that it hit Sephiroth… the Excalibur had never left its scabbard… and it had cut and defeated him in a matter of seconds. For the first time in his life, Sephiroth felt fear.

"Orlandeu… are you even a man?" He questioned, the whole group gulping and taking a step back in awe of the man. Sephiroth didn't know what to do. Maybe he was bluffing, maybe he drew it and then sheathed it again. Yes, that must've been it, he thought. Wrongly. Before he could even see it, there was another cut on the same place of the now healed wound from before.

"What's the matter? Giving up?" Orlandeu taunted, pointing his sword at him.

"Sephiroth… stand down." A voice came from nowhere. Sephiroth's face twisted into a grimace as he tried to refuse.

"You do not need to waste your time on these low lives! I can…"

"I said.. stand down!" The voice ordered as a portal cracked open a few meters in front of Orlandeu. From it appeared a beautiful silver haired woman dressed in a velvet black dress. What gave her away were her eyes. Red, but exacly the same as Sephiroth. Her features too, you could see the mind numbing resemblance.

"No… you can't be…" Joshua stuttured, he didn't do that very often, that's how bad this situation was.

"I will deal with these miscreants." The woman stated as Sephiroth landed beside her, kneeling out of dedication.

"Yes… Mother."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"Enjoy your final moments, they shall be short…"_

_"Ready to get lost on the Great Crystal again?"_

_"Rasler…"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter note:<span>**** Okay, first and before my pseudo-anouncement how was this one? I didn't even want to answer questions here, because this is the prologue to the NEXT arc, you know, after Giruvegan, so yeah...

Onto self-promotion I go!****  
><strong>**

*Cough* *Cough* Attention readers. Do you like Fire Emblem? If you don't I should just slap you out of principle… joking joking. Now, what is this about? Well, you see, here's a rundown. It all happened five days ago when I was reading about the new Fire Emblem for the 3DS.

"This looks pretty nice… oh wait, it has DLC characters? Let's see… Marth? Cool! Roy? Awesome! Leaf? Well, okay… Micaiah? Cool. Oh what's this picture here? _Ike and Elincia_… IKE and ELINCIA… **IKE AND ELINCIA****.** Must… play PoR AND RD!"

Then I went on a rampage for two days, finished both and said "Screw it, it's writing time!" and wrote a crossover between Dissidia and Fire Emblem. Well, as I say on the beginning, this story has priority (duh) so that'll only be updated once every two weeks. (The exception being this week because I already have chapter two on the way, you know how writing urges go.) So, if you like Dissidia and know about Fire Emblem, I'd direct you to it. Tell me what you think of it! Just click on the profile and go there. The tittle still needs work I know, but I'll get it changed when I can. Just a fair warning though, I "dislike" Geoffrey.

See ya next week!


	51. A Book that Spells Doom

****Author's note:****One year… damn ninjas cutting onions near me. I kid, I kid. I gotta be honest, never thought I could go this far, much less have avid readers. I already told you but again, you are the reason I got this far, and you are the reason I'll finish this no matter what, and don't worry it's as fun to me as it is to you, so, think of it as double the fun! Well, this chapter isn't very big, I'm just setting some stuff for some action packed follow ups, it has to be done.

**PS:** Why is this so small? Diablo, 'nuff said ( I also mght have spent too much time on writting my other fic since I updated it twice in a week... I'll go hide now).

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Fifty-One**

****A Book that Spells Doom****

* * *

><p>"Hey! Sleepy head! We're here!" Ashe heard ending the first blissful sleep she had had in almost a year.<p>

"_Did I… really sleep soundly? How could I? With all of this happening?"_ She interrogated herself as she opened her eyes.

"You're welcome." Vaan quipped as if he was reading her mind. "You're also welcome for the blanket, now, _Your Majesty_, hurry it up okay?" His tone was too playful for Ashe's taste. Did he forget the fact that he was a wanted criminal and that SHE was the one standing between him and the gallows? "Didn't forget that Ashe, now get moving."

"_How does he do that…?"_

"Your face." He joked as he opened the hatch. "Your majesty, if you please…" He mocked as he bowed and gestured her to go first.

Beaten, Ashe decided not to say anything more and grabbed the Treaty Blade, strapped it on her back and gracefully descended to the outside.

"Well, it is my turn to be of use." She muttered as Vaan closed the ship's hatch. She closed her eyes and exhaled, Mist whirling around her body as the constellation of Aries appeared on her right hand. "Open! The gate of Aries! From the cradle of hellfire, I summon thee… Belias, the Gigas!" As she chanted the constellation from her hand began burning in a torrent of hellfire and from the ground came the dark scion of the house of Aries, Belias. Clad in red fur that resembled wool, two heads, on its torso and one on top, the top one bearing the horns of a ram the creature stood on two hoofs, the superior limbs being giant, muscled clawed arms, the right one holding a crimson fan-like object as a weapon. "Gate of Gigas! I, who wield the Gigas itself command you! Grant us passage!" And just like that, as the monster and his summoner had ordered, the gate that led seemingly nowhere opened to reveal the millenary city.

"It's as if time has frozen…" Ashe commented, gapping yet again as she walked through the magical gate, starting at the new space that surrounded her.

"Aye, didn't change on bit." Vaan agreed, putting his hands behind his head and observing Giruvegan.

Still hidden on its shroud of Mist, the ancient structure maintained its silent beauty. The one path to the inside, the azure crystal incrusted bridge that went through countless arcs as they stretched through the fog, finally leading into the inside of the massive city that was the bridge to the realm of the Occuria… that did taint the beauty of the city, at least on the minds of the scarce few that had met Ivalice's oppressive "gods". Still, they weren't there to relieve the scenery, without much contemplation, they strode forwards across the countless arcs, strangely unopposed by any monsters, something they attributed to the fact that they were "guests" if you could say that. Just as the walk was getting too boring for Vaan's mind, which was completely off-topic by the way, he didn't want to think too much for now, considering he was going to talk with The Riddle: God Version, he had to keep his head clean, he found himself walking towards the ever approaching gate to the city. This would have been a joyful time indeed if there wasn't something at the front of the gate, something that as the distance closed turned into someone. As Ashe closed in on the light-strangely blue haired person she could not help but wonder who she was, but Vaan was thinking something else entirely. As he closed in he could see her white corset with a black interior, her violet cloth shoulderguards, violet knee-length samurai reminiscent pants that, as her violet boots were adorned in pink and dark blue ribbons. But, the one thing that really made him distinguish the woman was her unique, rather large katana on her left hip as she read a large book on her right hand.

"Illua… what do you want?" The sky pirate spat in a very uncharacteristic hateful tone, one that Ashe took note quickly, drawing her two handed sword.

"Oh… so quick?" Illua mocked, not even sparing them a look before she closed her book and weaved her hand on her sky-blue hair. "And I am surprised as well. I would have expected the whole party being here. Why only the pirate, your highness?"

Ashe stumbled at the question, but thankfully she didn't have to answer.

"Just a coincidence, I was sleeping on the ship she stole." Vaan said, stepping in between the women.

"Oh, is that right? Well, now that I've assessed that you're no threat, I invite you to join with us at the Great Crystal. We're all so eager to _discus._ Hohoho." She said, laughing as she opened her book, vanishing into a rift that came from it. "Meet us at where Ultima was sealed, you shall see a new entrance to out paradise. Oh and… Enjoy your freedom's final moments… they will be short."

"Was that…"

"The one me and Frimelda met? Yes." Vaan answered plainly. "Now, I want you to know this Ashe. I think it's impossible for this NOT to be a trap. I am just making sure you want to go through with this."

"I…" She wasn't even sure anymore… why? "I have to meet Rasler once more. I don't need you to come!" She exclaimed as she walked swiftly into the gate.

"Forget I asked!" Vaan shouted back as he followed her.

* * *

><p>"You're actually going to bet on this?" Ryu asked as he took his hand to his face.<p>

"Of course! It's a winning bet, partner! Hiryu here NEVER let us down!" His blonde partner assured as he patted the Strider on the back.

"You clearly have never seen Volke in action." Ike replied as he did the same on the assassin's back.

"Just be sure to have payment ready. Twenty thousand if I win, twelve if I lose." The brown haired man told Ike as he put on his red mask.

"Considering we bet fifty thousand… isn't that a little… nevermind, sometimes I forget how harsh you can be Volke." Ike lamented.

"It's to cover my flawless services." Volke answered.

"You seem to talk a lot for someone who hasn't shown any skill as of yet." Hiryu told him, a bit annoyed by Volke's confidence.

"Well, I did figure out that that box is moving closer and closer. Why don't you stop using that trick? Solid." Volke stated as he looked at a nearby cardboard box, one that suddenly gained an exclamation point on top.

"Heh, should have guessed I wouldn't be able to do my entrance on you." The master of espionage known as Solid Snake commented as he discarded his cardboard box. "Been a while… Ike."

"Last time was at that tournament… Smash Brothers." Ike agreed. "That was what? Two hundred years ago? Next one should be soon."

"Agreed, still, what did you do with the prize money?" He questioned.

"He ate… a lot." The green haired woman said in a disappointed tone.

"Sorry to hear that Elincia… did he at least…"

"I had to take a hold of the money and buy an new house before he ate the rest of the money, figuratively speaking of course. Still, after winning one BILLION gil I expected more than… a house that I had to buy myself. A trip, A VOLUNTARY PRESENT… anything really."

"Sometimes I ask myself how you're not single." Snake told Ike.

"Even I do." Elincia mumbled.

"HEY!" Ike exclaimed before changing the subject since this wasn't going particularly well. "Anyway, what are you doing here Snake?"

"I called him, I'll take you on, on that bet." The Grim Reaper stated.

"Find enemy commanders, choke some, get valuable information for us or for the kid's down below and whoever gets the better batch, as judged by that guy wins. Honestly, this is free cash." Snake said smugly. "Ready to…" As he was about to say that he looked around to see that Volke had just vanished and Strider was already ridding on a metal tiger to the outside. "Cheating bastards…"

* * *

><p>"NEKU! I can't believe you let them go alone!" Shiki protested as she followed the orange haired "boy".<p>

"I didn't." Neku replied, raising a pin. "Shelke. Tell me when they land, okay?" he asked of the orange haired woman.

"Fine. Next time you have a teleporter though, please tell us." Shelke said, almost too casual about it.

"Fine." Neku replied, putting on his headphones and shaking his head to the beat as he did.

* * *

><p>"Yo Shin! How does it feel?" Zack asked out of nowhere, picking the man's curiosity. "You know, it feels like forever since you actually went out without Terra babysitting you."<p>

"That's because it HAS been forever. And it's not babysitting!" The swordsman replied harshly.

"Yeah, you're right… it's more like dating!" The soldier quipped, knowing the repercussions that would cause.

"Stardust… take that guy out of the sky." His voice was low and filled with killing intent.

"Hey! Wait a sec!" Apparently he didn't account for everything, seeing how he had to forcefully dodge the bird by doing a barrel roll. Considering how he had rode motorbikes all his life, even flown helicopters, the Rheairds were just a step up from that. "Aren't you overreacting just a bit?"

"You really dug your own grave here Zack, just hope you have someone to catch you when you fall." Aqua said, distressed at how far he took his jokes.

"Really? Help me out here Aqua!" He screamed as he dodged the furious lunges.

"You're on your own spikes!" She joked as she balanced her head on her hands to better enjoy the show.

"Some girlfriend you turned out to… WHOA! Be careful with that beak… MY FACE! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE! THE WOMEN OF THE WORLD WILL WEEP!" It was just getting ridiculous now, not that anyone mattered, it was quite the show.

* * *

><p>"How goes the fight?" An ethereal voice asked the ones at Pandemonium City.<p>

"Not as well as we reported to you last time, Archangel." Leo told the man in shining white armor that had materialized behind him, it's head covered with a white cowl and from it's shoulderplates strings of energy sprung from each hole, an unconventional style of wings to say the least, but they go the job done. Not a god General, instead this one was the leader of the Heaven's Vanguard. Some say it's the same thing with different names, but whatever. "The victory was too easy, we fear that they might be stalling."

"Truly it was… If so I'll go back to heaven and inform God, hold them until my return. Here is some Whisperweed, keep me informed." He told the former General of the Empire as he turned his back on him, transforming into what looked like blue flames and surging upwards.

"Not even he knows huh?" Ike mumbled. "Still, he went through worse. We all did before coming here… it's just like old times!"

"Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing…"

* * *

><p>"Why do you want to speak with Naminé?" Celes asked her disabled friend as she pushed her chair towards the girl's room. "You know, I WAS your best friend the last time I checked."<p>

"I promised a person I wouldn't tell anyone I didn't need… But since it's you, I guess it's alright. Reach for my pouch." Terra agreed, Celes was her best friend. The general did so and grabbed the paper. At first she thought it strange for Terra to get a letter, then she saw the sender.

"This can't be…" She gasped, opening the letter and taking in every bit of it. "Memoria Magus? Oh, Naminé. But Terra, wasn't your other side just a manifestation of your esper blood?" She asked, confused.

"I also thought about it like that…" She whispered, throwing what could be described as a "mental glare" to her other side.

"_Hey, don't look at me! I got nothing!"_ Even her mentioned side was confused. _"Just ask Picasso junior."_

"Heck, not even she knows." She told Celes.

"Well, we're about to find out. Naminé?" Celes called, knocking on the door. After a bit of ruffling they were answered as a spiky haired Cloud junior opened the door slightly, as if he was hiding something. "Am… are we interrupting something."

"Nope." A raven haired girl assured as she opened the door to its full extent. Inside, Naminé painted a portrait of Xion, Roxas and amazingly, herself, even though she had no model to go through.

"That is quite amazing." Terra complimented, flashing a smile that flustered the small girl.

"Thank you…" She whispered back. "But... with me… what do you want?"

"Well… I have to believe that there might be a way for us to gain an advantage if I find some of the hidden memories on my subconscious, could you try and have a look?" She asked, incurring the wrath of the boy beside her.

"All you do is ask ask ask! Do you look at Naminé as anything other than a tool? She didn't rest ever since she got into your damned group. Yeah, she told me everything, why don't you go…" the outburst could only be stopped by the one that it was meant to defend.

"Don't… Roxas. I never felt so… wanted. Lie her down here please." Well that was a surprise for the boy, who just grumbled and let them pass.

"You should rest you know?" he told her.

"Promise I will." She replied as Terra was laid down in front of her. "Now, I believe that isn't the side you want me to visit, is it?" Terra nodded, surprised before closing her eyes and letting her take over, her hue of hair turning green.

"Perceptive. Well, let's get this crap over with." Terra's esper side demanded.

"Alrighty." Naminé replied with a smile, snapping her finger and closing her eyes as Terra drifted to sleep.

* * *

><p>"Where the hell are we?" Terra asked annoyed as both her, her human side and Naminé found themselves in the middle of a battlefield.<p>

"I remember this… at Memoria… the war of the Magi!" Terra exclaimed as she remembered what they had been shown. "This memory was mine? But that's impossible, this was over a thousand years ago!"

"Let's explore a bit." Naminé suggested as they wandered through the waging battle. None of the combatants couldn't see them apparently as they walked around aimlessly, looking for clues.

"This seems so familiar…" Terra's esper side commented as she saw Bahamut in the distance, destroying an enemy platoon.

"Bahamut is taking the race to the throne seriously, isn't he?" Terra looked to her side to see a younger version of her father uttering those words. She was not shocked as she had seen in that flashback that her father was alive during the war. What completely blew her mind was what she heard next.

"Not like I'm gonna let him win just out of effort. Maybe I'll let him stay as captain of the guard or something." That voice… who could it be? It was so familiar, no, familiar didn't even BEGIN to describe what that voice felt like.

"**WHAT. THE. HELL!**" Terra's esper side screamed as she saw the source.

* * *

><p>The descent on Giruvegan was peaceful… way too peaceful. It was a trap, both of the knew it, and none of them knew how they were gonna get out of it. Following their instincts seemed to be the only way at this point. Still, they were still halfway through and well, they needed to talk, it was getting boring, that and Ashe had a question.<p>

"Vaan… Can I ask you something slightly personal?" The queen asked the pirate.

"Might as well, walking in silence is getting awkward." He replied absentmindedly.

"Weren't you dating Penelo? Why were you sleeping alone in the ship?" She asked, se found it hard to believe a person who loved another would leave him all alone in a ship away from her.

"Funny you used the past tense. Because that's exactly it, that crush lasted not even a year. Well, I don't know about her, but for me it did." He said that way too casually for Ashe's tastes.

"So you just dumped her?" She exclaimed, no man should ever do that because "the crush" was over.

"Yeah, I mean, if I didn't like her, why should I be dating her?" Well, it made sense but. "Look Ashe, if you had one right now, and he was the most amazing thing in existence, would you date your brother?"

"What? NO!" She exclaimed coiling back in disgust.

"Then you know how I feel. Penelo… I love her, but as a sister, we've been together for too long for me to get into a relationship with her, it just… feels WRONG, if you know what I'm saying." You could tell Vaan didn't like speaking about it, but hell, this was going his way.

"...How did she take it?" Ashe asked. Why was she so vehement on knowing what happened? It was like se NEEDED to know.

"Surprisingly well, she told me she knew from the start but tried anyways. We still maintained our friendship and all as you see. Nevermind that, why are you so curious about that girly?" The sudden change of tone by the pirate shocked Ashelia whose cheeks erupted in a flare of red.

"I was J-just passing t-the time!" She stuttered for unknown reason to her.

"Yeah… riiiiiiight. Well, wanna get lost on the Great Crystal again?" He asked cheerfully as they reached what was the entrance to the pathway to the Occuria's realm.

"Don't take me lightly." She replied, having memorized the path. "Just follow me."

* * *

><p>"<em>Too easy. How can they not see a cardboard <em>_box moving__ is rea__lly beyond me but I'll take it."_ Snake told himself as he made his way inside a cave he had seen a black cloaked man in sunglasses enter, if he wasn't mistaken, he was the one overseeing the fight. "_What was his name… Alberto Whiskers? Not that's ridiculous__, guess I'll have too…"_ Before he could even complete the thought a familiar ring on his codec.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"Snake!" The familiar voice greeted.

"Otacon! What are you calling me for?" The spy asked curiously.

"Plot convenience…. I mean, intuition!" The scientist and longtime friend replied. "I've been watching your movements from the mini camera on your bandana, in case you're wondering, that is Albert Wesker. He's a quite dangerous fellow." He informed.

"Yeah, the T-virus guy huh? Well, no problem, it's not like he can raise zombies in hell." He replied, remembering the files he looked at sometimes in his spare time.

"I wouldn't say that Snake. Wesker, while not the winner of the last tournament, was the MVP on Marvel versus Capcom. His team just sucked." His friend told him.

"Huh, interesting… guess I'll just, sneak my way in." And he started to move the box.

"Huh, Snake, how does that work?" He asked after so many years.

"I don't know Otacon… I don't know." He answered truthfully.

"So, how long does it take?" A nameless man asked as snake got a clear shot of the hideout.

"An underground facility? They are going to use machines?" Snake mumbled as he watched the war machines pilling up on every corner.

"When this portal opens… I'll become a god." Wesker said in a maniacal tone.

"I don't like the sound of this…" Snake mumbled, wondering if he should interfere. Just then, he saw the brown haired Strider run by, his eye striding on the box for just a second, Snake knew it was a sign. "Get the book it is…"

"Wesker!" Hiryu called as he landed in front of the man. "What are you scheming now?"

"Well well, I've been waiting too long for this." Wesker jumped right onto business, taking off his glasses to reveal his blood red eyes. "Seven minutes, seven minutes is all I have to spare to torture you!"

"You are still hurt of that tournament? Such pitiful pride." Strider mocked as he saw Snake etch closer. "Come." He demanded, teleporting, the black clad man doing the same.

"You will not survive!" They were literally teleporting everywhere, and because of that, the minions didn't see Snake snatch the book. Expect for…

"Brother, so predictable." A blonde man mocked as he kicked the box out of the top.

"Liquid!" Solid blurted at the sight.

"Snake?" Otacon called. "SNAKE? SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!" Snake's codec had just fallen to the ground and lost frequency.

It all seemed lost before 90% of the room dropped dead, or "even deader".

"Was just waiting for the right opportunity." Volke explained as he let Liquid escape. "Now they'll fear us when he tells them what happened."

"Damn inferior beings!" Wesker sneered before hearing a very familiar sound.

"Formation… Ouroborus!" Strider commanded as two satellites commenced hovering around of him. "Give it up Wesker, there's no X-factor in the real world!"

"You…" Snake said, putting cuffs on the now grounded scientist. "Have a lot of explaining to do."

"Fools, can't you see what that book is? That should be more than enough!" Wesker shouted in anger. "Not that you can do anything, there are not just one or two of these, there are thousands!" He exclaimed, having to be knocked out to shut up.

"Now that's a sore loser." Snake chuckled as he opened the book. "Well shit…" He quickly reached for his codec and dialed the frequency for Otacon, but he missed one button.

"Otacon!" Shiki's robot called.

"Solid Snake?" She answered confused.

"Damn… must have gotten the wrong frequency. Wait, this is perfect! Girly, I know who's behind the whole in Hell, listen well…" Snake's voice told her, catching Neku's attention.

* * *

><p>"I should have known!" Neku shouted before being cut off by the perfect convenience.<p>

"They have landed." Shelke told them.

"Finally! Shiki, grab my hand!" Neku demanded as he brought up a pin.

"Let's go!" She exclaimed as she did, both of them immediately disappearing

* * *

><p>.<p>

The blue flame had entered the halls of God, surprising the deity.

"Back so soon Tyrael?" God asked the seraph.

"Yes, I'm afraid we only defeated a decoy… we have no knowledge of their plans or even about the hole." The angel lamented, bowing his head in shame.

"It is not any body's fault. Let's just wait for a sign…" And the sign came rushing through the door with his head permanently looking at the ground as he wheezed.

"Snake found it… the reason! They have… Grimoires of the Rift… PLURAL!" Otacon wheezed in the midst of his breaths.

"That's absurd, Grimoires cannot bend the barrier between the otherworld and the normal world!" Tyrael countered.

"No… that is not entirely true. If I wished, I could use a Grimoire to send anyone to a specific location… but for that you would have to have power over that world, the only places with lesser gods are…" God deduced.

"Ivalice and Valhalla! THE OCCURIA AND ETRO!" Tyrael shouted as it dawned to him.

* * *

><p>"Well, they got in already…" Sora commented as he saw the open door to Giruvegan in front of him.<p>

"YOU DON'T SAY!" Zack shouted. He was in a very bad mood, his hair ruffled and full of feathers, his face full of scratches and a broken pride.

"Well, stay here Stardust. I'll be back soon." Shin told the bird as he petted her, she cuddling to him in public for the first time.

"Shouldn't you two hate each other?" Luso asked confused. The bird and the man shrugged at the same time, that was too much of wavelength compatibility for them to have… Just then, a black portal thunder fell on their left and revealed the two Reapers.

"Everyone… inside are the ones that made this all possible. Mercy is too good for them…" Neku stated darkly, everyone gasping before cringing their teeth in determination.

There were no words to describe this quite as: Shit is about to go down.

* * *

><p>"Well, what did you think?" Lezard asked Jenova as she passed near him on a hallway inside Valhalla. "Does my manufactured body suit you?"<p>

"Perfectly…" She hissed gleefully.

They had just teleported into the place where Ultima had been seen and there was just one person there to meet them.

"Rasler…" Ashe whispered but she felt different… was this… doubt?

"Come to me… my beloved."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"That is not for you to decide!"_

_"Why can't you see my way is just?"_

_"Well I'll be damned, I get to punch a god in the face? SWEET!_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****: Now, why did I leave Noctis and Reks out of this? Well, you know that I can be a prick and I tend to exercise on that right. You'll see them "soon" until then, you can already see that stuff is gonna blow and Jecht will have way too much fun when that happens. I didn't LIKE having to do a chapter this small, but heck, the anniversary was today and Diablo has been taking up WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much of my time… Yeah.

**PS:** I'll try to give you a new chapter this weekend, since this was so small, but no promises, okay?

**PSS:** Also, I dare you to try and guess what Terra just saw, I double dare you... what does this giant blue buttton do?


	52. Meaning of Birth: The Wind and The Sand

****Author's note:****I won't sugarcoat it, I know my last chapter sucked, hard, and because of that, well, here's one which I'm actually proud off, it's been almost ten chapters since I made one who I truly WAS proud, and here it is, enjoy!

**PS:** If anyone of you played ToA, I dare you to find the little references.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Fifty-Two**

****Meaning of Birth: The Wind and The Sand****

* * *

><p>"Just wait a sec." Vaan intervened as soon as he noticed the lack of determination on his side.<p>

"Vaan, you promised…" Ashe told him disappointed.

"I promised I would stand by your decision but you're not actually going to decide without knowing exactly what his going to happen, now are you?" He twisted his own words around but Ashe had to agree with that logic, walking into an agreement without any knowledge of it was foolish and rash. "Thought so, so… Rasler, did you just lower your head and let them order you around or were you actually man enough to ask what they were going to do?" He asked his regal lookalike.

Rasler's face twisted for a second but he did his best to keep his calm and collected exterior as he replied. "I don't believe that someone with your lack of comprehension about politics will ever understand." He replied as he tried to dismiss the matter.

"So you're one of those who pull the "you're not a noble you can't understand card"? I thought you were different from the others, well, I guess that you either tricked your wife or her memories and emotions blinded her, either way you're not explaining it to ME, you're explaining it to HER, and she's the one calling the shots." All of his words were filled with venom, one that seemed to slip into Rasler's veins as another grimace took over his facial features.

"I… suppose I can enlighten you." He took a deep breath and wondered if they were going to accept his "answer". "The Occuria mean to take over Ivalice without anyone ever noticing. The only way to do that would be nethecite as you think, but due to the amount of eons needed to create a stable mass like the Sun Cryst they decided to go with another route, one considerably easier at that." He stopped there and secretly hoped that he did not need to elaborate, but it wasn't Vaan who crushed his hopes.

"Rasler… what is it?" His wife-in-life asked preoccupied.

"…Direct influence over world leaders." Rasler put bluntly.

"They want to be our council?" Ashe asked in hopes of it not being what she hoped.

"They want to be with you the same way they were with Cid and Vayne." He finally answered, his face twisting as Vaan's fist plunged into his cheek and set him hurling five meters away. He didn't even see the man coming.

"So, you're basically saying you want to get your wife and any person with some kind of power to be mind-controlled to prevent wars?" He asked as he trudged slowly towards the man. Ashe was too shocked to say anything. She would have taken it better if he said she had to die!

"She would only be…" Rasler begun before getting punched again.

"Now you're just lying to yourself! You know how ruthless they are, it would only take ONE disagreement to turn "influencing" into full on mind-control!" Vaan insisted, grabbing him by his white collar. "And what are YOU going to do when that happens? Because it WILL! Do you think Ashe is just going to stand and watch?" He asked as he furiously shook the rightful king of Dalmasca.

"She shouldn't… its better not to resist…" He mumbled weakly. It was clear that even he had doubts, but why would he obey the Occuria if he had doubts himself?

"What was that? Speak up!" Vaan shouted, shaking him even more. What was this side of Vaan, Ashe wondered, just what had sent him over the edge like this?

"Humanity needs a ruler! We'll just destroy ourselves without one! If we must submit ourselves in order to live and prosper, so be it!" He exclaimed as he punched Vaan right back.

"That is not for you to decide!" Vaan shouted back, pulling back his arm for another punch before his queen put herself on the middle of the two.

"Stop! It's an order!" She demanded Vaan who stopped in his tracks with a dumbfounded look.

"Ashe, he just spilled the beans, are you really going to go along with this?" He asked confused.

"I don't know, but you promised it to MY decision, so can you please back away? I'll talk to the Occuria and figure out a way." She told him, trying to break out the fight before weapons became involved. It SEEMED to work.

"Tch, fine. I did say I never break my promises. But I warn you Ashe…" Vaan told her as he passed by her side. "Never trust…"

"An Occuria, I kn-"She gasped as she felt her body become limb and her vision go black, falling into the ground motionless.

"A sky pirate." Vaan finished. He had just slammed both his hands onto the back of Ashe's neck, knocking her out immediately. He hated to have to hurt her, but it was the best he could do for now.

"I figured you would have no honor, a criminal is never to be trusted, she should have known that… Well, at least she'll not weep when I sever that lying tongue of yours!" The prince consort was BURNING inside with rage as he reached for his weapon. Vaan's newfound smirk only added to that hatred.

"I didn't lie Rasler, you see, two years ago, just before we went to face Feolthanos I did what I never thought I'd do. I got on my knees and promised Ashe I would protect her. She almost didn't believe I was the same rascal she met two years back." He smiled as he drew his Mythril Blade. "You understand now? I'd be breaking one of my promises regardless, so I decided to break the one that would get her a fate worse than death!" He shouted, beginning to shine in a pale golden light. "Licenses Mastered… Durandal!" He chanted as all the weapons he had ready to summon evolved into their greatest form. "Let's decide this like men, noble boy!"

"You will never understand!" Rasler screamed as he lunged. "The roles we play, they might be wearying, they might shackle our every being, but it's for the greater good, LIFE!"

"You're right… I'll never understand!"

* * *

><p>"Those two… are so interesting to watch." Illua commented as she chuckled at the top of the Occuria's realm.<p>

"Like Wind and Sand of the desert they are. They seek the same goal sometimes, they fly together. But, the wind is free and ephemeral, it may end at any moment but it has the ability to move on its own. The sand can only be moved by others, but it is near eternal, it exchanges freedom for longevity." A transparent being said from behind the trio of men. "Wind is worthless to the world, controlled it cannot be. Sand is stability, sand is truth."

"Exactly, Gerun. And Sand… can be stepped on." Vayne Solidor said, clutching his hand.

"Hum… Trespassers." Gerun said simply. "Eliminate them swiftly." Gerun ordered as he vanished.

"I would have already guessed that those thorns would find their way into my garden… Let us go." Vayne told the people in armor behind him.

"The boy in the red cap is mine." Illua stated.

"R-Ramza? Oh how I've waited FOR THIS!" Delita drew his sword impulsively. "Today I show you who was TRULY right!"

* * *

><p>"Jecht, Kuja, Gabranth, how did you not know who revived you?" Shin asked as they ran down the city, slightly distrusting the crowd.<p>

"Simple, it has blonde hair and is about this tall." Jecht spat back as he lowered his hand quite a bit.

"Oh, I feel retarded now…" Shin mumbled as he remembered Naminé.

"Well, at least you're not my son. If you were… hell, you'd be crying probably." He replied with a smirk.

"Father of the year right there! I wonder why Tidus ever says that you're bellow crap." Sora said full of sarcasm.

"That's because he is a pu- Why hello there control-freak-emperor-version-two." Jecht said, alerting the others for the portal that had just opened in front of them, Vayne, Illua and a restless Delita coming out.

"Well-mannered as always I see." Vayne said with a small tint of disgust. "And it's truly marvelous to see the dog that an away from his master, even after said master had forgiven him for his previous transgression." His disgust had taken to a whole different level when he saw Gabranth. "Fortunately I will not have to deal with such a cur, come now my Magisters." He called, from the portal emerging three similarly armored persons, the only real difference being their helms.

"Ghis… Bergan… Drace?" Gabranth held no surprise for the first two Magisters but the last one left him in confusion, expect he clearly noticed the lack of emotion on them, Ghis would undoubtedly already be blabbering so he knew… "You talk so highly of yourself but all I see is a pitiful man who hides behind puppets bound to his will. Such a cur is unfit for leadership, I regret nothing of my betrayal for while Judge Magister Gabranth followed his owner blindly, Noah fon Ronsenburg saw through your true self and refuses to bow down to such a ravenous hyena!" He exclaimed as he drew both his blades. "Go now, I shall hold them off!"

"You kidding me? We'll handle Illua for you!" Luso told the Judge as Marche and Adele nodded.

"The strive for spotlight… sorry but I must take it from you, I shall rid ourselves of that clown in golden armor." Kuja continued.

"Delita and I have unfinished business… Aya, take care of Bergan." Ramza told her as he slowly made his way towards the brown haired man, who did the same.

"I won't hurt a woman, but we'll free her." Edge nodded as he looked up to the only female Judge.

"I believe… that leaves you and me." Gabranth said in a rare tone of satisfaction as he turned to Vayne. "The rest of you, go! The Occuria's reign must end today!"

"I shall not…" Vayne begun but was forced to grab the Chaos Blade to survive the cut. "You try to cut down your emperor again…"

"The time for talk… IS OVER! Destruction!" The judge exclaimed, joining both his swords and cutting through space itself to send shockwaves on the former monarch's direction.

* * *

><p><span>Memories:<span>

"Do… do you know what is that?" Terra asked her esper side completely bewildered. What they were seeing was… her. Same body, height, eyes, everything, the only part that differed was the green hair and the lack of ponytail coupled with armor. In short, they were seeing her esper side one thousand years in the past. This would explain why she had such memories but… what was SHE doing one thousand years back?

"Tina, I've been meaning to ask, do you trust Kayser?" Maduin asked the lookalike that apparently had another name.

"Not one bit, he's using us, I can tell." The girl replied.

"Wait a minute…is she human or esper?" Terra's esper side wondered. "We should be the first hybrid… and by her looks, she's human."

"You forgot about how espers of great power have human forms." Terra replied, now thinking on a more logical way. "And she DID say she was going for the throne with Bahamut… Wait! Bahamut told Shin that there were things he couldn't tell us no matter what!"

"Maybe he can say something if we REALLY push it!" The esper replied excitedly.

"Hum… you might want to look at this." Naminé said sheepishly.

"Well now, which one of you dirty human's first?" Well, that was kind of a shock. The esper hated humans and was a friend of someone who married one?

"M-monster! You destroyed Doma's entire regiment!" The commander of that army, which was by the way almost wetting his pants, screamed against the duo.

"Tsk, hypocrites. It's not like you wouldn't do the same. Oh wait… you did." Tina answered with a disinterested tone. "Pray to your gods if you have them, because I'm hungry and you're the last regiment here. If any of you survive, tell the Narshean Empire they're next." As she walked alone towards the regiment she slowly began to change, not surprisingly taking the same form Terra took while she activated her trance. This raised an inhuman amount of questions, but Terra was more worried with what was going to happen next.

"I don't want to see it! It reminds me too much of myself!" She exclaimed, covering her eyes.

"Well, we can't have that, now can we? Memory girl, can you fast forward?" She surprisingly asked Naminé. Missing the action, her?

"I can take you to your next important one…" Naminé told her as she snapped her finger once again.

They were now on a clearing that seemed to be near a town, human or esper they could not say, only that it seemed to be, ironically, more advanced that their time's. Maybe because the war set humanity back technologically as their machines probably ran on magic. What was important at the moment however was that Tina and Maduin were sitting beside a campfire with a frown on both their faces. Maybe they had been fighting. Suddenly, as Terra was munching down on a piece of cooked meat from a nearby animal, a lone rock flew towards the female espers head, not even making her flinch as she calmly looked from where it came. It was a small human child… no more than ten.

"No…" Terra whispered as she covered her mouth.

"Tsk… even the kids?" Tina wondered, giving the kid one straight look. He was crying. "Hey kid, what do you think you're doing?" She asked as she picked up the rock.

"G-give me back my dad!" He shouted from the distance in-between sobs. Maduin was visibly distressed by the situation but Tina's face didn't even move.

"You still have a mother?" She asked calmly.

"Tina!" Maduin exclaimed. "It's just a child!" By this point Terra was afraid of the memories. All she had seen of the woman was violence.

"Y-yeah…" The boy replied, unsure why she needed to do that.

"Then you're still not at my point… that's your city isn't it?" The boy nodded at the stranger's question. "When it burns to the ground, along with everyone you knew as you grew up, you can complain to me. And even then, you caused this war, so I really don't know…"

"You have no… mommy?" The boy asked, etching closer to them. "Why did they make your town go away?" At this point Tina got up and changed into her esper form.

"Because of this." She said, meaning herself.

"What do you mean? You're just glowy!" He was just about to reach the campfire now, and while Maduin was impressed, Tina was annoyed.

"We're not the same race, YOU treat us like monsters and then have the NERVE to kill us for our magic. Just because you want it for yourselves… we tried to share but NO you had to have it all didn't you?" She shouted, scaring the small kid to death, but he did not move.

"… I'm sorry…" The boy whispered.

"What?" Tina was taken aback by the statement.

"I-I overheard a conversation between mom and dad… I thought it was about hunting… until I heard about houses… now I understand. I should be the one to be sorry, not you!" That was awfully dark for someone his age, but it did stir up something inside Tina, who closed her eyes and sat back down in her human form.

"There's nothing to be sorry for. This is a war, none of us is right, the one who wins will be considered right… For now, we just fight to survive. The fact that we don't do the same to you is just because we have morality holding us back." She told the kid. "Now, off you go, don't tell anyone we're here though, they might make the wrong decision."

The boy nodded and began running back to the city, stopping and wiping of his tears. "You know Lady… you're not bad... we are." He admitted before continuing to run to the city.

"You don't need to tell me twice…"She replied in a disinterested tone but she was actually completely dumbfounded a human could agree with her.

"You're rethinking the whole "humanity is worthless" argument, aren't you?" Maduin asked with a smile on his face. Tina groaned but had no argument against it. "Good, I thought I had just lost my sister to rage." He said as he laughed.

"Sister? Well, that explains the resemblance at least…" Naminé pointed out, but even she knew what was really bothering them was…

"How can I remember this? Hell, I even remember things months after we were born! We can't have been here!" Terra's other side exclaimed, punching the ground, seemingly causing a quake.

"What was that?" Maduin exclaimed, preoccupied.

"Wait, they can hear us? Terra asked, distressed at being found inside their memories.

"No, look!" Naminé exclaimed as she pointed at a giant beast entering the town.

"Humbaba…" Terra muttered.

"DAMNIT!" Tina blared from nowhere, surprising even her brother when she shot towards the town at a blinding speed.

"Just what is she thinking?" Maduin wondered as he chased after her. "Did that kid really have so much influence on her?"

* * *

><p>"Why can't you see that my way is just?" Rasler shouted, dodging Vaan's blade and counter-attacking with a swipe of his own.<p>

"If being a prisoner that doesn't know he is one is justice… Then I'm glad I'm a criminal!" The sky pirate answered, dismissing the Durandal and summoning the Zodiac spear as he spun it, pushing the prince away with the last strike. "And I'll be damned if I let anyone abide by that law!"

"As you said… that is not for you to decide!" Rasler exclaimed back, summoning a bow and raining arrows upon Vaan.

"Well, it's not for the Occuria to decide, that's for sure! Let's roll! CATACLYSM!" Vaan shouted as he created a glyph beneath him and punched it, raising giant boulders from the in a line, blocking the arrows and making Rasler take to the sky.

"So blind…" He muttered as ice formed around him, a glyph appearing just in front. "Be frozen! WHITEOUT!" He exclaimed as he punched through the glyph, surrounding himself in ice, rushing at Vaan with his fist.

"Two can play at that game… Burn up! INFERNO!" He did the same, but with fire. The two clashed and were sent backwards, but recovered at the same time ad created slightly different glyphs in the ground before punching them.

"CATCLYSM!"

"Melt! ERUPTION!"

True to its name, Rasler created pillars of magma that clashed with the rocks. They cancelled eachother but they were already reading another.

"Rain down! Torrent!"

"Purge! Ark Blast!"

They both screamed again, calling down water and thunder from above, but they weren't done yet, oh no.

"Asunder! WINDBURST!"

"Sweep! SANDSPIRAL!"

Different names and image, same effect, they both created tornados that were pulling them in. Thus making it too difficult to escape the falling danger from their previous attacks. They both only saw one solution, one that they thought would surprise the other one but considering what happened up until now…

"INFERNO!"

"WHITEOUT!"

They both decided to burst out of the tornados by force, trying to surprise the other with a counter, but they ended up clashing again, switching to swords as their momentum stopped as they clashed. They began struggling for power in the middle of the circle, equally matched in strength and resilience.

"Will you stop… copying me!" Rasler shouted, pushing back and pulling out a poleaxe to slash at the man.

"I should be asking you that!" Vaan replied, the Zodiac Spear finding the poleaxe. "This is so ironic, we're like replicas fighting!" Vaan mused as his axe collided with Rasler's mace and his katana with the prince's ninja sword, even his staff was met with a pole.

"Don't compare me with people like you!" Rasler shouted, jumping back and shooting his bow, only to be met by Vaan's gun. "People that would discard life for freedom are incomprehensible! What good is freedom for the dead?"

"What good is life without freedom?" Vaan asked as they clashed with their only non-opposing weapon, the sword. "And can't you have both?"

"As long as the Occuria exist, no!" Rasler answered, in his eyes, after what he had seen the Occuria do, transcend life and death, there was no escaping from them.

"Oh… Then…" Vaan began, jumping back as the Mist of the crystal was drawn towards him. "I'll just make them… disappear!" The Mist started to congregate around Vaan and Rasler knew what was coming, beginning to prepare a counter.

"Red…" Vaan begun.

"Spiral!" Rasler finished.

Contrary to the normal version, both man controlled the tentacles to fire head on against eachother. Not surprisingly, they were equally matched.

"With that kind of power you'll never win!" Rasler replied, pushing his beam with such power that it was burning Vaan's hair with its proximity.

"But I'm FREE to try! White… WHORL!" He stated as he jumped upwards, his body glimmering as he called forth massive torrents of wind that ended up creating the giant tornado around himself that threatened to engulf his opponent. For some reason the queen was not sucked in but instead lightly thrown against the wall.

"I won't let you drag us all down with you! Sand Tempest!" And once again equal powers clashed, only this time, no matter how hard he tried he couldn't gain the advantage. _"Why? He was losing just a minute ago!"_He then realized something. _"Was he… holding back?"_

"You finally noticed? Don't make me kill you! Just give it up!" Vaan shouted as he dispelled the tornado, two giant molten balls of fire appearing on his hands.

"Like I would accept any mercy from you!" Two icy spheres appeared around Rasler's hands as he spat it.

"You still don't know just how far I am from you?" Vaan shouted. "Let me show you just how outmatched you are!" Vaan wanted to sound threatening but in his mind he could only tell himself NOT to kill him, he wouldn't be able to take the consequences. "Pyroclasm!"

"Permafrost!"

As they both hurled their respective spheres Rasler could only watch as his vanished into the wind and Vaan's exploded on the ground two meters away from him, sending him flying and slamming against the walls of the room.

"There, now for the main event." Vaan said full of determination, heading towards the portal on the back of the room.

"I-if I don't stop this… Ivalice… will…" Rasler told himself as a means to getting himself up, pouring all of his soul into this deciding seconds. He couldn't doubt, but this man made him doubt. The same man that was now going to stand against the Occuria by himself. On other circumstances Rasler would think him noble and stand by him, but he didn't know what horrors the Occuria could summon and wield. No, for Ivalice, he had to be stopped now. "Sorry, I do this for a greater cause!" He exclaimed as a glyph bigger than any before formed in front of him, it literally touched the ceiling. "Luminescence!"

Vaan was about to enter the portal when he felt the strands of light come from every angle from the glyph, all heading towards him. Clinching his teeth, he created a massive glyph, one that dwarfed Rasler's and shouted. "YOU FOOL!" As he shot at him while also deflecting his attack. Rasler saw his life flash before his very eyes just before seeing the entirety of the rays miss by hair's length. Dumbfounded, he just looked at Vaan, who was staring at him with a solemn look in his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, I would have killed you where you stand but… Ashe would be devastated. So, as a thank you, you should stay here and tend to her, then, if I don't come back… run away, I doubt the Occuria will be very happy." He turned his back at Rasler and faced the portal. "The Empire fell because WE believed, but if people don't believe, maybe this is hopeless. Either way, I'm getting tired of talking to you, just ask yourself this. If you were born and couldn't move a muscle for your entire life unless someone told you too, would that be living?" And with that, he left the puzzled prince behind him. "Let's go snake, you'll have your shot at them today." He was seemingly talking to a tattoo on his right hand, one that resembled a snake constellation. "Yeah, you're right, it's time to loosen up and…" He cracked his neck as the light was fading, the teleport ending. "Kick some but!"

* * *

><p>"Well, this can't be good." The blonde, glassed man wearing a formal stripped suit and pink tie whimpered.<p>

"What's the status." This man had black, straight hair, he was bulky, carried a big sword and wore the SOLDIER fist class uniform. This man was Angeal Hewley.

"Well, I used the image comparison to discover more about Snake's findings… well, this appeared." He pointed at the computer as Angeal began reading.

"Warmech. Invented and used by Lufenia to COUNTER Omega? These machines were based on the beast itself as many pieces from its armor and a lone part from his CPU fell during the battle. Capable of leading the original warriors of light to the brink of destruction, it is a powerful foe. The estimated materials are…" Angeal stopped reading there, but he was extremely preoccupied. "Lazard, how many did Snake find?" He asked worriedly.

"On that factory there were around fifty, but that's just one, who knows how many are there." The former leader of the SOLDIER division answered. "The real question is, who's building these?"

"For some reason I believe that we are going to know that soon enough." Angeal replied as he looked out the window into the interrogation chamber. "Wait… is that?"

* * *

><p>"It's simple Wesker. One name. Who is behind your little project here? From I head now, these are supposed to be prototypes for Omega aren't they?" The once grizzly old man, now rejuvenated asked of the scientist.<p>

"Well, Klauser. I could tell you, but what's in it for me?" He asked deviously.

"Well for one you will not have my sword up your…" The man replied, swiftly being silenced by his three friends.

"DORGANN! Calm down! "The former king of Bal told his longtime friend, snapping him out of his trance.

"Thanks Galuf… but it's been two hours and this guy doesn't budge!" He exclaimed in frustration.

"And I won't, but I can make this matter easier for you. I have one demand." Wesker told them taking of his glasses. "Simple really, I want to see God. Face to face. Promise me that and I'll tell you the name."

"We ca-" Dorgann began but then an enveloping voice resounded.

"It shall be done." Who better to give a response than God itself?"

"Well then…" He put his glasses back on. "I believe I can trust God's word. The man you're looking for is called… Hojo. You may know him from smash hits like "Sephiroth" and "The Jenova Project" even the "Omega Incident"." He decided to shut up when he heard the cocking of a gun.

"Where is he?" Vincent asked in a dangerously dark tone.

"That's beyond me." Wesker replied, you couldn't tell if it was a lie or not.

"Vincent? How are you here? Your soul shouldn't have dissolved on the Lifestream yet." Lazard asked as he entered through the door Vincent had just barged into.

"I did not die on the Planet, so I was sent directly here. But now that you mention it, I have bad news about the stream."

* * *

><p><span>Memories:<span>

"Damnit, damnit, it's all burning!" Tina exclaimed as she ran through the city, it was easy to confuse her with a human when panic was all over so she could easily infiltrate. "Need higher ground!" She shouted in frustration, jumping on top of a nearby building. "There!"

* * *

><p><span>Lost Records:<span>

"She tricked me… they are the same as my father…" The child whimpered as the giant green beast demolished building and crushed humans mercilessly.

"Good, good, with this city gone, Narshe is completely exposed, this will only quicken our victory." Kayser told his eight followers as they watched from afar, being there only by illusion. "Hum…?" He wondered as from the corner of Humbaba's eye he saw a rock hitting him.

"Stop it!" The kid shouted, his mother growing pale and beginning to run to him. "If you do this, we will want to pay you back, and you'll pay us back and it will never end! You'll be just as bad as us!"

"Insolent whelp, who are you to judge me? Humbaba, kill!" Kayser boomed with such force that the instinct of all living creatures in the area was to bow down, surprisingly, the kid didn't.

"Does this mean we're all bad?" The boy sobbed as the green horned beast pulled back his arm and let loose a colossal punch in his defenseless target's direction.

"No. It means that people can be good or bad, regardless of race."

* * *

><p><span>Memories:<span>

No matter how you got around it, Tina was seriously pissed. It wasn't a secret to anyone spectating, the small girl that had just hampered the monster's punch with one finger was going to make heads roll.

"Damn kid, always getting yourself in trouble… you!" She screamed at the mother. "Control him a bit more, that's the second near death situation he put himself into in less than an hour!" She said harshly, causing the mother to run up and grab her child.

"Shiny girl! You came for me!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Don't overate yourself kid, these guys are disobeying my code, you just happened to be on my side." She lied, turning her gaze to the monster that STILL tried to push her FINGER back. "Get to a safe place, I'll take care of these, but I want a bed and a breakfast in return."

"Absolutely!" The mother replied as she began pulling the child away.

"Go get 'em shiny!" He cheered.

"Oh I will…" Tina answered, now using her whole hand to grab Humbaba's fist, its bones beginning to crack under the pression. The giant beast began to roar in agony as he flayed his other hand against Tina, to little avail. With a resounding crack it fell to its knees as the girl demolished his hand. "Mindless beast…" She spat, fiercely kicking Humbaba to the outskirts of the city with one clean kick. "KAYSER! WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS?" She blared at the illusion, who seemed rather annoyed at her guest.

"Oh… my lady. I didn't expect you to… care about humans." He said, still unsure why the person who had so ravenously preyed on humans appeared to defend them.

"If a human slashes at me, he is the enemy, but these people have done NOTHING! To massacre innocents just for the hell of it, we're becoming the monsters we're fighting! Kayser, I never trusted you, but I never had a reason for it, don't give me one today!" She threated, exuding a dangerous aura around her.

"Maybe… but this city holds strategic value over the Narshean Empire, the council voted as if you declined and it passed, It was fair. Bahamut, Diablos and Crusader recognized the importance of this town, only fools like Leviathan would let their notions of morale get in the way of their goals." Now the dragon was showing his true colors.

"Bahamut did what?" Tina mumbled, it was impossible, she knew him for too long for him to do something like that. "What did you do to him?"

"I seem to be wasting my time… a pity, I believe that I will have to communicate your death to headquarters unless you do the right thing and… step away. Deathgaze doesn't discriminate and this town IS marked for purging, you would be an unfortunate casualty…" The dragon said as a bare skull bat-like creature with tattered green wings appeared above the town. His intentions were clear. The bat screeched and called upon countless winged minions that surrounded the town. Maduin arrived near Tina.

"Maduin, protect the townsfolk…" Tina said as she walked in the direction of the army, her body morphing to an esper's. "Kayser, you know how It is… I'll never give the first strike, but the ones who did… none of them lived to tell how gruesome it was." Her eyes had changed to a blood red hue. "Care to try, bat?" Said bat screeched and sent three minions towards her. She let one bite her, its teeth falling off. "Wrong answer…" She said with a smile on her face, slicing through the minion with her bare hands and blasting the other two with Firagas.

"**KAYSER!**"

* * *

><p>"Ramza…" Delita said, not being able to contain himself with expectation. "They all said I am inferior to you, they even said I wanted to join you! Today, I'll prove them wrong! I'll prove them all wrong!" He shouted, his voice begging to crack to a more deranged tone.<p>

"Delita… what's happening to you?" Ramza asked, but he knew he would get no answer. "Have your sins finally driven you to insanity? Very well, you shall get your fight… Have at you!"

* * *

><p>"Look! There's someone down!" Shin exclaimed as they arrived at the room where Vaan and Rasler fought. Sometimes he loved having shared memories with most of the heroes, going through the Great Crystal was a breeze.<p>

"Who are you?" The prince questioned.

"Allies, you have any idea where Vaan or the Occuria are?" The "dragonborn" if I may, asked,

"Same place… Vaan went and threw away his life while leaving me to tend to my former wife… You are not to follow him, are you?" He asked, slightly confused of how they knew Vaan and followed him here.

"Just tell me this." Jecht asked. "Are they going to destroy something? Give me a motive, please!"

"Well, if Vaan has his way… in a matter of speaking, yes." Rasler replied confused.

"Well I'll be damned, I get to punch a god in the face? SWEET!" The man exclaimed, jumping into the portal without hesitation.

"Will you be okay?" Kairi asked the prince.

"Don't worry about me… I wish I had your courage…" Rasler felt like well, chocobo excrement. Back in the day he had stopped assassinations and fought against the Empire fearlessly, now? He was tending for the unconscious as others did his work… the imagery of nobility.

"Okay, we'll be right back." Kairi said with a smile as all crossed the portal.

"Maybe I am a coward…" He told Ashe, standing up. "But I won't be outdone so easily." He drew his sword, tens of monsters appearing at the door, as if to flank the others. He even recognized the legend, the Fafnir.

"Remove yourself from our way human, as servant of the Occuria, you have failed, you should be grateful we do not wish your death!" Fafnir was possessed… by an Occuria? This was perfect! Rasler, instead of intimidated felt overjoyed, he could clean his consciousness!

"NO! Your fight is with me! Rasler Heios Nabradia… No, Rasler B'nargin Dalmasca!"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"I'll rip out your blind eyes!"_

_"Open, the gate to Serpentarius!"_

_"Sephiroth, give your father a hug!"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note: <span>****Well, isn't this not a crap fest? When I said "stuff" was about to go down, I meant it, more than three sides to this arc! Now, let's see if I can update two fics until Sunday, shall we? Oh, why am I writing this? Because the ending of act III from diablo III made me want to kill kittens, and this was the only other way to relax. Seriously, killing that overgrown, bug-lizard-thing didn't even BEGIN to compensate for the heart crushing that that caused me.

That aside, what did you think? Did I redeem myself?


	53. When in Doubt… Knock Them Out!

****Jecht's note:****OH HELL YEAH! JECHT TIME! I'm just here to warn that this chapter may cause spontaneous beard growth's, manly chest hair spurts, or muscle development! **ALL THIS DUE TO PURE! RAW! JECHTNESS!** So if you're a girl, have a copy of Twilight ready to counter it! Or any other girly stuff, because here is MY take on this story! I may or may not have permission to write this… BUT YEAH! JECHT OUT!

**PS:** I'M JECHT!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>A Jechtating Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Fifty-Three**

****When in Doubt… Knock Them Out!****

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"_Girl__… when I first __met you, you were so__ full of hatred."_ Kayser monologue in his mind, observing the massacre. Landing on top of one of the bats, Tina grabbed him by the skull, crushing it before using him as a throwing weapon to distract the rest of them_.__ "And full of such wonderful power to go with it."_ Tina blasted through ten of the bats, now being hailed by Zus. All of the massive, eye-less black birds screeched as they savagely wrapped their beaks on the girls shinning skin, their black wings completely eclipsing her from sight.

"You're starting to piss me off!" The girl screamed, a mist oozing from the holes between the birds, congregating in an ice shell that engulfed the Zus, spontaneously combusting in an array of lightning. "Is that your best? Come on!" She shouted, but inside she was a lot more thoughtful. _"Zus? Maybe it's a coincidence…"_

"She reminds me so much of you… I mean me." Terra pointed out to her esper side. They were now floating in midair with the help of Naminé as they watched the scene unfold.

"Almost too much…" The esper snarled.

"_Your wrath against humans made you so easy to manipulate, even with your so called code, when a war broke out, you were going to be attacked either way, you were such a powerful puppet..."_ He knew that his force was made only to wipe out humans, not one of the five strongest espers in existence. _"What changed you? Your brother? No, you never listened to him…__ That human cub?__"_ His eye then wandered downwards into the now spectating and disgustingly hopeful humans, he had nothing against humans, except that espers were strong, humans… weren't. That simply was a no go on his plan. And then there was Maduin. The shining example of averageness. He was a strong esper, nothing more nothing less. He had no human form and his esper form wasn't impressive, even less compared with Tina's Raijū-like appearance. But what was that? The humans didn't look at him suspiciously, at least some didn't, more so, the cub was apparently trying to relieve the mistrust, and succeeding to the less cynical ones who were thankful. This was a dire sign. First Tina herself made an appearance to save one of their cubs, and now the same cub had instilled trust on the humans? How would be the question, but he had more important things to worry about. "Tina has too much influence on our society… combined with this cities acceptance and Odin's betrayal, a peace-wanting faction is a very real possibility, and a peaceful end wouldn't be much far, considering how the Five Kings were. Leviathan was strictly against the war, Crusader was too logical in his actions, he didn't want a war per say, he wanted the espers to survive, and would do anything for that, Diablos was the only one that harbored hatred for humanity as a whole now that this girl had done an one-eighty. Bahamut… who was he fooling? The moment Tina told Bahamut to change sides he would. Damned dragon was completely lovestruck. He was snapped out of his thought as his servant roared in agony, Tina grabbing Deathgaze's skull and trying to separate it from its body. The monster twisted and turned but it couldn't process what to do as his skull cracked. He needed a clear view of its target, something like that didn't account for it being clinging to its back. Then it hit Kayser… just how to solve the problem once and for all. "Deathgaze! Death on the boy!" He ordered it was a win-win situation: either the girl protected him and died, or better, the boy died and Tina would go berserk, giving him a just cause to employ any course of action against her.

Time slowed for Tina as she found herself unwillingly throwing herself on the monster's line of sight, a cruel yellow spark hitting her square on the chest. "Why did I even do this?" She wondered as her body went numb and felt herself falling into the plains bellow.

* * *

><p>Lost Records:<p>

"Shiny girl!" The young boy cried, not knowing just what that spell meant, beginning to run towards the area Tina had fallen into.

"No, wait!" Maduin ordered, grabbing him by the shoulders. "It's too dangerous…" He saw it from the distance, the town was surrounded by… behemoths? "The Zus weren't a coincidence…" He looked around and found no man able to fight. Only teenagers, old men and fragile women and their children had been left behind. He wouldn't be able to hold back an entire horde of monster by himself. He just hoped that _that _worked.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"W-Why are we still here?" Terra asked Naminé, wondering how someone could remember stuff that happened after her death.

"The memories aren't over yet…" Naminé replied. "I know as much about this as you, just wait and see."

They saw a Behemoth King slowly make his way to the crack that Tina made when she fell. The beast smelled the air in search of danger and found none. Kayser was already mentally clapping at the scene, Maduin wouldn't be hard to dispose of, and since Tina took so long to report, one could say she died on the last skirmish between the two factions. Still, all of his planning came to a blunder when the Behemoth tried to inspect the hole with his head. The head never made it out. Instead, what made it out was a VERY angry girl, blue lightning coursing around her body as she eyed him with the glare of the devil himself.

"MONSTERS? KAYSER! ARE WE USING MONSTERS?" Tina roared, the power behind her voice making the lesser behemoths cower in fear.

"I fail to see the problem. They are easy enough to control and they are not humans. In fact, if you look at them, what does REALLY set them apart from espers?" He replied in his smug voice.

"We…" she began, something inside being dangerously close to snapping. Something stopped her, as to why didn't, she could not really put her hand on it. From behind, a very vengeful Humbaba tried to surprise her with a hammering punch to the side but… "are not…" She continued, grabbing Humbaba's hand without even looking.

"Deathgaze, kill the boy!" Kayser ordered, seeing as Tina was in no position to block. He didn't understand how she was still alive, but that would have to be saved for later.

"…**MONSTERS!**" Tina boomed, in one swing throwing the massive green monster against the bat-like one, stopping the spell on a very imposing way. "Spellfusion: Absolute!" The esper chanted, a single icicle rising from the ground, touching the falling monsters and instantly freezing them. Their momentum didn't stop however, as they both landed on the sea they would be stuck on for about one thousand years. "Kayser… I SWEAR… I'll rip out your blind eyes! Now, who's next?"

* * *

><p>"So this is where Ashe wound up." Vaan commented as he appeared inside the realm of the Occuria, on a plane hidden from any airship, high above the city. He wasn't entirely right though, this wasn't the circular platform where Ashe wound up, this was the entrance to a crystalline cathedral. The building was so grand and adorned that it made the castle at Rabanastre feel like a normal house in comparison. But, just like the Occuria, the mist blurred the details, maybe as a metaphor that no mortal eyes could even comprehend the beauty of this masterpiece. Still, Vaan isn't exactly thinking material 90% of the time, so his response was a simple: "Pretty nice place, pity I'm going to have to tear it down." He mused, summoning the Zodiac Spear just in case. He daringly walked up to the door and pressed his hands against it. Not surprisingly it didn't budge. "Gonna be sooner than expected!" He was almost happy to see his way barred. With one swing of the spear the door crumbled. To be fair this was probably the only way for him to get through, but really? The first reaction he had was, "well, let's send this priceless mark of architectural genius to the ground!" people these days, no appreciation for art…. ANYWAY, after waiting for the formerly marvelous door to finish crumbling, this tasteless jackass made his way into the cathedral. Inside, he was greeted by… his brother? "Reks?" He stuttered, reaching out for the figure in front of him, only to completely miss him, passing through the ethereal body. "Should have known…" He groaned as his brother turned into… something. An Occuria is something hard to describe. With no arms, legs or most human features, one could only compare it with a ghost, a ghost whose floating body was covered by armor, if it really was that. Its face was hollow, a black void with two yellow eyes that prodded onto the very soul of the sky pirate.<p>

"Little Sky Pirate. For someone so small and rash very much great dead's you have accomplished. I care not if all has been in a misguided crusade to stop us, but an offer I must make." The god told Vaan in a deceitfully sympathetic tone.

"Oh… Oh this is rich!" The man began tearing himself apart with laughter. "Y-you're actually kissing up to me!" The irony of it was just too much, here they were, the beings that wanted everyone on Ivalice to subject to THEIR will, kissing up to a lowly thief. "I bet you're going to offer me some "great position" if I magically change my mind and side with you." If Occuria could grimace, there would be one big one on this one's face right now. "Well guess what bozo, if I agreed to ANY of your retarded psychologies, or even accepted any part of them without wanting to throw myself of a bridge, I wouldn't have just clobbered one of my closest friends from behind and nearly killed her husband, now would I?" Well, he might have been getting ahead of himself on the offerings, but he was right on pointing out just how desperate the Occuria were becoming. Why? I don't know, or maybe I do, but I'm the Narrator, my contract strictly imposes that I cannot spoil people, and I need the job, I mean, I'm working for this guy for a year now and with two fics to narrate, I'm living it big, I have a yacht a… FINE I'LL CONTINUE… jerky writer. Now! Where were we?"

"Wrong you are, human. I trust you know about our ability to wisp back the souls of the departed." The god replied, the reply he met wasn't exactly friendly.

"NO WAY! Show me pro- Oh, you mean like Rasler? Look, I'm not THAT stupid. Your point is?" He asked bitterly.

"Wouldn't it be wonderful to relieve bonds that were taken away from you?" Gerun asked as he implied just what you think he was implying. He didn't expect the burst of laughter though, heck I didn't expect it when I read the scri… Too much fourth wall breaking? Cutting my salary back to the way it was before? Sorry guys, guess it's back to boring old me again…

"That! That is the oldest trick in the book, and let me tell you, you almost nailed it, if you had asked me that four years ago… I would said yes, if you acted right after we defeated Vayne. I would have said yes. But you forgot one thing, humans grow. Hell, I grow. There are certain things that you just don't do. Like dooming the world because you can't deal with death, that's almost like a temper tantrum. Sorry, but you'll have to do better than that." This reply wasn't calculated, Gerun was taken aback by it, something he refused to accept from a "monkey" but the being tried to regain his composure and prey on a more recent longing.

"What if I… made you to be nobility?" The being suggested. "Nay, far better, what if I made you my messenger? Forever to be at the Dynast Queen's side?" Again, this didn't work out the way he intended, it was as if he had just thrown oil onto an already flaming house.

"Oh, you think you're smart, huh? That guy likes that girl, that guy will essentially hand over the world for her-NO! That's retarded. The very reason I'm here is because I didn't get blinded by any emotion, god knows how hard that was. Now, you're probably thinking, "how can I reason with this guy", well, you can't you're a plague that's overstayed it's "welcome"!" He exclaimed, taking heavy steps towards the god.

"HOLD! HOLD I SAY!" Gerun shouted. "A wish! Any wish! I shall grant you any wi-" Vaan watched amazed as the specter's armor became deformed as a single, bare fist came from nowhere and slammed itself into his face.

"BOYAH!" The manly voice shouted, his bare feet touching the floor for more impulse, projecting his body forward so the arm coiled again and then unleashing the newfound strength to complete the most satisfying punch Vaan had ever seen. Whoever this guy was, he liked him already. The Occuria leader was sent flying through four pillars and an altar. Do I really need to say who this guy was? "Ya know, when I woke up today I got that feeling this would be one of those swell days… and by the grace of whoever is awesome enough for me to admire, it is!"

* * *

><p>"Noel, what's bothering ya?" Xion asked, dragging Roxas with her so he would stop examining Naminé every five seconds to see if she wasn't feverish or weak.<p>

"Amnesia sucks." Riku told them, appearing from behind the vase. "What? Did you really think he was talking to himself?"´

"Exac-"Xion began.

"NO! My line!" Noel intervened aggressively, taking everyone aback. "Sorry… it just happens sometimes." He said sincerely. "What Riku said was right. I was TRYING to remember stuff. Naminé basically told me that if she even touches my memories I can go comatose, I have to find a "string" for her to follow… that' easier said than done." Or was it?

"Well, want us to do something for you? Can we help?" Xion offered, ticking off both men but Noel due to "personal reasons".

"Well, unless you conjure up pieces from my past, sorry, but nope." He replied, sighing in disappointment.

"I can try! ABRACABRA!" You want to know the funny part? That actually worked! Okay, not REALLY but as soon as Xion chanted the words, yelling and waving her arms in very over-the top way, a man bolted out of a surge of light on her side and tackled Riku by accident. The man then looked around nervously and locked eyes with Noel.

"Noel! Finally found you!" He exclaimed happily.

"It… it worked?" Xion gasped, bouncing up and down in excitement. "I'm going to Hogwarts!"

"If this guy doesn't get off me, I'll slam both of you against the brick wall in the middle of platforms 9 and 10! Let's see how you like platform 9¾!" Riku exclaimed, receiving an apologizing smile from the man and a frightened look from the raven haired "mage".

"Snow?" Noel exclaimed at the sight of the giant man. Dressed in a black trench coat thorn around the edges, matching black pants and a red undershirt, black gloves, his hair was swept back light blond hair that reached almost his shoulders and his eyes were light blue. Most importantly this man was 2 meters tall! That's 6'7 feet! He made everyone, even Riku who was taller than average, feel like gnomes.

"Just after you disappeared when Serah fell dead… I arrived! She's not dead Noel! She's changed NOEL! Hope's afraid of her! a lot of people are changing to be like her! Worshipping fanatically the goddess!" The man was grabbing Noel and shaking him violently, to the point where Noel could barely think. To be fair, neither could Snow, he was completely out of himself.

"Snow! Slow down! I can barely remember stuff. Tell me what happened." Noel replied, trying to break up the iron grip, only succeeding because Snow decided to stop. "I don't remember anything after Caius, and even that's blurry."

"Well, that's normal, you see Noel, that fight, and everything after it… doesn't exist."

* * *

><p>Ramza felt the air itself trying to cut him as he dodged the Save the Queen by a hair. The man then swept at Delita's legs with his Chaos Blade, forcing him to jump back instead of upwards, he knew that upwards was a trap. You see, that as the part that Ramza couldn't deny about Delita, when something was in his head, he saw it through. Still, whatever was in his head, it had long been corrupted by jealousy.<p>

"Hallowed Bolt!" Ramza chanted at the same time Delita chanted:

"Divine Ruination!" Delita always tried to go for the most damaging one, even if it could miss easily. And that's what happened, Ramza managed to dodge while Delita was stuck in the middle of lightning and light. Strangely, that didn't faze him as much as Ramza thought it would. "See? It doesn't hurt me!"

"Delita. I'll ask again, why? Just drop the façade, you're not fooling the one who once called you a brother." Ramza could feel it, Delita would never go insane like this.

"So… it didn't work after all, did it?" The man in the yellow armor asked in a more collected, rational tone.

"You haven't the need to hide behind farces for a duel Delita, I owe you such a debt." Ramza told him as they danced with their blades, the clashes exploding in a rain of sparks.

"Aye, but what is there to prove that you have given it your all, against a true enemy, not a former comrade?" Even if he did say that, the manner of speech and even the words they used were going back, back to when they grew up together, back when trivial things like nobility mattered. Delita hadn't realized it yet, but he was beginning to trivialize what he scarred the world for.

"My word." Ramza replied simply, trying to freeze his "enemy" with the crystal coming from his Judgment Blade.

"What value has your word?" Delita replied, breaking the spell with the crimson blade of his Northwain's Strike.

"A whole lot more than yours." Now that threw sympathy out the window.

"True." Delita replied with a chuckle. Friendships can be twisted too. "Then, I trust it, let us go Ramza, the one showdown we never had!"

"How long have I waited…" Ramza replied, both men casting Divine Ruination as the light engulfed them both.

* * *

><p>Gerun began slowly… wha- out of my room!<p>

Fuck no! You get outta my fight! I'm narrating this shit!

On whose orders?

My fist's!

Not the face!

Thought so ya crybaby! Now, as he was saying, that floating thing was trying to recover from my manliness filled punch, but I woke him up from his dream with a foot in his face! "Hah, try to put up a fight!" I screamed, unimpressed with the challenge the supposed god was giving me. I began to think I should have just switched places with them. Oh right, prissypants didn't tell ya did he? Headphones kid told me to go on ahead to the cathedral where supposedly the boss of these things was while they held back the monsters the lesser ones summoned. Since I beat the crap out of people alone, I decided to say yeah sure, but now that I think of it, maybe it would have been better if I had stayed outside… nah, who am I kiddin', just after I told him to man up, the O-oc… the white thing began covering himself in mist, at first I was all like, "The hell? Stop hiding ya coward!" But then he was all like:

"Poor battle maddened man, behold, the creature that you living beings once looked on as a god!" I don't know where he got that, Garland was battle maddened, I was just manly. Extremely manly might I add. Still, what I saw was freaking awesome! He turned into a dragon… a FREAKING DRAGON! How badass does "Dragonslayer Jecht" sound? Did I just melt your brains? Sorry! Wait, no I'm not! Master of deception! Well, then the kid tried to say something like.

"Oh Jecht, you're so awesome and manly, I wish I could be like you! Can I have your autograph?" To what I responded.

"Sure Kid, just after I single-handedly blow up this freaking dra-" What?

**You know Jecht, I think you're a cool guy, a downright awesome guy at that, and I'm willing to put up with you having a little fun with your battle, but if you by so much TOUCH the dialogue or the plot, I'll make so Gerun uses a once in a lifetime spell that turns a person into a cardboard copy of Edward.**

Oh, like that's bad, I like Full Metal Alchemist…

**Cullen.**

YOU WOULDN'T DARE!

**Try me.**

Well, as you heard, to avoid turning into a fairy I have to keep inside the limitations. What the kid really said was:

"I don't know who the heck are you, but trust me on this one, this guy can take a BIG beating." The guy trusted me probably because I was so freaking awesome, but the author wrote something about him faintly feeling a melancholy like he had met me. OF COURSE HE DID! WHO FORGETS JECHT? I of course, got excited to meet a new punching bag and I did just that, punched it in the FACE! It... didn't work as expected. What am I saying? I totally expected it to do little to no damage and getting a face full of tail! It was just to test out the waters! Anyway, I got projected backwards but landed on my feet, like a MAN. Lesse here, here's the description of this fu… lly grown dragon? He was strange really, body was ALL covered in armor, wings and horn included. Mostly silver armor with violet marking, maybe that was skin, but whatever. It also had these really weird circles with blue outlining, orange inside and a whole in the middle, on its face, wings and tail. Okay, that's enough following the scrip, when I landed, blonde kid told my magnificent self:

"I told you, Yiazmat can take a beating. You might need some help." He told me, taking off his glove. "You might wanna cover your eyes though!" The impotence, the only thing that stopped was... hic…

**How drunk are you Jecht?**

This is only the third gourd… of vodka!

**I'm going to call the usual narrator back…**

Screw you, at least let me narrate myself!

**Fine, when the scene changes, you go away.**

Kay.

"From above the twelve constellations I summon you! Oh strongest of espers, sealed away by the gods in fear! Oh child of absolute might, come to my aid!" The lad was spouting some nonsense, but the dragon or whatever it wasn't liking it one bit.

"Stop! You do not comprehend the weight of your actions!" The thing yelled, charging at the kid, but yours truly pulled up his sleeves and grabbed its tail.

"Lemme return the…" I spun him right round, like a record I spun him right round… hic… And I threw him against the freaking a-altar! Let me drink a bit more, just… a… bit… more…

Slam.

Finally got my job back! Good riddance. Well then, as he said, he slammed Yiazmat singlehandedly to the altar inside the cathedral, which I have to admit, was pretty impressive, as Vaan finished his chant. By now twelve constellations had surrounded the floor around him as a thirteenth followed on the center.

"OPEN! The gate to Ophiuchus! Zodiark, the Keeper of Percepts!"

* * *

><p>"What?" Bahamut shouted as he watched Edge cut the slave crown from Drace.<p>

"My lord?" Rydia asked preoccupied at the gravity of his expression.

"Nothing Rydia, as long as he is not stupid enough to break the seal completely… nothing." These words rang as a mystery to the trio, but there was nothing they could do for they didn't know the way into the crystal. So, they set off to find someone who could, namely Vayne or Illua.

* * *

><p>"Absolute madness!" Fafnir exclaimed, for a moment gazing off into the distance. Rasler took this chance to jump on top of one of the skeleton soldiers and carve his sword onto the monstrosities head, ending its life instantly.<p>

"Foolish mortal!" Mist began seething from the body and from it emerged an Occuria. "Do you not see, this very world hangs in the balance because one of you is slowly undoing what we worked for in centuries past!" Rasler didn't care anymore, he had two spears carve on his back and one sword had barely missed his spine. His left eye was losing his vision and the only thing that made him think he could get out of this alive was the fact that he had a person that could heal resting near him… if she woke up in time.

"Good… if he wasn't… then he'd have thrown everything away without a fight…" He gasped, looking around to see the wave of monsters not wavering in number, like they were without end. "Until then… you won't get past me…"

* * *

><p>"<em>Shin… you felt it didn't you?"<em> Shinryu asked of his human creation as they jumped down from Deudalaphon, the Benevolent to stab Emet-Selch, Angel of Truth.

"Not the time to worry about that!" He replied as he cut down the giant. "Let's fix this THEN go inside."

"There's not exactly much to fix…" Sora pointed out.

"Holy…!" Silver-Surfer Layle, or whatever you call the crystal infused version of him stood in the middle of the defeated bodies of five of the Scions of Light that were the antitheses to the Espers the Ivalicians could use.

"Crystal does wonders for your health!" Layle joked, flexing.

"Now that that's over with…" Neku was taking this as a usual occurrence, flipping a pin in apathy. "This pin… can seal gods." The pin depicted a golden and silver sword with a ruby on the hilt. "I do need to…" The sword manifested on his hand, this wasn't usual with pins, so the thing must've been really special. "Cut it though. Not a shell he hides in, the real thing."

"Then what the hell are you here for? Let's get inside!" Zack urged, everyone nodding as they ran to the cathedral.

* * *

><p>Something sent shivers down Terra's spine, both of them, jolting awake for a few seconds.<p>

"What the…" The esper mumbled.

"I felt it too…" Terra told herself.

"What did you feel?" Naminé asked confused.

"I… don't know. Like something that never should never happen… happened." Terra tried to explain. "But there's nothing I can do… I can't even move my legs. Let's continue." She asked of the girl.

"Alright, you want it, I'll skip to the end of that little skirmish." Understatement of the century.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"Shiny…?" The boy called. It had been minutes since the uproar on the outside of the city had ended, the only sound that littered the silence covering the village was the breath of the wind. Many a people had already left, trying to save some of the burning houses, as Humbaba had caused reactor's and fuel to catch on fire, the city wasn't an inferno, but there was a lot of smoke. And then, from the smoke a figure appeared. At first no one could be sure, but after a few seconds. "SHINY!" The kid screamed in excitement as her ran towards the figure. It was almost a miracle, but besides some scratches, bruises and a lot of dirt, Tina was unscathed. Kayser had also retreated by now, so the people of the city joined the kid in cheering for their improbable hero.

"Never thought I'd see the day." Maduin commented, shaking his head in both approval and surprise.

"Bed… noooooooowww…" Tina mumbled, fumbling into the kids arms, taking both to the ground. A small round sphere came rolling from her hand, one that Maduin grabbed, smiled and said:

"Figures…" As he grabbed Tina and asked the mother where the house was.

* * *

><p>"Will they never stop?" Rasler deflected a spear from a skeleton but soon felt the horn of a behemoth pierce his leg. He fell to the ground as his only good eye began being covered by the blood from the blow to the head. "Can't do this much longer…" His vision kept getting darker the same behemoth knocked him away, rolling until he finally hit Ashe. "No…" He told himself, clenching his fist as he took a look at the woman who seemed to be in a troubled sleep. "Just…a bit… longer!" He cried out, with only instinct driving the sword right into the charging ring wyrm's brain. He had stood up but between the blood and flaws from his vision he saw… two Humbaba Mistants and a Behemoth King, the last of the army. With a sick and tired smile he limped towards the battle without even a weapon. "Hurry it up…"<p>

* * *

><p>It was… a baby snake? All that for a baby snake? A floating one surrounded by a horse-shoe like metal contraption that seemed to bind him, but it was a baby snake snarling that made the God turned dragon take several steps backwards.<p>

"To summon him in our realm, have you any conception of what this may bring?" Gerun stuttered as he stared with his "heart" pumping in fear.

"You down!" Vaan replied with a smirk. "Bring you down."

"The scion we sealed away at its youth and still surpassed gods. Who are you to endanger Ivalice, nay, the living world in this manner, do you think yourself a god?" The being asked, Jecht being surprisingly calm, probably scouting the esper for signs of power.

"Well, no, but you're not one to talk, now are you?" Vaan shot back, clearing his throat and reciting. "God: A being with both omniscience and omnipotence. That's my definition of it. Since you're none of it, you just call yourselves that so you can stroke your ego."

"Such insu-"

"Zodiark, have fun." Vaan interrupted, the very soul of the Occuria, if he had one, freezing as the screech filled the air. Stars formed around the baby, bolting in the dragon's direction and annihilating one of his wings as they severely damaged thee others. And that was just Zodiark's most basic attack.

"Whoa, that guy sure does pack a punch!" Jecht said excitedly.

"HOLD! HOLD I SAY!" Gerun shouted, but a glyph of darkness formed around the baby, exploding in an array of darkness known as Darkja, completely obliterating is shell and leaving only the specter. "You care not for what may happen to your companions?" Gerun was desperate enough to go for a gamble at this point, what was that gamble? Between him and his enemies appeared a glyph, but this one was different, this one showed images.

"No…"

* * *

><p>"You're late… Liquid." A man taunted as the clone made his way into a new factory.<p>

"Caius… shut it. Shouldn't you be licking that Valkyrie's boots by now?" The two exchanged an angry glare before Caius replied.

"I am here only to command the troops, do not worry, once Hojo returns with another, I shall leave." It was obvious they didn't like eachother, something must have happened while he was dead.

"Ah yes, Hojo, he is?" He asked, referring as to where the deranged scientist.

"In the living world, visiting some family…" Caius replied with a smile.

* * *

><p>A lone throne in the midst of ruins. A woman sitting on it. By her side, another woman and a silver haired man.<p>

"Sephiroth, give your father a hug!" Hojo cackled madly.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"Wh-where the hell am I?" Tina wondered as she opened her eyes, looking around to find herself on a bed inside a modest apartment, unknowingly being watched.

"Is this the boy's house?" Terra wondered before she saw the boy race up the stairs with the mother of all breakfasts. Seriously, you know how people complain about bacon, eggs and sausages? Three plates of that!

"Your little brother told me you ate a lot, so we made a lot of food!" He exclaimed happily, laying the table right on her lap.

"Thanks…" She replied with slightly less aggressive tone than normal. She wanted to eat in peace and think about what had just transpired, but nope, not gonna happen.

"Sooooo… what is this?" He showed her the sphere she had dropped. She sighed and decided to entertain the kid.

"This is a Safety bit." She said, grabbing it and pointing it towards the morning sun. "It protects against some nasty spells, it's the reason I'm talking to you today." She explained, handing it back to the kid. "You can play with it until I leave, okay?"

"Hum… Shiny, can you lie down with your face to the pillow?" He requested. Tina just couldn't resist the puppy eyes the kid gave and she had miraculously ate everything by then so she complied. Only when she was lying down did she realize that she was obeying and had actually grown to care for this kid, a human! She pretty much demonized humans, only showing mercy and restraint due to honor and not wanting to become like them, but this kid was… ruffling her hair really bad! "Kid, what are you doing up there?" She asked.

"Relax! Where did you get the sphere anyway? Big Bro has one aswell!" There was just no end to his curiosity, now was there? Tina sighed and actually did reveal.

"My mother gave us both one of those to keep us safe. It's a keepsake." She replied, enduring both the grueling torture to her hair and her dilemma, what had changed?

"Well, so it's just like this!" he exclaimed, confusing Tina. "Get up Shiny!" He asked, pointing at the mirror. Tina didn't care much for appearances, but she was blinded… by herself! The most beautiful pink ribbon she had ever seen now tied her hair into a ponytail that made her the carbon copy to our heroine. We might be used to it, but for her it was a completely different story. "That ribbon is a memento from my grandmother! She says it protects you from anything!"

Wait was this a…"This A RIBBON? The magical ones?" Now that she mentioned it, she felt a strong latent magic in one of the strongest relics in the world. She so happened to have got on her hair one.

"Yupers! And it's yours!" He said as he jumped up and down.

"But… this is priceless!" Why was he being so kind to her? She killed his father for god's sake.

"My dad hit my mom when he drank… I loved him, but I know he did bad things to you and your friends. I don't blame you! You're like my big sister!" He shouted, jumping to her chest.

"B-b-big sister?" She fumbled at the advance, one part trying to shake him off while the other wanted to squeeze him to death… in a good way. _"Tsk, damn eight year olds…"_She told herself with a smile. She decided before she even needed to think. With the kid still hugging her, she went down the stairs, called Maduin who was bearing a disgusting smile on his face and headed towards the door.

"Where you going?" The child asked when Tina decided to lay him down. It was so sudden.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe…" She looked around. "I'll keep everyone who deserves safe… Keep this close to you…" She touched her Safety bit and started walking away, Maduin following her as the whole city watched on silently.

"Isn't this important to you?" He yelled.

"So was the Ribbon, wasn't it? The things that matter to you… are the only presents worth giving." The kid had no way to respond to that, he only grabbed the sphere tightly and nodded.

"Be back soon!" He exclaimed.

"Count on it!" She replied with a hand held up.

"Where are we going?" Maduin asked, already knowing the answer.

"Where else?" She looked upwards. "The Moon, little brother!"

* * *

><p>Rasler had no weapon. He struggled to move, managing to dodge one of the Mistant's claymore, it becoming carved into the ground. Now, this man had two spears AND a sword on his back, and still kept going. He even grabbed the claymore three times bigger than himself and used it to slice its owner in half. The other Mistant did his best attempt to ambush him, hut he expected it and with his one good leg he jumped from his claymore to his head, pulling out one of his spears and piercing the creature's brains with it, instantly terminating it. Still, life is not only fairy tales. He got violently heaved upwards from behind by the king.<p>

"DAMNIT!" Vaan yelled against the glyph. "Don't let him eat you!" The monster had opened his mouth, waiting for his prey… it was then that. "ASHE GET UP!"

Rasler had already given up a long ago, even if falling to the LAST monster was just downright sad… Until he opened his eyes and fell on a limp body. Well, half a body to be sure. As if Ashe had heard Vaan, she rose from her slumber, seeing her former husband in danger and cleaved the King with one fell swing of the Treaty Blade.

Happy reunion? Far from it, they didn't even share a word before…

"ASHELIA!" Rasler shouted, jumping towards the queen and putting his body between her and the menace behind her. It did not work.

Vayne's blade went right through the two.

"How fitting, the dog and his bitch skewered together." Vayne snarled as he let go off Gabranth's stiff body.

* * *

><p>"A-Ashe…" Vaan cried, his hand wandering to the glyph, seemingly a broken man.<p>

"No way…" Zack gasped, they arrived just in time… for the murder.

The worse was… Vaan's hand went through it. It actually went to the other side of it, it was a PORTAL!

"How do you feel? To know you could have helped them but only watched? To not have guessed when your voice reached here… you are the one at fault here!" Gerun's gamble seemingly paid off, He had broken the man… but little did he know that those were THE most dangerous ones. For everyone.

"Zodiark…"

"CHILD! DON'T!" Bahamut ordered as he appeared out of nowhere, but it was too late.

"I release you from your chains…"

He had just broken the seal, the millennia old seal.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"This is beyond a human's imagination."_

_"You cannot judge me, for I am Justice itself!"_

_"Never thought I'd have to make an appearance…"_

* * *

><p><strong>Post-cha…<strong>

YOU KILLED ASHE? I SHOULD RIP YOUR EYES OUT! WAIT A MINUTE! I THINK I WIL!

**Hey, it was the logical way to…**

I DON'T CARE! SHE HAD BOOBS! GODMANIT MAN! SHE HAD BOOBS!

**Calm down Jecht! Hey narrator! Help me out here!**

Sorry Herald, I also was a fan of her.

**Your job is forfeit!**

YOUR ASS IS FORFEIT!

**WAIT….!**


	54. Godsbane Shinryu X Zodiark the Destroyer

****Terra's note:****Hello, hum... I'm here to cover for our author… we had _technical difficulties_ with the cast. Let us hear Jecht's apology….

What, no… MY SPLEEN! OKAY OKAY I'M SORRY!

Right. Now, due to that, no author's note now and we'll have a slightly different narrator, hopefully he'll respect the fourth wall better, aswell as keeping his opinions to himself… one can only hope. See you at the end!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Fifty-Four**

****Godsbane Shinryu VS Zodiark the Destroyer****

* * *

><p>Greetings, my name is Halim Ondore IV, Marquis of Bhujerba. As Terra should have informed you by now, both the Herald and the former narrator are in the hospital, recovering, for that request your compliance with me accompanying you for the week, you have my thanks.<p>

* * *

><p>A lone woman, alone in a sea of blue and white sat with a saddened expression. She could see all from her throne, alas, nothing could she do to change it, Cosmos' existence was at times dreadful. Witnessing the last happenings, she wept until she felt a dark impulse on her body, one that could only mean one thing.<p>

"Vaan's crystal… no, it can't become like Jecht's… I have to stop it!" She determinedly said, she now only needed to know how.

* * *

><p>"What do you want Hojo?" Sephiroth asked in an angry tone.<p>

"Shush my child, we owe him a step debt." I must say, this led to Sephiroth making to closest thing to a sulk face I have ever seen from him… quite hilarious.

"Why thank you my dear, now, would you listen to my request?" Hojo asked as he took a courteous bow.

"If I did not, you would not be here now." The woman pointed out to which Hojo chuckled.

"Quite, quite… now, what I am here to ask of you is simple. We… "lost contact" with Occuria before we got what we wanted, now, if one of your subjects could go and steal the time machine known as Epoch from Rabanastre… that would be perfect." He said, taking interested glances in anything that could be considered technology around him.

"Why would you need a time machine? You got Valhalla." Lightning spat, irritated to be in the same league as the gibbering madman.

"I do not need it, I do not need that them to have it. If you understand what I mean." Hojo explained, but he had other motives. "Also, I'd like to see just how it is built."

"Well… we are at a standoff until you keep your end of the bargain, so I see no problem. Lightning my dear, would you?" Every guard in the room protested I jealousy but ironically, the woman which had been asked off only scuffed at it.

"Like I have a choice…" She spat, leaving the room abruptly.

"I don't see how you trust her so much Mother, can I be so bold as to ask why?" Sephiroth asked, still salty from his defeat, one that he attributed to Lightning's incompetence.

"My son… as true as our bond is, so is hers." Jenova replied cryptically, looking at the woman that raced after Lightning.

"Lightning!" Serah called just before said woman entered the portal.

"What is it?" The girl couldn't bear the attitude her sister was force into, if only she could make it stop…

"Why are you not happy with the mission M-"Lightning turned her back at her and left filled with anger. "What did I say wrong?" She truly wondered, taking her hand to her chest. You know, the most insane people are the ones that do not know that they ARE.

* * *

><p>"That monster…" Lightning snarled angrily, slamming her fist into the wall of one of Rabanastre's many alleys.<p>

"You hardly know a monster." A voice told her from behind. "Oh, don't worry, I won't tell." Lezard told the woman. "I find your predicament amusing that's all, a goddess taking orders like that, tsk tsk tsk."

"Aren't you the one that created that monster?" Lightning knew better than to draw her blade against Lezard. A quiet, soft chuckle began to make his way from his lips, but not even that could hide the madness between the laughter, or maybe it would be genius? We may never know.

"Well, you see, everything must have its uses, no?" He asked, adjusting his glasses so the reflection covered his eyes, his true intentions were unreadable. "I have a proposal."

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

The moon. For many just nature's candle to light up the starry night's sky… who would suspect it to be the command center and home to the council for an entire race? Well, now you know if it. Tina and her brother slowly landed on the doorstep to the mountain she dreaded the most, the Summit of the King, where the King of Espers would usually meet and discuss with all others. Now, due to "new circumstances" five representatives had been chosen to form a council of sorts. Traditionally, the strongest esper would be the King, problem was, with the war they could hardly think on fighting among themselves, until now of course.

"Lady Tina? We thought you were…" She didn't even want to hear it by now.

"Tell the council to prepare themselves, I'm going to tell them something important." She ordered, the esper gulping at the aggressiveness she displayed and decided to save his hide from any outburst by answering quick.

"T-they are in a meeting, so if you want to j-joi-"

"Perfect. Come on Maduin!" She urged, entering the tunnels inside the mountain.

"Tina, you're not going to cause chaos, are you? We need our unity." Maduin warned, yes he knew they needed to do this, but he knew all too well his sister's lack of fuse.

"Unless it's needed, I'll not. Still, sometimes we have to disorganize things to order them better." She replied, reaching the tall double doors that were the entrance to the Summit. Disregarding the guards who had bowed down, she nonchalantly slammed the doors open, much to the shock of the people inside. "Okay, I demand an explanation!" She boomed, eyes already burning. So much for not causing chaos.

We all know how Bahamut and Leviathan look, giving or taking a _few _years. We should be focusing on the other two presiding the council. One of them could be described as a manifestation of Satan. Yes, Diablos did not care to show a fully human form and instead much of his body was still tainted by his esper form, retaining the horns, wings and tail. What he was human though, he was a tall muscled man on what appeared to be his thirties, short black hair that touched his shoulders and a simple orange robe with a black belt. The other one was the complete opposite. Crusader, or Jihad as the ones closest to him called him, was the type of men most women swooned about, the perfect height, long flowing blonde hair and blue eyes. He dressed in what would be outlandish eastern clothes if there WAS eastern. Now, if you may amuse this old man, let me ask of you, how is it that most of the worlds are indeed able to share espers while us are forced to stay with our own? Food for thought…

"Ah, Tina, please have a sit." Crusader offered, pointing at her usual chair.

"Jihad, don't give me that crap! What were all of you THINKING?" She roared, Maduin having to put one hand on her shoulder for her to regain some of her calm. Leviathan looked ashamed, Crusader was completely unreadable, Diablos spat and Bahamut hid his head in embarrassment. "Those were innocent people!"

"Humans aren't people." Diablos spat back. "They lost that right years ago."

"Let us not get ahead of ourselves!" Crusader exclaimed, putting his body between Diablos and Tina, the two most volatile members of the council.

"Why Jihad? You saw what she did, she destroyed a great deal of our forces to save some puny humans!" He exclaimed, his patience clearly dimming.

"O-our forces? You mean, MONSTERS ARE NOW OUR FORCES? OUR?" She would have done something drastic right there and then had Bahamut not interfered.

"Tina, please understand, we are few and with humans now creating Magi, who can also use magic… we need to explore other paths…" Even he wasn't comfortable with it, but unlike Tina, Kayser's silver tongue had swayed him, for once, Tina's "irresponsible wandering" had come into fruition.

"Explore other paths…? Hehe… HAHAHAAHAHA! That's your excuse? On what side are we really on? Ours or Kayser's? Are we really the right side anymore?" She slapped Maduin's hand away.

"I never thought Bahamut was like this…" The esper commented, visually disgusted.

"He must have changed, I believe in him." Terra could see it in his eyes, just how much of a toll the battle had taken on him. He was young back then, young people make mistakes. She did, so why couldn't he?

"Right or wrong is subjective, the winners are written as the right." Crusader replied, Tina suddenly stopping her laughter.

"You did NOT just say that." She said in a dangerously serious tone. "Hiding behind words, tricking yourselves, what makes you so different from the humans that hunt us?"

"You seem to be defending the humans a lot lately…Why should we trust someone whose only drive was revenge, now that that someone destroyed our own forces?" The tone and accusations hidden on the voice of Diablos finally made Tina use drastic measures.

"Are you… trying to judge my actions?" She asked as she contained herself.

"Why not? You stood against the council for much of the war effort, never contributed to any of it and only wanted to fight. What have you done for us? What makes you so right?" Diablos' eyes were now mere centimeters away from Tina. Crusader had already given in to the inevitable skirmish, he was wrong about the magnitude though.

"You… CANNOT JUDGE ME!" She exclaimed, energy blasting out of her and knocking Diablos into the wall and leaving the others to have to bury their feet on the ground to maintain balance. "For I am Justice itself!" Bold statement, but it wasn't like she meant it literally, you know what she meant. "We were once meant for more than this! To protect the innocent! But if your precious logic and lust for vengeance has taken priority… then I can longer call myself your sister!" She suddenly changed into her esper form. "I will not let you continue, I don't give two damns about the voting."

"Sacrilege…"Crusader gasped. "Have you forgotten that you yourself agreed to this council? You cannot turn from it now that recent happenings aren't going the way you choose!" Everyone on the room had their guard up, even Maduin despite knowing how he could not do anything against these behemoths.

"But I do can, you see, this seemed to be such a gamble I'd never do it, but after seeing what that lizard, no offense to the ones here, did to this formerly honorable council…. I had to take matters into my own hands." She walked to the middle of the room and looked around. "I Tina of the Raijū Tribe…"

"Oh she is not going for it…!" Terra's esper was unusually gleaming with happiness "This will be fun to watch!"

"Invoke my right to challenge any contenders to the throne!" Bahamut was taken aback, Leviathan just nodded, Crusader gritted his teeth and Diablos furiously made his way from the wall. "You know, if you don't accept, that IS sacrilege." She told Crusader smugly.

"Fine then, I'll be your first opponent…" Leviathan said, much to her surprise. "I won't let you get into fights you can't win, if you can't beat me, you're not beating any of these three."

"I suppose you're right… well, let's go!"

* * *

><p>Yet again our heroine was taken away from her sleep by a pulse of energy that grated her mind, but this one was far, FAR bigger. To the point where even Naminé felt it. Both of them looked out the window to see the sky darken, harkening the coming of such a monster even the Occuria felt it to be too powerful.<p>

"Can you drive me to the bridge Naminé? I really need to see what's happening." Terra asked, Naminé complying as she slipped her into the wheel chair.

* * *

><p>"Judgment…" Ramza began, but was forced to dodge backwards to avoid a stab. In doing so, he lost his balance and began falling but he made the most out of it by using his now airborne legs to kick Delita's sword right off his hand. The young man then violently trust himself upwards with his hand, missing by mere inches. Still, he had the advantage and tried to press it, but Delita was faster and grabbed the arm of his missed thrust, quickly kneeing him in the gut and following with a straight punch that sent him to the ground. He the raced towards his blade until he heard cackling, he quickly doge sideways, barely escaping the pillars of light Ramza emitted. He then rolled to his sword but Ramza's Chaos Blade barred his path.<p>

"It is over." Ramza said, maybe too lenient.

"Really?" Delita spat back, doing the unthinkable of using the Chaos blade to propel himself for a spinning swipe that knocked Ramza off his feet, mangling his left hand in the process, swiftly grabbing his with the other hand. With Ramza on the ground he tried to impale him but Ramza rolled out of the way, resetting their positions. Battered and bruised, they looked at eachother solemnly whipping blood and sweat from their eyes and… smiling?

"This is so wrong, but I haven't had this much fun in years." Ramza said honestly.

"Aye!" Delita replied, swiftly dashing towards Ramza who blocked his swing as if he knew it was coming.

"Why are we even fighting?" Ramza asked, his mind completely abstracted from everything but the fight, the energy pulse that shook the city didn't even register on their minds.

"Does it matter? The only thing that matters…" Delita began, pushing Ramza back. "Is the duel!" He roared, jumping in an arc and landing right on top of his friend, their swords clashing and giving birth to a majestic shockwave of red and white.

"For once… we agree. Come on, today we leave no regrets behind!" The young man shouted, Delita complying.

* * *

><p>"Well, that just won't do, will it?" Illua commented as the shockwave was made noticeable to her, blocking Marche's slash as she did. "This battle… it was amusing, you are better than I thought, but my chains to this place are broken so… be well Luso." The woman barely played any attention to the teenagers as she reached for her Grimoire, one touch making her vanish without a trace.<p>

"Crap!" Luso cursed. "It was going so well…" Illua had been force on the defensive for the entirety of the fight, giving them a sense of advantage, but now they were left wondering if there ever was.

"This is hardly the time for self-pity." Kuja told the trio as he slowly floated to them, three bodies floating around him, ones that Luso recognized as the judges. Bergan and Ghis had been tied in energy for safekeeping, Drace remained unshackled but still unconscious. "We need to leave, right away."

"But what about Boss?" Marche replied, worried about Ramza.

"Aya has already gone to his aid, now come, we must not linger, the city is starting to come down." The genome told them, as if it was its cue, some of the rocks on the ceiling started to move.

* * *

><p>"Child... what have you done…" Bahamut whispered, looking at the egg that had surrounded the Esper. "There is a reason why we kept him sealed for thousands of years."<p>

"Sh-shut up. Get out of the shell Zodiark!" Vaan was completely possessed, more against Vayne than anyone else. Apparently fearing just that, the former emperor ported himself behind the Occuria leader, which was now horror stricken.

"Vayne of Archadian fame, we have need of my brothers, where are they?" The godlike being asked, completely missing the smirk from Vayne behind his back.

"They are…" He began, before anyone could react though, his right hand had impaled the Occuria from behind, the Mist from the being slowly exuding from the whole and into Vayne's skin. "…here." He pointed out, touching his own chest.

"Wh-what have you done…? Without us there will be no… pathway from hell." The being struggled to say as his body was slowly absorbed.

"Oh, how wrong you are. Illua… do you trust her so?" The man asked of the Occuria, which had now less than half his body left.

"Dirty… monkeys…" With his last breath Gerun spoke, now dissipating into Vayne's body.

"Yes…" Vayne gloated, watching as the Mist poured into his body, but someone had seen enough.

"VAYNE!" Vaan shouted enraged, summoning the Tournesol and leaping towards the seemingly unknowing traitor. His blade did not meet his target as it would be expected for you cannot use such low tricks on such a treacherous dog as Vayne, he'll have knowledge of every single one. Instead, it met his raw arm, his muscles pulsing unnaturally as it grew, ripping though his shirt. Vaan recognized this and tried to stop it by changing into the Zodiac Spear, soaring through the air into Vayne's heart, but his shirt ripped and his bulging muscles were enough to stop Vaan's attack. He then roared, red mist covering both of them and exploding, throwing Vaan towards the crowd.

"Behold the power left me by the fallen god!" Vayne boomed as he revealed himself. His body muscles had expanded to inhuman proportions, bulging outward while covered in a golden shine. To make the situation wearier the man had seemingly gained control of six greatswords that now floated around him, pointing at the onlookers. Not that there were much to be precise as most of them were trying to destroy the egg at Bahamut's orders and Layle had sneaked around the confusion, going to the fallen duo.

"Need… more power…" Vaan groaned, standing up and shinning in a pure white light, however, this good advent only turned bad as the light suddenly began to grow darker and darker until it was an irregular flowing aura.

"_Jecht!"_ A woman's voice resounded in the blitz ace's head, one that he quickly recognized.

"_Cosmos? What are you doing in my head? If you wanted a peace of the Jecht Meister you just had to ask!"_ If I may interject, Sir Jecht sent me a message to deliver before Terra… took care of him, and I quote: "Jecht X Cosmos is now canon, deal with it! *insert sunglasses here*" end of quote. Carry on.

"_It's not that Jecht! You have to stop Vaan! He's about to call his crystal, but if he does it will be like yours!"_ She urged him in a tone that made even Jecht serious. She was going to try and explain why a but next thing you know it his fist had connected with Vaan's chin, sending him flying upwards and hitting his head on the way down, completely knocking him out.

"_How do ya like that?"_ He asked triumphantly.

"_Truly… effective…"_She replied, a bit stumped.

"_Well you know what they say! When in doubt… knock them out!"_

"_You said that Jecht."_ Cosmos pointed out. "Also, you should try to explain our actions to your companions." She was right, everyone was basically staring at Jecht like he was even more mad than usual. Still, the traitor cut them off.

"So, you managed to stop the creation of a Dark Crystal… No matter, when we are finished we will have no need to power Omega further. Now…" He opened a portal to the Rift.

"NO!" Shin yelled, jumping towards the man with fire on his eyes.

"I leave you with the monster you have brought forth, this planet is of no use to us in any case." He mocked as he disappeared, Shin's Apocalypse opening a giant crack on the ground.

"Damnit!" He cursed loudly.

"We have a much bigger pro-"A crack cut Zack's warning. "Well, fudge…"

The egg suddenly burst open in a flash of dark light, from it erupting twelve massive feathered white wings, each bigger than the other, the biggest ones even carrying golden markings and golden belts. The snake still seemed a baby a baby but even his restrictor had wings now, ones that sprawled upwards painted by golden markings. The cathedral was instantly destroyed by his presence only. Bahamut had to transform to protect the humans from the eruption of energy caused.

"It's… still not in its true form, we have to seal it now!" The silver Dragon ordered, out of breath from the blast. "Quickly, before it regains control of himself!" He couldn't move after such a blast, He had to trust them.

"Guys, let's go!" Zack said as they all charged at Zodiark, who with a screech sent banishing rays to meet them.

* * *

><p>"Let's see…" Layle wondered as he looked over both of them. "It went into Rasler's… left?" he gasped, quickly turning the king over to find a satisfied look on his face. "You magnificent bastard!" He exclaimed with joy as he saw Ashe's wound only piercing the place where one lung stood. He touched her in the neck and he felt a weak pulse. "Alright, now I only need…" He saw three figures running up to him in the distance. "That… Edge, over here!" He called, the trio changing direction to meet them.<p>

"Where's Bahamut?" Rydia asked.

"The portal, but I need Cuore and you to stay here. You guard her, she has to heal this one quick. This place my go poof any second." He explained quickly, summoning his hover board. "Let's go edge!"

"Aye, be right back!" he exclaimed, jumping on it and off they went.

"Be careful numbskull!" Rydia shouted as they passed the portal. "Hurry Cuore!"

"Okay mother, I'll try!"

* * *

><p>"Try to flank him!" Neku shouted, seeing as their frontal approach had only led to getting blown back by his wings and rays.<p>

Kairi and Sora nodded and began circling him in hopes of wounding him while Neku used one of his pins to shoot an array of ice shells into the monster, the other's didn't relent on their assault from the front. Both of them jumped on to cut him from the back but, realizing this the creature screeched to cast Graviga and bring every single person in the room down. Everyone except…

"Can't go down like this!" Kairi exclaimed, landing with an enormous crash on the ground, her legs shaking but still standing. "To… the… sky!" She hollered, jumping way above a normal human's jump, even on the gravity. Said gravity only worked to her advantage however, as it sped her fall exponentially. "DRAGON'S GRASP!" She crashed on top of Zodiark, the first blow on the out of control esper being given as it was driven into the floor.

"W-whoa Kairi, where did you learn THAT?" Sora asked his de facto girlfriend.

"When I had to train with Kain due to your laziness!" She replied, crossing her arms threateningly.

"Do not let up!" Bahamut warned, but Kairi had already played dearly, a banishing ray blasting her right leg, causing her to fall.

"WHY YOU!" Sora roared, his clothes blowing up in a red hue as he took on two Keyblades, the Sleeping Lion and the Fenrir. He charged at the snake which was still hurt and started wailing on it.

"I got it…" Neku looked at the pin. "The Sword of Seals can seal ANYTHING!" He grabbed the object that was fit for the Occuria and summoned the sword. "Sora, hold on!" He exclaimed as he began running.

"Alri-"Sora only looked back for a second but it was enough to be blown back by a buffet of wings, being shot down on the arm in midair.

"Damn!" Neku cursed as he continued to run, but he saw a blue flash that calmed him.

"I'll hold him!" Layle assured, the snake screeching in pain as both Layle's powers and a great amount of ruble began pushing it into the ground.

"Go back to sleep!" Neku shouted, bringing down the blade, but Zodiark still managed to get in one last banishing ray into his torso, however, even then, Shin grabbed the blade while it was falling and tried to finish the job… not happening. They had took too long, Zodiark finally regained enough control of his body to show his true colors. All his twelve wings suddenly burst into red light as the cenary broke into a white void, sending all to fall to the city bellow after getting hit by the dimension shattering blast. For everyone, everything went blank as they fell.

* * *

><p>The rocks in Giruvegan began cracking as the ceiling collapsed, Aya running up to where Ramza and Delita were fighting. Surprisingly, even as the world around them was literally falling apart, they were still locked in their dance to the death. Holy rays and sparks flew everywhere, rock crumbled beneath their swords. Even as one rock broke free from the ground and started floating in their way, they just cleave through it and met in the middle.<p>

"I won't lose Ramza! I've worked too hard for this!" Delita roared, sending Ramza soaring into the heavens.

"Worked for what? What are you fighting for? Wasn't it for Tietra's sake?" Ramza replied, sending a Divine Ruination wave downwards.

"If I allow myself to lose… after we going on completely different paths… is accepting that everything I did in life was a mistake!" He shouted back, dodging the wave and jumping to meet him, they clashed in midair and Ramza suddenly asked:

"What if… you were?" This surprised Delita and they stopped for a second, landing and staring at eachother.

"What are you trying to say?" He barked back.

"There is no shame in learning with your mistakes. What if your way was truly wrong?" Was he trying to play Delita or… "What I'm trying to tell you Delita, is that you may still turn back. Even after murdering your wife… you're a king, you can make amends!"

"Shut up! Why would I admit defeat like that? I said only one may stand! The one who leaves is the one who's right! COME RAMZA!" He blared, speeding towards Ramza once again, now determined to end it… or was he now? His mind was filled with questions Ramza had created with one sentence. He tried to repress them, but there was just no way to.

"Stop running away!" Ramza shouted, frustrated that Delita was too afraid off confronting the gravity of his crime. As the two clashed in the middle, one blade's thrust missed and the other ones pierced through flesh.

"Why…" Delita asked, coughing blood. "Why did you… SPARE ME!" The blade had only pierced a lung, sparing his life.

"The same reason you hesitated in the last second, causing you to miss. You can't admit it, but deep inside, you know we're still brothers Delita… I can't bring myself to kill you." He told him honestly, sliding the sword out of Delita, who stumbled back, his eyes blank in thought. Then, he laughed, laughed and laughed until he coughed blood.

"So… I was wrong… all my life… I was wrong. And you were right. God damnit Ramza, why are you ALWAYS RIGHT?" He asked, now blabbing his frustrations away. "I can't make amends..:" he said with a smile.

"Probably." Replied his brother.

"'But you can try', is what you are going to say." Delita guessed, Ramza nodding. "Tsk…" He spat, grabbing onto his wound as he opened a portal.

"Where are you going?" Ramza asked, taking a step on his direction.

"Gonna do what you can't." He was, in fact a man which should be working for the enemy, so Ramza understood what he meant, but he still wanted to help him.

"Delita… catch!" Without sparing a look, Delita raised his hand grabbed said object thrown against him, turning out to be an Elixir. "Until we meet again!"

"Aye." Delita nodded, disappearing into the Rift.

"Ramza." Aya called.

"Let's go Aya… we have won the day!" He exclaimed happily, the duo making their way out of the city with one less worry.

* * *

><p>The same could not be said for the ones falling deep into the Great Crystal, of all of them, the only one who managed to keep his consciousness was Shin, albeit only partially.<p>

"Hey lizard… give me wings…" He asked of him, barely conscious.

"_And what are you going to do with them?"_ Shinryu asked, pointing out that Zodiark was way of his league by now.

"Can't YOU beat Zodiark?" Shin asked, trying to prod him into doing what he wanted.

"_I know what you want boy, but your body can't produce enough energy for that…"_ He replied, knowing just what he was going for.

"Aren't crystals energy in solid form?" He asked, suddenly realizing something.

"_They are, but what do you… Think it's worth a shot? I can'__t__ guarantee your safety."_ He warned, but he knew the answer.

"Let's go!" Shin exclaimed.

"Okay, I'll poor everything this body can handle!" Shinryu exclaimed, feeling alive for the first time in millennia. The crystal's began disappearing as the melted into energy and entered Shin's body. Shin closed his eyes, his body exploding in a flash of light. When it subsided, Shin found himself flying with his wings out. Under closer inspection he noticed his hair had become red like Shinryu and looking at a nearby crystal he saw his eye was now golden with serpentine style. His clothes changed to what Shinryu suggested in the first place, he truly wanted to have his way.

"Apart from the clothes… this was a really good job." He told himself, surprised to see his voice echo like it was two.

"I'm here too." His own mouth told him as the dragon played with him.

"Body's mine, use my head!" He shouted, annoyed.

"Okay, you swing the sword, I guide it!" Shinryu exclaimed with Shin's mouth. "But first... Teleport!" He cast, sending the companions to the outskirts of the city. "Now, let's go!"

* * *

><p>"What is that?" Squall wondered as he saw the wings from the distance, the behemoth known as Zodiark was blocking out the sun with only its presence, fitting for his motif of the eclipse.<p>

"Shin…" Terra whispered.

"Like hell they are gonna lose." Crono reassured, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You should accept that thing though."

"What thing?" She wondered, sincerely oblivious.

"You're just like I was, aren't you?" He joked, leaving Terra confused.

"That light that stopped in front of it, what is…"

"Shinryu!" Terra shouted, being the most attuned to magic she recognized the signature of energy.

"Impossible, the dragon's gone!" Cloud barked.

"I can't put it into words… but it's Shin… and Shinryu…"

They looked on confused.

* * *

><p>"Okay, what do we do?" Shin asked.<p>

"_IF I'm right, this sword can seal it by hitting the main body, it's simple, let's go!"_He told him, urging to fly onward. He did, dodging the first barrage on Banishing Rays Zodiark sent to him. In a grunt of displeasure, Zodiark used one of his blazing wings to try and destroy him, but Shin cut through easily with the Sword of Seals. He did notice however, that even without Spellblade, the sword flared up and shot flames that went on to cut through another wing. The creature shrieked in pain and Shin smiled in pleasure.

"Let's try this… the heavens cry, CHAOTIC DELLUGE!" He exclaimed with all his might, shooting the concentrated power forward with, being engulfed with the flames from his sword. Zodiark could barely react, protecting himself with two wings, forfeiting them in the process. "Not done yet!" He felt like he had the power to do something normally completely crazy. "Spellblade: Thundaja!" He cried, flames and thunder annihilating four wings from the right, leaving only four wings on Zodiark, one on the bottom, the middle ones and one on the top. Yes, Shinryu's power was enough for him to go to the fourth level easily. "And now for the main event! Sleep!" He shouted, using a block of ice he created under himself to propel him into the flaying creature.

"_Not so fast!"_ Shinryu told him, but he had already walked into a Darkja, not hurting him all too much, which surprised him actually. He looked at his sword and clothes and they were both shinning brilliantly. He knew about the clothes but…

"What the heck IS this thing?" He took a better look at it. Normally this would be too small for is tastes, but it was just right now. It was the length of a normal sword but, the hilt was exquisitely decorated as it was composed by two golden wings with a red jewel in the middle and two blue markings on the top of each wing, the handle was golden aswell but it had a thin line of green in the middle and another ruby on the bottom. The hilt then gave way to a somewhat slim blade, not a rapier's, but not a longsword's either. It had no really special decoration like the hilt, it was just a silver blade with a golden line traversing through the middle of the blade.

"I don't believe that actually matters now! Finish that thing off or I'll do it myself!" Shinryu urged.

"Fine geez… let's go… The heavens cry, Chaotic Deluge!" He chanted yet again, Zodiark, taking the full brunt of the blast due to his lack of wings, the beast then began crashing downwards into the Feywood, but instead destroying a shaft of the Henne Mines instead. "The earth screams, Savage Roar!" He roared himself, the earth trembling before splitting open due to the massive sound waves. This would be truly remarkable for a dragon, but for Shin, he felt a bit silly doing it, and I do not blame him. But onwards we go, the beast itself, while hurt by the attack, still managed to fire back, beams that Shin easily dodged, but in doing so it let the beast recompose itself. And it was not going to be a pretty sight.

The screech it gave filled with pure unbridled rage was one that Bahamut woke up to, and it came with bad tidings.

* * *

><p>"They do not know what they made the boy unleash upon the world." He lamented, twelve renewed wings sprawling from the earth.<p>

"Well, I did." A voice told Him from behind. With a sudden turn he almost froze as he saw Lezard standing on his side, adjusting his glasses to conceal his maddened gaze. "But let's face it. Those fools cannot see any bad consequence of their decisions, they truly believe everything will go as planned and never think of what could happen if they do not… but the way this turned out is… amusing. Shinryu awakened fully… nay, it grew even above that."

"How would you know that?" Bahamut asked.

"Oh, come now Bahamut, you have seen Shinryu before, haven't you?" He asked rhetorically.

"And how would you have knowledge of that?" The dragon asked. Was Lezard truly here for a talk or was he being played into an ambush? He would not know, nor could he avoid it, this wasn't a homunculus, this was a true God, not by title like Him, but by power.

"I have… friends in dark places." He cackled, but regaining his composure.

"You… you cannot be mean…" Bahamut quivered at the very thought he was talking about who He think he was.

"Maybe, but why don't we have a seat? Fighting is pointless, let's just see… if the world ends…" Lezard said, creating a chair for both of them. Bahamut just looked onward and saw Zodiark arise.

"No…" He gasped, closing His and trying to reach Shinryu.

* * *

><p>"<em>Listen to me!"<em> Bahamut cried in their head.

"Two dragons in my head?" Shin joked, but he soon lost the will to.

"_Be serious Shin! Do you have any idea why Zodiark had to be contained?"_Bahamut blared, silence answering him. _"He can BREAK reality! That's right, same as Omega, and it's going to do that NOW!"_For Bahamut to lose His calm, even Shin understood, this was past serious.

"We have to seal it… now. Grab onto the wings!" Shinryu ordered. Shin barely had time to think as he saw Zodiark fly by, only managing to grab his bottom wing by sheer luck. "Hold on!" Shinryu warned, Zodiark speeding so fast even they couldn't see where they were going.

* * *

><p>"Lord Larsa, watch the skies!" Gabranth urged, the young man and, well myself, looking upwards to see the being rise up into the skies, ever growing to the point that the wings themselves seem to cover the planet.<p>

"What IS that?" Larsa gasped, the sun darkening.

* * *

><p>"Big Sis… what is that?" Sara asked Katarin as she pointed to the sky, the wings of the snake spreading as far as their planet.<p>

"I don't know… but Mama will make it go away!" She assured, even if she was shaking in anticipation, even more so when the sun was completely blocked off.

* * *

><p>"I can't belive we can't do anything about this!" Cloud blared, slamming his fist against the wall.<p>

"We just have to believe in him…" Terra assured. "We all had to do the impossible once."

* * *

><p>"<em>Damnit, where are… is this space?"<em> Shin bellowed, or tried to, he couldn't even ear himself talk, there was no air in space after all. He was indeed in the vast sea of stars that was space as the Esper flew into nothingness, with him grabbed a mere fifty meters from his core. If he was at the edge though, the wings would take days to cross, they were almost the length of a planet now.

"_That puts us on a time limit… gravity!"_ Shinryu silently chanted, giving Shin the possibility to stand on one of the wings. _"Go before you die without the oxygen!"_ He urged.

"_Okay!"_ He agreed, begging to run to the snake. It hollered and let loose more beams, trying to delay him until it could charge up for the blast. _"Oh no you don't!"_ Without breaking the pace and summoning the Apocalypse, Shin used both swords to deflect any ray on his direction until he was a few meters from the center still... _"Is space-time breaking?"_ He wondered, cracks in space appearing in front of him, he skillfully dodged them and was nearly face to face with the serpent itself, he knew he was out of time._ "Now, not so though up close, are ya?"_He mused, jumping in a broad arc, both swords hitting a shield. _"Well played."_The shield was small and only encompassed the serpent, hut it was enough. The cracks became bigger and Zodiark screeched, intent of ending it all.

* * *

><p>"The Final Eclipse is nigh…" Bahamut commented, defeated.<p>

"Is it now?" Lezard asked, stepping off his chair.

"Are you… trusting Shin?" That got a rare hearty laugh out of Lezard, not a crazed one, but almost a normal one.

"Trust? It would only be called that… if I didn't know the outcome." He explained, vanishing.

"Let us hope you are right…" Bahamut didn't want to say that, but it was true. "Surprise me boy."

* * *

><p><em>"Well, what now?"<em> Shin asked his former self.

_"The sword… look at it."_ He told him. As he did e noticed it was shining but what's more… sparks were coming from it. In space, without air. "We're running out of air, what do you say, one slash, all in?"

_"Sounds like a plan!"_ Shin agreed, raising his sword in an arc above his head, pointing upwards as it erupted in sacred flames, do not ask me how that is possible. He smiled and arced it back with one arm, quickly roaring deafly and jumping once more into the creature, which tried to end it before Shin could do anything. As it hit the shield Shin used both hands, roaring yet again "BREAAAAAAAAAK!" He could even swear he heard himself without the air. The sword finally produced a satisfying crack feeling on his hands as it broke. "Go back to sleep!" He ordered, cutting into the snake with the swords just as all the light needed was being absorbed to him, the world was this close to going dark. In a powerful shockwave, all light returned to normal in the world, the wings returned to their feathered self and normal size, no longer obstructing the sun. The sword did not wound the serpent strangely, it just passed into it like a ghost. Still, it cried in pain as the wings vanished and it slowly returned to its fully sealed self, turning into its constellation and plummeting into the planet, probably to Vaan's hand.

* * *

><p>"Mama did it!" Sara exclaimed as she jumped up and down.<p>

"Maybe she did…" Katarin replied with a smile, cradling Leo happily.

* * *

><p>"Whatever that was, we're safe now, let us go to Giruvegan." Larsa urged before seeing an unknown airship arrive at Rabanastre. "Hold that thought…"<p>

* * *

><p>"Well, she was right, here's five thousand." Locke gave Laguna.<p>

"He did it…" Terra said.

"Oh brother…" Celes told herself, taking a palm to her face because of her friend's reaction. "You can only get SO dense…"

* * *

><p>Back in space:<p>

"Well, that's a nice story to tell Terra." Shin mused.

"Yes, now, let's go back, they probably want you back." Shinryu told him.

"They want US back." Shin corrected. The possibly touching moment was interrupted when suddenly.

"SPAAAAACE!" A round robot exclaimed as it rolled by them.

"Humans? Please take me with you, my name is Wheatley!" Another robot with a strong british accentbegged, completely estranging Shin.

_"Let's go…"_ He told Shinryu, casting teleport.

"WAIT! I WAS IN PORTAL TWO!" But they were gone. "Oh brother..."

* * *

><p>Now, I can say this was an enjoyable experience, I tried my best to sound like your former narrator, I hope I succeeded. I hope to work here in the future, so, until next time... Farewell.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"You cannot trust me…"_

_"Orlandeu, you cannot do this by yourself."_

_"Diablos, just give it up."_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note: <span>****That was amazing Shin!

I know right Terra? I'll just use this every time I get in trouble and bam!

**As a matter of fact, you won't.**

You're back, Herald?

**Yup, you can go rest. Also Shin, you're not going to jump to overpowered one-man army, stop dreaming.**

Fine…

**Well then:**

****True Post-Chapter Note: ****I'm back, and I wanted to update earlier, but I actually broke my left foot, so yeah, had to put it up later. Good news is, somehow that "little thing" gave me inspiration. Yes, I'm going to go completely crazy here and make a third story, and yes it's already halfway done for the first chapter. Expect it tomorrow. It's Kingdom Hearts and who doesn't love Kingdom Hearts? If you don't… I'll look for you… I WILL find you… and I Will… lock you in a room with Vannile, Yuffie, Rikku and Ventus. Consider yourself warned. Other than that, if you're reading this on Tuesday or beyond, check out the profile to see if it's uploaded!

Cheerio!


	55. Believer

****Author's note:****What's this? I finally updated on Sunday? MADNESS! Anyway, this chapter… well, I kinda went a little crazy writing Tina's bits, you'll see why in seconds, other than that, just read. This is the penultimate chapter of this part and believe me when I say, I'm feaking excited for the next one, I mean, REALLY excited.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Fifty-Five**

****Believer****

* * *

><p>My beautiful fans, I am back! The Narrator! No need to applaud, I know how much you love me. Now that I've been conned out of appearing onto Herald's latest fic, I decided I needed to watch my back so I will TRY to remain as passive as possible. Just as long as he doesn't touch any of my favorite characters.<p>

* * *

><p>Vaan slowly opened his eyes, jolting into a sitting position when he regained consciousness completely.<p>

"So you are awake." Bahamut commented with little hiding his apprehension towards the boy. "If you wanted to kill us all, you failed." He told him as turned His back to him.

"What do you mean "kill us all"?" It then hit Vaan, no, it couldn't be that bad.

"Irresponsibly unsealing Zodiark. We were seconds away from being shattered along with our dimension. Imagine, the entire Living World be annihilated just because you couldn't accept reality." Bahamut's calm hid away a seething rage inside of Him, one that He knew wouldn't solve anything.

"W-what?" Vaan asked, dumbfounded. He slowly got up, but not for long.

"Your surprise only serves to highlight just irresponsible you were. You unleashed something you knew nothing about." Bahamut reprimanded.

"N-no… DAMNIT! WHAT WAS I THINKING?" Vaan shouted, grabbing his head as he fell to his knees.

"You weren't." Bahamut stated, still not sparing a glance. "But spare us the self-loathing, we're safe and Zodiark's back into your hand, just remember to be more responsible about its usage later on." His stone softened even if just a little, He hadn't been a saint all of His life either.

"Just a question… who exactly stopped it?" Vaan asked, again standing up and looking into the man's back.

"Is that even a question?" A voice came from behind him. Zack had woken up and jumped into a standing position. "Look around you, who's missing?" He did, but he hadn't paid attention to the group so he returned Zack a confused look.

"Shin's missing." Aqua answered, shaking her head and opening and closing her eyes. "That light really did a number on my eyes." She cursed, everything filled with little rainbow dots. Everyone started slowly waking up, all of them looking at Bahamut for answers.

"Shiki, schedule a call with God, we have a pretty big report to give." Neku told the red haired girl, who didn't hesitate to start talking to her big black cat.

"Wait… where's Rydia?" Edge exclaimed, looking around to find nothing as green as the summoner.

"Edge, if she was dead, I wouldn't be here." Bahamut pointed out. "She can't even be that hurt, or she couldn't sustain me."

"Fair enough." Edge said, a lot calmer. "Still, I'd like to know where she is…"

"As touched as I am by your worry, I think I'm the last person that needs worrying about right now."

* * *

><p>"Well, now that that's over with, I think we have a kingdom to visit." Laguna mused, seeing the city in the distance.<p>

"Terra? Terra?"He heard Celes call, immediately all the room had pointed their eyes towards the woman, who was now in a deep coma-like state. "What's happening to her?"

"Wait… Just as I thought." Naminé interrupted, putting on hand on top of the woman's head and sighing. "We were interrupted by that energy pulse, but I had already unlocked her memories, she must have fallen into them. Don't worry, when the memories are over, she'll wake up."

They could only watch as the girl seemed to be emerged in a somewhat blissful sleep.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

Terra was confused, how was she watching her memories unfold without Naminé?

"Look, don't worry about that now, I want to see what happens to that woman." Her esper told her. She agreed, only because she had no way to get out on her own, having to trust her friends outside to help her. She saw the green haired woman grabbing a scaled whip from Leviathan's human form, but she looked… bored? With a yawn she yanked the whip right from the man's hands and said:

"Let's make this more realistic Levi. I can't beat them if I have to use my true form on you, so… go sea serpent now, I'll take you on like this!" Leviathan didn't know if she was taunting or speaking like she meant it, but he obeyed, transforming into the massive sea serpent known as the Leviathan, water appearing from nothingness to sustain the Lord of the Sea.

"I warn you Tina, I will not hold back! DROWN!" He cried, a giant Tidal Wave being born, one that threatened to consume the summit.

"You'll have to try harder… Freeze, Glacier!" She exclaimed, spinning with the cold winds she had invoked, freezing the massive wave in its path and sending it back to whence it came.

"You cannot hurt me with my own element!" Leviathan hollered, the ice dissolving into water once again.

"Of course… but I can like THIS!" Leviathan didn't react it time, one smash from her left leg onto his head turned his world black as the serpent fell in one shot. "Sorry friend… Who's next?"

"Tina…" Bahamut stepped to the front, instantly growing his wings and becoming the King of Dragons. "Do not make me do this!"

"I think we've gone past the point of no return… at least make me use my true form, will you?" She replied with a saddened sigh.

* * *

><p>"You know, I'd expect it to be more well-guarded by now." Lightning groaned as she made she way into Rabanastre's research facility. As you could guess, the broken Epoch was plain in sight, one of the blackbird's wings laid down on a research, along with its engine.<p>

"Spares us the work of finding the reactor." Lightning jumped back, pointing her Gunblade into the place where the voice originated, finding it on Lezard's neck. "Your guard needs polishing, oh wannabe-Valkyrie." He said with a chuckled.

"Whatever… just what are you going to do with it anyway?" Lightning asked, curious of what side Lezard was REALLY on. Jenova's? The other enemies or… his.

"I'm afraid I do not need to do all that much with it, it's just the final piece of the puzzle for my master plan… I'll just need to solve it afterwards…" Lightning watched as he seemed to make several adjustments, both physical and magical to the sphere before even going as far as to completely repair the ship in a matter of minutes. "There we have it… new and improved."

"Why are you doing this?" Lightning asked, now even more confused on what he pretended.

"Giving them the encouragement they so need, aswell as the tools to accomplish their objectives." He said in a crazed chuckle. "Why play on one side…. When you make every side play for you? That puppet really thinks she betrayed me, they all do, but a good pawn is the one that never realizes it's being controlled… Hehehe…. HAHAHAHAHA!" The laughter echoed through the now almost lifeless facility, not one person was still conscious. "Now, I'll keep my end of the bargain… if you keep yours. Do not fret, she cannot be hostile to your news without ending what she believes to be her cover. But I warn you, if you ever disclose anything I have told you to anyone… You'll not be the one to pay…"

"How can I trust you?" The soldier and goddess asked the man, who adjusted his glasses before answering:

"Trust me? Silly former human. You cannot trust me… you just have to wish your desires truly coincide with mine!" HE let out another laugh.

"Serah… Fine. I'll give you a shot, I don't anything to lose…" Lightning answered as Lezard made a portal behind her.

"Go on, you have your "Mother" waiting…" Lezard mocked, not minding the killer glare he received as he vanished into a portal of his own.

* * *

><p>"Damnit! It's assimilating DNA!" A young, blonde haired man cursed, hitting his computer with both hands in frustration. "If it's like this… There can BE no cure. How can you cure something that cannot be considered a disease?" He asked himself, sighing in disappointment.<p>

"DIRECTOR HOPE!" An armored guard with a machine gun called, entering the room where the young man was in panic. "They are everywhere director, even my own men are starting to turn! Any wound will drive them insane, you have to escape! You're the only chance at a cure we got!"

"Escape where? Last I checked, Academia was the last town in time itself that was not filled with mindless fanatics… Even if I do escape, where can I work to find the cure?" He shouted in frustration.

"Perhaps… I can help." A familiar old man offered as he appeared out of nowhere behind Hope.

"W-who are you? And what did you do to get in?" Hope asked as he drew his boomerang confused.

"You can call me Cid. And to answer your second question, what I did is what is going to get you out. I need your mind and data Hope, store it in a safe container and come with me, we have to devise an antidote!" He urged as the sound of cluttering steps inched ever closer to their location.

"Sir, you HAVE to go, you can't get into a worse situation than the one you are right now!" The guard urged, Hope knew he was right and nodded.

"Let me just get my gear…" He said as he rushed to the computer. "Huh? The data is… different." He commented as he looked at the computer, but he soon realized he had no time to lose and saved it all in a pen before heading back to Cid, who opened a portal to the Rift.

"Be safe sir, we're all counting on you!" The guard as the door was kicked open. "GO!"

"The cards are in place…" Lezard mused as he saw Hope leave through the portal. "Now to see everything unfold!" He cackled as he vanished, probably into his laboratory.

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"Are you insulting me?" Tina roared, dodging a hail of flares before vanishing and reappearing behind the dragon, kicking it into a mountain as the onlookers gasped. "DON'T YOU DARE HOLD BACK ON ME!" She hollered, sending two balls of flame to find the wounded dragon, which blew them away with flaps from his wings.

"Speaks the woman who has always been condescending about me!" He shouted back, ramming into her at a blinding speed, apparently starting to get serious. "If you want me to tear you to pieces… then so be it! It will just as you've done to my heart!" My notion was correct it seems. "Can't you see what you are doing? You are destroying everything we worked for the past years!"

"Bahamut… there's no getting through with you is there? What you are doing is monstrous!" She yelled, now having difficulties to dodge the charges from the Dragon King in midair considering that she was still in human form.

"Humans ARE monsters!" Bahamut roared, faking another charge, just to spin as Tina tried to dodge sideways, hitting her with his tail and sending her spinning into the floor, promptly crashing onto the fallen girl with his draconian claws which led her to blurt blood onto his nails.

"Wh-what has Kayser done to all of you? Don't you remember what you told me all those years ago?" She asked, slowly forcing Bahamut to lift his claw with overwhelming strength. When she regained her footing she jumped up, claw in tow and spun around in midair, completely baffling any onlooker, even Maduin as a human slammed a dragon into the ground. "Monsters cannot kill monsters! They can only breed them!" She reminded him, punching his snout. "And by the looks of it, Kayser has a MASSIVE NEST here!" She punched him again, not wanting to use magic and possibly annihilate one of the few people she ever trusted.

"I…" Bahamut stuttered as he looked back and reflected to what he had done, what the people he was following had done. Ever since they started listening to Kayser… they had done the exact same as humans did when they tried to exterminate him. Revenge causes revenge and they had been tricked into continuing that cycle so easily. Even the person with the most reason for it could see that they had been wronged, how did it come to this? "I'm sorry…" He finally answered, returning to his human form. Tina let out a sigh and turned his back on him.

"You better be!" She told him as she walked back in the direction of the Summit. She didn't need to go that far however, as a giant demon-like figure crashed right in front of her. "Well, warm-up's over." She joked, bursting into a pink light as lightning coursed through her body. "Let's dance little devil!"

"You disrespectful bitch!" Diablos roared, the ground itself cracking as the gravity was increased a thousand fold. "I'LL CRUSH YOU!"

* * *

><p>"Is she going to be alright?" Vaan asked desperately as Rydia brought a floating Ashe to their side.<p>

"I'm afraid I just... can't tell." Rydia replied somberly. "She only survived because the sword pierced her lungs and not her heart, but even that means that she lost tremendous amounts of blood. We would need to get her to a competent healer, at least more skilled than Cu there, she has tried her best to stabilize her… I'm afraid we have no means to save her right now." She finally blurted out, causing Vaan to fly into a blind rage.

"NO! We can get her to the Strahl and…" He began before Gabranth interrupted him.

"She needs immediate attention, she cannot handle a travel of more than two hours." The judge answered from his lying position.

"YOU!" Vaan roared, grabbing him by the neck. "I should kill you! You lost to Vayne, you're the cause of all this!" He accused, beginning to strangle the man as the group tried to pull him off.

"If you desire to kill me Vaan of Dalmasca, go ahead, you have every right to do so, but be warned. You are not the same man I saw years ago. Yes, you may say that you "matured" but somewhere along the way, you began to lose sight of the light. Vaan, what would Reks think of you if he saw you now?" A bold move, considering how Gabranth was the one that killed him, but for some reason, Vaan stopped chocking him.

"He's kinda right Kid, last time I checked you were just like that Bartz and Zidane kids." Jecht added.

"Yeah… yes he is… it's just…. Damnit, I've been under a lot of stress lately… sorry…" Vaan replied, standing back up and shaking his head as if to shoo that part of him away.

"I should be the one apologizing… but that does not answer our predicament with Queen Ashelia." Gabranth replied, forcing himself into a sitting position. "How can we get her to Rabanastre or any capital city that swiftly?"

"Well, I might have an answer to THAT!" Two intertwined voices said as Shin appeared right in the middle of the group. "Sup." He said cockily.

"Wow, you got a hair due, a pair of contact lenses and now you think you're hot shit huh?" Zack replied in a deceivingly annoyed tone. "Kidding dude, you're gonna have to tell us all about what happened later, for now, can you get this girl to a doctor?" He asked as he pointed at the barely breathing Ashe.

"Probably." Shin replied, grabbing her weak body. "But I probably can't take you all back, I can feel my power lacking even now." He told them. It was true, his power was waning and he could feel that he couldn't last with hit a lot longer.

"Take her then… And the kid…" Jecht… was…. Being… sensitive… WHAT?

S'what I do!

Not it's NOT!

Shut up before I break your ribs again prissy pants!

Tsk, I love my job way too much to let you ruin it like this… onward we go.

"Why me?" Vaan asked, not astonished at why, but how they could still feel sympathy for him.

"She has to have SOMEONE to wake up to. Don't you agree?" I really think this is some sort of alternate Jecht, because there's no way he would say things like this…

"That she does. At least he's straightforward about it, unlike _some_…" Most of the group gasped as the voice of Shinryu came from Shin's mouth, but then the realized that it was in fact another person.

"Do I have to rip out my throat?" Shin yelled at him.

"Probably." Shinryu teased.

"Hey, Shin!" Zack called, Shin looking to his side for a single second before being blinded by a flash. "It turned out pretty good!" Zack said as he looked at the photo on his phone.

"Why did you just do that?" Aqua questioned to which Zack answered.

"We don't know if he'll ever use this form again, so might as well keep a photo for the future!" Whatever that meant.

"Well then, go ahead Shinryu. They can pilot the ship anyway." Neku told them as the Strahl's engines resounded from above.

"Well, okay, let's go Vaan… teleport!" He cast, their body vanishing into the four winds.

* * *

><p>"Well, what do we say when we arrive?" Tifa asked as the ship slowly docked into Rabanastre's air dome.<p>

"That we need help." Shin's booming voice told them as he appeared right into the bridge, falling to one knee and returning to his normal self.

"Shin?" Tifa gasped, trying to get him up, something he refused. "She needs it more…" He told her, passing the critical condition queen to him.

"Vaan! You're here!" Zidane and Bartz exclaimed, tackling the blonde into submission. "Squall, can he join the Pride? PLEEEEEASE?" Squall groaned at their ridiculous attempt of puppy eyes, but he told them it would be okay, or he would never hear the end of it.

"Not. The. Time!" Rinoa urged, pointing to the door, they had now docked. "Let's get her to a doctor!"

"Larsa should call any doctor in the city for that." Vaan told the stranger, shaking off his strange assaulters. He couldn't say much more however as a snap of two fingers sent him into the ground.

"You're getting kinda trigger happy with that Nam…" Roxas commented with a distressed smile.

"It's… fun seeing them fall face down into the ground!" PSYCHO ALERT!

"Oooookay… by the way…"Shin began.

"Where's Terra?" Locke finished in a girly tone.

"She's reliving some memories, Naminé says she'll wake up soon." Celes replied and took note of Shin's disheartened expression. "For the Triad's sake…" She spat at the obliviousness of the duo.

"Hey author! What about lamp shading this?" Locke yelled to the unknown, earning him another "is-he-a-lunatic" look. Unfortunately we know how he just has a special gift to destroy the fourth wall. Still, they tried to ignore him and took Ashelia to the outside with Vaan, giving a very, very awkward smile at Larsa when he ordered the troops to prepare themselves for battle when he saw the unconscious bodies of his allies on the hands of strangers.

"We didn't think this through, did we?" Squall pointed out, raising his hands as his father waved a small white flag.

"We can… explain?" Zidane begged as the guns clicked.

"I'd suggest you do it fast." Balthier said as he shot a warning shot into the air. "That kid owes me a ship."

* * *

><p>"You have my thanks… Warrior." Orlandeu told the man in the blue armor that stood beside him. "Your arrival was enough to scare off those beasts."<p>

"There is no need, you are valuable to us." The warrior replied. They all stood in the conference room, some tied in bandages, some completely fine like them. Jenova had traded some blows with Orlandeu before Hikari arrived to stop the fight. Thank god he did, as the fight wasn't exactly on Orlandeu's favor. A ring on King Caelum's phone finally appeared as they listened to their long awaited report.

"It's true King Caelum, everything that is not the capital has been taken over by the cult, we are unsure of what to do as any soldiers we dispatch add to their numbers." An officer told the King.

"Retreat back to the capital, we'll concoct a plan here." He replied with a sigh.

"I can halt their advance." Orlandeu offered, being met with rage.

"You cannot do this by yourself Orlandeu!" Joshua told him sternly. "As your superior I forbid you!"

"Then what do we suggest we do? We have to take a course of action, the more we wait the more they grow." Orlandeu had a point, but Hikari had a better one.

"Barricade the city, a person we know off went to get help." He informed in a passive tone.

"Cid isn't a man that plays, he does what he says!" Shantotto rhymed whimsically.

"I'm sure that Prishe and Lloyd will be back soon…" Éclair reassured. "I think he mentioned something about an antidote…" She added.

"That settles it… barricade every entrance!" Noctis exclaimed.

"I agree." Caelum nodded. "I'll make preparations, for now… rest." He told the group that started to disperse.

"Reks, you've been kinda down… but now…" He saw that the Reks who had spent the days mopping had a smile on his face.

"I don't know why… I felt my brother was passing through a hard phase, it's probably over by now." He replied, trusting his brother's intuition.

"Good, we need all the help we can get against this "Dark Queen" as they call her…" Joshua grumbled.

* * *

><p>Vaan on the other hand had a much more pleasant dream. Well, any dream that started with waking up on Cosmos' lap was good enough for me…<p>

"You've been through much my warrior…" Her heavenly voice rang on his tired eardrums. "You can rest now… you are between friends…"

"You guys were late!" He replied with a more "Vaan-ish tone", not moving from her lap due to… certain attributes he would not normally be so close to.

"We most certainly were Vaan… but now it's all alright. Go back to your friends, laugh, cry, live. But please, never again forget who you are…" The goddess told him, pulling him closer into and embrace… lucky… bastard.

"I really did a mess there, didn't I?" He asked with a sarcastic smile. He was still enjoying his position though, like a normal man would.

"I never thought I'd say this, but if it weren't for Jecht… things might have been wilder…" Cosmos confessed.

"Yeah, well, he could have warned me…"Vaan told her before laughing quite a bit, Cosmos accompanying with a giggle of her own. "Any words of wisdom you can give me? Or at least a few more minutes in this position." He joked, for the first time ever the goddess going red with shame as she literally threw him away.

"I'm so sorry!" She apologized when she realized what she had done.

"Don't worry! I totally had that one coming!" Vaan replied with a smile. "Just a question though… Terra… did she make it?" He asked.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" That was answer enough for him. "Still, there is a word of wisdom I can give you… Your crystal is "Freedom". Maybe that can help you get it…" Cosmos informed him as he began to fade. "Vaan, take care, please…"

"Will do!" He replied as he suddenly woke up. Not everything would be good news though…

* * *

><p>Memories:<p>

"How… how can she do that?" Bahamut gasped as Terra ran though Diablos' gravity field like it was nothing. "Diablos and Crusader should be leagues above us…"

"The difference Bahamut, is that while you stayed here and reveled on your power, she was down there fighting every day. One or two appearances in the war doesn't make you stronger." Maduin told him.

Thing is, Diablos by himself isn't that powerful. He is physically only a bit stronger than the majority of espers and has a limited spell book. What made him stand out was his imperviousness to gravity along with his mastery over it. With his Gravija Field he made everything in it weight one thousand times his weight. That was normally enough to incapacitate most living beings, but the ones that didn't were completely crippled by it and were easy pickings… except for this girl. Sure, when she ran up to him and clawed him her right foot had been almost engulfed by the earth and she still had lost a great amount of speed, but…

"Diablos, just give it up! This is why you never beat Crusader. You're a one trick pony! If someone even as resists your magic… you can't handle it!" Diablos' was disgusted by Tina's taunts, much because of their realism. He was stumped, the fact that she could move and move well left him without almost any ways of countering. He could only groan and roar as he was showered by meteorites that ironically were faster due to his gravity. His bat-like wings were the grabbed by the girl, who froze them in place with her magic before grabbing his tail.

"You can't throw me on one-thousand times gravity!" He cried in fear as Tina's grin only grew bigger.

"Let's see…" She said darkly before begging to spin him around by his tail repeatedly, everyone that was outside the dome watching in awe as Tina let go of the devil after long seconds of winding up, sending him hurling through the ground against a nearby mountain away from the dome. She then began running after him, trying to catch the guy before he could do anything more, but that wasn't going to happen.

"You dirty… rotten… bitch!" Diablos boomed, the field of gravity around Tina becoming smaller and smaller as the gravity increased. "I'll turn you into stardust! Dark Messenger!" He chanted, closing the sphere around her into a pure black ball of gravity whose true extent of force was unknown.

"Tina!" Maduin and Bahamut called in despair.

"Don't bother calling…" Diablos told them with a darkened satisfied grin covering his demonic features.

"Listen to him…" That was not diablos… "RIOT… BLADE!" The sphere exploded into a hail of shinning blades of light that cut deeply into Diablo's torso and limbs but missed any vital spots. "I have to give it to ya… I felt heavy in there." Before getting attacked from behind, being launched from where she stood to the mountain where the summit took place.

"You… deserve my full attention." Three voices announced as three very different espers appeared in front of her.

"Jihad… you have THREE bodies?" Tina gasped, watching the monsters she was about to face. The first one was massive, muscled golden humanoid that appeared to be able to crush mountains. The second was an even taller black armored… thing whose arms were no more than two brown bones that connected to giant claws. The third one, floating above the other two was a woman…or it looked like one, with purple skin and dressed completely in a flowing golden vest. "Uhh… Two boys and one girl? Kinky!" Tina quipped, not to Crusader's liking.

"Will you take anything rationally Tina? There's a limit to how stupid your actions can be before you drag the entire world down with you! If you were not so powerful, I'd let you be…but as you are right now? You will be the first sacrifice for the world of prosperity the espers will live in!" The three of them boomed, to which the girl yawned.

"You done? Great! Sorrowful waters!" She chanted, pillars of water erupting from bellow the three, blinding them as Tina appeared just above the woman, kneeing her face and grabbing her from behind as she expected a claw from the black monstrosity. It stopped just in time but Tina understood what that meant and teleported away at the last possible moment, the fist of the golden giant impacting on his companions. "Jolt!" She chanted, now four streaks of lightning impacting on the golden giant, it screaming before shaking it off.

"She's fighting just like us…" Terra gasped.

"I doubt she's fighting just like us… we're fighting just like her… but I… no, she can't be…" Her esper side groaned, falling to the ground. "I… I can remember this… WHY?"

"Calm down… let's just see how this goes." Terra suggested.

"She's going to cast meltdown and Jihad will counter with three of them." She replied and as if it was programed.

"With this power… I will MAKE this end!" Tina roared, hurling the massive ball of fire into the cluttered trio.

"I TAUGHT YOU THAT!" Crusader boomed, cancelling the blast with three of his own.

"But I learned this on myself!" Tina shouted as she appeared from above, cutting right through the woman with her claws but costing her a steep price as the duo of giants crushed her between claw and shoulder.

"You are so powerful for a cub… why do you have to be so wrong? You could grow up to be a legend!" He told her infuriated, pressing both their arms and claws against her small body.

"A legend among monsters? No thanks!" She replied, pulling her arms upwards as she tried to release herself from the bone crunching bear hug. She could feel some ribs crunching but she cringed her teeth and managed to slip her arm out. "GET AWAY!" She ordered as she blasted the golden being with a massive chunk of ice. It flew against the wall and cried out in pain, leaving the black one to deal with Tina. "Malevolent winds…" She chanted, surrounding herself in three whirlwinds. "Protect me now!" She ordered as they congregated into a single one, sending him flying against a wall nearby, the turbulent tempest even blowing up the fragile celling of the summit. Tina then rose up above the ceiling and raised her hands up high, calling forth a giant black sphere of gravity. "Darkness of gravity… Crush them!" The chant was followed by the descent of them massive ball of darkness that destroyed most of the mountain and would later turn them into a cave system due to how deep the crater was. Now, usually, that would mean the end, right? Wrong!

"Now she's done it…" Diablos coughed as he joined Bahamut and Maduin.

"What do you mean?" Even Bahamut was unknowing against what was going to happen next.

"You never saw Jihad's… TRUE form, have you?" He asked, freezing both men. "What if I told you… that he has two transformations?"

"You are either very fortunate or the epitome of bad luck. You are the first I used this form to fight." This form was… truly strange. It was so… normal for an esper. It didn't derive a lot from his normal form at all! In fact, his body was the same but he was now wearing golden armor and had a golden metal halo behind his back. He didn't have any weapons, a string with more than one hundred beads attached and he had his eyes closed shut. "I am the living being closest to God…" He said in an almost divine voice.

"Does it look like I care?" Tina roared, firing two rounds of meltdown against her target, but was stupefied when the bounced off at a safe distance from him. "Oh, you want to play rough? LET'S!" She yelled, losing her patience as she flew towards the unmoving being.

"Away demon!" He simply said, opening his eyes.

"My… my body… I can't move!" She groaned, only able to move her neck. "What have you done you bastard?"

"Your sins are chaining you…" He simply replied. "Now I ask you Tina of the Raijū… will you submit?" He asked calmly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"I'd rather die!" She replied, spitting on his feet. "You damned hypocrite!"

"So be it… let me make you understand just what'll happen to you if you do not submit… Purification!" For some reason, Tina stopped feeling pain. Was that a good thing? Of course not. "You cannot feel your body, right? That's because I've chained one of your five senses, touch, and I promise I will not show mercy and will take away each and every one of your senses… Now tell me, if your cause righteous enough for you to live as a vegetable for the rest of your life?" He asked, to which Tina only asked.

"Shut up and take my hearing, I'm sick of listening to your self-righteous speeches!" She then stopped tasting with her tongue.

"I am sorry, but to make your surrender possible, your hearing shall be the last one to go." Crusader told her in a tone as cold as ice. "As long as there is… difference, there will always be pretext for war, don't you understand? Now, I ask you again, Tina… why don't you sub-"He never expected that. Somehow, Tina managed to break loose from his grip and punched him straight in the face. "Lose sight of your world!" He commanded, Tina's vision going blank. She had already suspected it would end like that however, and as her nose twitched, she could already smell where he was, turning to land a kick where her claws decimated his right check. "Why are you so irrational? "He asked, terminating her smell.

"Why are you so rational?" She asked back, taking him by surprise. "What you're basically saying is that the only way to have peace is to terminate one of the races! How short sighted and cold blooded is that? Can't you BELIEVE that we can work this out?" She roared.

"The short-sighted one is you! Yes, you may end this war, but I guarantee you that in one thousand years there will be another. What I propose is a definite soluti-"He shouldn't have talked, with only her hearing, Tina managed to detect where was and grab onto him. "Suffer a fate worse than death!" He spat, cancelling her hearing.

"_Is he… right?"_She asked herself as she unknowingly fell to the ground. No hearing, no balance, no touch, no positioning. "_Can we never accept our differences?"_

_"What do you mean? You're just glowy!"_ Rang on her head.

"_That's…right."_ She groaned inwardly, clinching her fist.

"What?" Crusader asked surprised. "No matter, she cannot have any perception now…" She reverted to her human form, further assuring Crusader of his victory. But it was just the opposite. The ribbon in her head was glowing in an otherworldly shine.

"I met a boy… that didn't see us as two races. He… proves that there is a possibility we can… forget all of this!" Tina exclaimed as the world around her began to return to her. The soil of the moon was gray, she knew it's feeling, it's smell, it's taste, she could hear herself and the murmurs. "As long as there is someone that proves we can coexist… I'll believe in that too! If we take revenge humans, humans will take revenge on us! Someone who doesn't understand that, who's too blind in his own plan that he doesn't see that he's being played… doesn't deserve to be a leader." And the she did the craziest thing I ever saw in my history of narrating this. She speared her body into the man and using her teleportation, she teleported them both to the planet's atmosphere.

"Are you insane? We cannot survive an entry into the atmosphere!" He yelled in the vacuum of space, only his lips telling the story.

"Care to try?" Tina asked back as they both started to enter the atmosphere.

"Why are you… doing this?" He asked as his armor began to be ripped off due to the pressure.

"If we die, the council will be a two to one in my opinion's favor and if we survive I will be Queen and my orders absolute! It's a win-win!" She replied, casting a protective barrier to not be burned by the fire at the re-entry.

"To go this far… do you place so much face in us as a whole? We are all flawed, you cannot believe not one will throw stones!" He replied, giving a weak punch to the girl, he was too busy contributing with power to the shield that ironically, was saving them both.

"I don't believe that! I believe that the majority of us won't! To be alive is to make mistakes!" She grabbed him very close to her and slapped him. "Learn from your mistakes you asshole, it's not too late for you to do the same! Swallow that damned pride!" She ordered of him, looking straight into his open eyes.

"What you are saying has no logical basis! Do you want our whole species to leap into the dark like that? Why don't you just kill us now?" He shouted, pushing her away and breaking the barrier in a desperate attempt to end it.

"Damn it Jihad! Don't make me kill you!" Tina shouted. They couldn't stop the fall by flying at this point, the momentum was just too great, she could even already see the ground forming bellow.

"You overestimate yourself! Tina! If you want to be queen, you'll have to kill me! Purifica-" She had grabbed his head as they drew dangerously close to the ground.

"I'm sorry… master…" She mumbled as…

Crack!

* * *

><p>"What happened?"Terra shouted as she jumped awake.<p>

"_Did she…"_ Her esper side asked herself, deducing that since the memories had stopped, she had to have… died.

"I don't know! But I know someone who owes us some answers!" Terra exclaimed, for the first time in a long time being truly angry at a friend.

"Terra… you're awake?" Celes asked as she bolted into her room. "Better yet… you can move?" It was only then that she realized that she COULD in fact move as she was sitting on her bed. But that was not all. She felt… different. She felt… powerful. Like she could take on the world. Was this what Rydia and Schala meant?

"It... looks like it…" Terra replied, still a bit confused about how she got her body functions back. But she wouldn't be able to think that a whole lot as Celes urged her:

"That doesn't matter right now! Come with me or Ashe'll die!" This got Terra's immediate attention, the rest could wait.

* * *

><p>Cosmos sat in her throne contemplating how she could further help her warriors when… suddenly a flash of her own light appeared in front of her, blinding her for a short second before she saw the object in front of her… A half sphere of clear blue color that was joined with a silver metal plating. This was…<p>

"Tidus' crystal? No… NO!" She screamed, knowing exactly what that meant. A crystal would only change its owner… if the former was no more.

... OH YOU MOTHER F-

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"THIS is freedom!"_

_"We have this planet's crystals, now to put them to use."_

_"We sealed this here because it is a threat to God itself…"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****Thank lord the amount of Tidus fans out there is minimal, maybe I won't have to live under a couch. Well, let's get the usual, you have any questions please ask them or any opinion can and should warrant a review since it brightens my day and unicorns and butterflies and… I'm just gonna stop there before I lose my lunch, you got the point.

**PS:** My new fic is up and it has two chapters already. So… GO READ IT! I find it hard to believe none of you likes KH, so I strongly request you ( to put it nicely) to click the profile button, go read both chapters (It's called Just Go Forward!) and leave a review to tell me what you think of it. This is actually very important because, unlike this one, I have too many ideas on how to actually make continue that fic and any opinion can help me decide. So… **DO IT!**** READ, READ AND READ SOME MORE!**... Please?

*Cough* Now that we got that out of the way… Cheerio!


	56. Break the Seal!

****Author's note:****The final chapter on this part and well… Brace yourselves, take a deep breath and read it, the next part has got me on my toes.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Fifty-Six**

****Break the Seal!****

* * *

><p>"You do know that I CANNOT guarantee you that I can heal her, don't you?" Terra asked Celes as they discussed what she said she needed her for when she went to get her. They were heading directly for the royal palace, but Terra wasn't very thrilled.<p>

"Terra, with this tech we can't determine her blood-type, or anyone's by that regard. Using anyone to transfuse blood to her is just too dangerous. We also can't even try with thee technology, you are the most able healer we have." She explained, even though knowing Terra wasn't a dedicated one. She didn't know the inner workings of the body or anything like that, she just knew how to cast the spell… how she wished Rosa was there instead…

"I'll try…" She replied, nervous about what she was about to do.

* * *

><p>"This data was tempered with!" Hope exclaimed, gasping at how much of his research of the virus had changed.<p>

"Does this mean you have no idea on how to tackle this disease?" Cid asked full of worry. If he didn't, then all the effort made to rescue him and take Hope to King Caelum's most advanced facility was a waste of time.

"No… it's just the opposite… this is showing me that the DNA molecule from the inside, it hasn't changed at all. The virus just coats the coder so that the RNA deploys different proteins… this is good AND bad news." Hope sighed at the implications of such.

"Is the good news the existence of a cure?" Cid asked hopefully, they needed some kind of "hope", no pun intended.

"Yes but… the bad news is that… what we saw until now is only the less advanced stages." Hope revealed and proceeded to explain. "If this data is correct, then human DNA and this DNA has little in common. The changes people exposed to the virus for long periods of time can contract are frightening…."

"Unfortunately, I already know that. But still, we should be working on a cure right now, not guessing how bad this can get." Cid told Hope, who found the point extremely valid and nodded.

* * *

><p>"We need to be faster! Set up barricades, get those soldiers ready! I don't want to see ANYONE standing still!" Noctis ordered, commanding everyone to transform the city into a true fort. He would make sure to transform this into a very prolonged siege if he had to. The man Cid brought seemed to know what he was doing, that and they didn't have any choice but hold out, they weren't going to beat the whole world by themselves.<p>

"Hey warrior… Hikari was it? You said you were traveling through the rift…" Reks began, wiping of the sweat on his forehead.

"I have not seen your brother Reks. But I am certain he will come to us sooner or later." He answered plainly, placing the last brick on the primitive stone blockade he was building.

"How can you be so sure?" Reks asked him, to which he would get no answer as the warrior was struck by a message from his former goddess.

"Hikari… I need your help at deciding a very important matter, could you please come to my sanctum?" Her voice sounded desperate enough for Hikari to let go of his grudge and open a portal to the Rift.

"Take care of this… I'll return as swiftly as I can." He told Reks in a hurry, leaving the blonde completely dumbfounded.

"Does he…" He began, to which Éclair replied with.

"Yes. He sometimes does things like that…" She sighed, waving off the fact that her Red Mage companion was busier hitting on Stella than actually working.

* * *

><p>"What is it Cosmos?" The Warrior asked begrudgingly as he entered the sanctum.<p>

"Warrior… Tidus… Tidus vanished…" Cosmos told him in between sobs, oh how guilty she felt, she who could have watched over him and chose to only see what the biggest group was doing.

"Curses… I trust you have no idea of what happened, have you? Any information?" Hikari asked, crushing in his hand air in rage.

"I do not… I only know this…" She filled the whole sanctuary with images of many important points in Spira, even the Farplane. They were all deserted. "Everyone in Spira has vanished…"

"Cosmos… have you still his crystal? Or has it been lost to darkness?" The warrior asked, trying to understand what could have happened.

"Here." She replied, materializing the crystal on her lap.

"Then, I trust you know who you should entrust it to." He stated, to which Cosmos shot him a confused look. "The would-be-creator… Don't fret, I'll deliver it myself." He finished, grabbing the crystal and turning his back on the woman. "Don't martyr yourself so much, you are only human." He finished, disappearing into the portal. That mean more than anything for the woman, who while thinking to be close to her respite, was surprised as flames erupted from the edge of her sanctuary.

"Why, aren't you the foxy lady!"

* * *

><p>"So, it has come to this…" Terra sighed as she entered the door to where Ashe was being taken care of, inside meeting an old friend.<p>

"Terra? Is that you?" Vaan gasped as the girl he once protected walked into the room.

"Vaan? My gosh! It is you!" For a second there both the involved parties forgot what was happening around them and pulled each other into a hug. Gee, if I didn't know any better I'd say these guys have fics paring them. Craaaazy huh?

"Are you the one that Celes talked about? Can you really save Ashe?" He asked, getting nervous as the reality of the situation sunk in.

"Ashe? That girl?" She asked, looking to the person whose court mages so desperately tried to heal. If those mages couldn't, how could she?

"Yes! Oh, and that guy as well, he looks like he's asleep, but I don't know… He said he might have wasted too much energy so maybe he isn't in a life threatening situation, but we should still help." He pointed at the brown haired man who was in a deep sleep.

"Damn… school fics… oh god, is that me? Why am I so apathetic?" He mumbled in his sleep. I don't think we can blame him for breaking the fourth wall in his sleep, can we?

"Oh god… a crossover… why… why do I have so little screen time? Wait is that… I won't stand for this, I'll get you author! You mark my words!" Okay, that is quite enough.

"He's been mumbling like that for the whole duration." Celes explained. "The others are having an emergency briefing and Neku Sakuraba called us to say he will be here a few hours."

"He'll be fine, it's just his hold habit of falling face down on the couch when he actually does something important." To be chastised by Terra… that's harsh. Still, her mood quickly changed as she touched the woman. The healers had repaired the bones and tissues, but her lungs were full of blood, normally it would be easily resolved by pushing it out of the lungs, but some had already dried, to the point where one lung was obstructed. That and she had caught several infections. All this would easily make Terra say she couldn't do anything for her, but something compelled her otherwise, maybe it was having control of her body again, she didn't know, before she knew it her mouth moved by itself: "Renew." She chanted without knowing as an overwhelming green flood filled the room, even going as far as erupting from the windows and doors, reaching all corners of the castle. When it ended…

"Vayne!" Ashe cried, opening her eyes and not exactly finding the former Emperor. "Who… who are you?" She asked, her surprised look only being matched by Terra's.

"How… how did I do that?" She wondered, looking at her hands. She didn't even KNOW the spell, that's when it hit her, just a fragment.

"_Master… I don't want to, no, I WON'T kill you… Renew!"_

"Am I… learning her spells?" She asked, now even more intrigued.

"_I REALLY want to have a word with Bahamut right about now…"_Her esper side groaned in disgust.

"Well, that was a nice nap… Oh hey Terra!" Shin greeted, noting the dumbfounded expression on her face. "Something wrong?" He asked.

"No… something's right…" She replied, leaving him to think on it.

"Still… what happened? Where's Rasler? The Occuria? Who are you?" She asked, confused and distraught.

"Rasler…" Vaan began, Ashe knowing only for the look on his face. "He died for you… The way he turned your body made it so the sword would only go through your lung, but it went through his body."

"A-again?" She gasped, trying to hold in tears when her subjects were watching. "Y-you, healers, go fetch me… general Frimelda…" As soon as the healers left she let the tears out.

"What… what happened next?" She asked in-between sobs. "The Occuria…"

"Gone." Vaan answered. "But Vayne… absorbed their powers when I was trying to kill them…"

"Well… it could have been a lot worse. Zodiark could have destroyed the wor- I should have probably waited for a better time…" Shinryu groaned when he remembered who had exactly caused it.

"Zodiark? Vaan, what did you do?" Ashe asked, Vaan gulping but already ready to take the blame.

"That mongrel nearly killed us all!" A nameless noble of the council blared as he barged in. Great, nobles, like truth wasn't twisted enough as it is.

"Be quiet, he would never do that, tell me the truth Vaan!" She exclaimed, now more shocked with the statement than she was with Rasler's death, her tears even stopped falling. Vaan's answer was just dodging eye contact in shame. "… Get out." She ordered.

"But…" Vaan tried to persuade, not that Ashe was letting him even begin.

"I said… out!" She blared, to which the sky pirate had no choice but to comply, leaving the room broken hearted. "That goes for all of you as well! I need time to gather my thoughts!" In reality, she just wanted to cry, but she wasn't going to reveal weakness in front of nobility.

"As you wish my lady…" The noble replied with a satisfied smirk before leaving the room, everyone soon leaving the queen to wallow in her loss.

"Vaan… wait!" Terra called, chasing after the blonde man.

"Am I supposed to…" Shin asked Celes who kicked him the rear and told him to stop being a lazy ass. "Fine geez!"

* * *

><p>"Are we there yet? Jecht highly dislikes being stuck in one place!" Jecht exclaimed.<p>

"Stop referring to yourself in the third person muscle-head, this ship won't go any faster no matter how much you complain!" Shiki reprimanded as she bumped her cat, trying to contact her "boss". "Since when is Reaper Central out of people to answer the phone? GOD!"

"Try reaching the big one itself." Neku replied, bumping his head at the music

"Guess I'll have to." But before she could tell her cat to dial it, a very familiar portal opened on the ship.

"Oh, if it isn't Mr. Fancy Pants. What brings you to this side of the planet? Oh wait, let me guess, _light_!" Jecht joked, even knowing he would almost certainly not get a single reaction from the man.

"Jecht. I have some bad news for you…" He told the "man with the body of a bronze god" like Penello would say. "Your son…"

"Yeah, what about that whiner?" Jecht urged, not prepared for what he was going to get in return.

"Your son… is missing. He even lost this." He showed Jecht Tidus' crystal. The man, for the first time in a long time, wore his shocked and distraught face. "Yuna, everyone. Spira's population, just vanished."

"No…" Kairi whispered, covering her mouth in distress.

"Did they… die?" Sora asked, more scared of the less probable answer.

"We honestly have NO idea. Cosmos checked the Farplane. Empty." The warrior replied, to which Jecht answered by grabbing his neck and slamming him into the wall.

"You better not be FUCKING around with me!" Jecht yelled, slamming Hikari's head right into the metal.

"Why would I be doing that Jecht? I am here to hand you the crystal that was to be yours. Do I think it's a safe bet? No, if I had a choice I'd give it to Yuna, but as you know, she's missing too. Now, will you carry the burden?" Hikari asked, or more like challenged. Before he knew it, he was down on the floor as Jecht swiped the crystal from his hands.

"Damn straight! And I will find who did this and freaking tear him a new hole!" Jecht promised, cringing his teeth as he held the crystal tight.

"Good and... could you inform the others for me? I'm needed elsewhere. I'll see you soon." The former leader asked of them as he vanished as fast as he came.

"Shiki… don't bother dialing the Otherworld yet… We need to tell them this." Neku told her, pulling out a pin.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the castle balcony:<p>

"Found you!" Terra said happily, floating next to the sky pirate.

"Oh… what do you need Terra?" Vaan asked, his eyes hollow.

"You know, I once killed more people than I could count at that age." She answered. Quite the… innovative way to start a conversation. Needless to say, Vaan just looked at her completely out of his mind. "Shin told me what happened to you." She completed.

"Oh…" He replied, hiding his face from her. "You're here to tell me how it wasn't that bad?"

"Of course not! What you did was horrible!" That burned, a lot. Vaan didn't expect her to say it was alright, but he never expected a slap on the face like this. "Although… I can say I understand you…" Vaan looked at her surprised and she shot him a devious smile. "You liiiiike her!" She teased, poking his nose. The blush in Vaan's face and his reaction were priceless, no matter what he tried to say, it was just gibberish and he flayed his arms in the air like a mad man, heck, Terra had to hold his hand when he almost fell to his death from the balcony.

"Is it that obvious…?" He asked as he calmed down, now more worried to the number of people on it.

"Well, when you almost destroy the living world for a person, you MIGHT be just a little more than friends. That and if you are so subtle as you were when you crushed on me back there, which, by Frimelda's description, you were, everyone's on it, Ashe probably is but doesn't want to accept it." She quipped, enjoying the kind of reactions she had caused on the man. That and she was glad she wasn't the only crush he had, that would be awkward right about now.

"Great… well, not that that matters, I blew it." Vaan whined, now more playful to hide his pain.

"And we're going to help you fix it." Terra exclaimed, using her magic to pull the dragonborn from his hiding place.

"Define _we_." Shin asked.

"YOU are going to explain exactly what happened in the court. Me? I'll sneak Vaan in with a Vanish spell." She winked, not even caring that Vaan stated that saying what they wanted him to say before the senate would get him decapitated as she cast Vanish and taking him along with her.

"Good to know I'm actually important, quote unquote…" He sighed as he… no, he couldn't be looking where I thought he was.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean YOU LOST TRACK OF MILIONS OF PEOPLE?"A blonde man with his hair spiked forward and wearing a black uniform with white pants and a red scarf roared at a woman with glasses sitting on a nearby chair.<p>

"Nine, don't make me repeat myself." She answered, she was wearing the same kind of uniform but with a skirt, she had long black hair. "This isn't as easy as it seems, you are only sent to fix disturbances, I'm the one keeping track of them and let me tell you, there have been a few." Her tone was monotone and cold.

"Still, Queen, the anomaly, where do you believe it may have occurred and to what it may lead?" A seemingly older man asked her, this one was also blonde but his hair was styled backward and his jacket was shorter.

"I have two leads… I sent Machina and Rem to one and Ace with Cinque and Deuce to the other. I'll need the rest of you to check some other things if you don't mind." Queen replied, touching the controllers faster than they could keep up. "Get to the teleports, I arranged your leaves to the living world, I'll send you directly to where I need you." She noticed a chuckle from behind.

"Just like the good ol' days, huh?" Nine asked. To which Queen only pressed a button as the screen opened into eleven familiar faces.

"Just like the old days!" The other eleven told them excitedly.

"Yes, now get out of the chair Queen, you're assigned with these three." A masked man in a uniform that while resembling theirs, was much more detailed and less student like told the woman, taking over her chair.

"As you say instructor." She said with a smile on her face, entering the nearby teleporters.

"Class Zero… MOVE OUT!" He ordered, the fourteen former students of him cheering on as they were dematerialized.

* * *

><p>Ashe had to attend the council that was happening right at that very moment, more so she could understand what was happening than anything else. Everyone knew she was going to appear and Frimelda asked right as she entered:<p>

"How did the Occuria REALLY fall? I haven't yet heard a complete explanation." Frimelda asked, to which Ashe cringed.

"And that's what happened. Vaan didn't unleash Zodiark to destroy the world or out of spite, he did it to destroy the Occuria, he would have needed to break the seal if Vayne didn't betray them." Shin finished, the nobles not even phasing, for them it was the same, but anyone with common sense wanted to ask the one thing he had left on the story.

"Even if he did, why would he risk it all on something even them said they could not control? Why would he unleash the seal?" Someone from the council asked.

"Well, if I may conjecture an answer, I'd hazard a guess that it was due to having both our Queen Lady Ashelia and our late Lord Rasler killed in front of him." Marquis Ondore guessed, quite right may I add, finishing with a look on the distressed Queen. She was confused and thorn. On one hand, Vaan had almost destroyed the world, on the other one she was… almost flattered someone would go to such extents for her. Rasler wanted to sacrifice her for the world, which she agreed to, but this? It was so illogical but at the same time… almost sweet. Maybe she had been too harsh, not letting him explain.

"Well, why don't we ask the man in question?" Terra asked, again, not warning any soul as she lift the spell on Vaan, chilling the whole cast of nobles.

"You wench! If you believe you can just walk into out kingdom and make thieves sneak into our precious throne room without permission then you are sorely mistaken! Guards! Ta-"

"Be quiet Count." Ashe hissed. "Your words, while speaking the truth, were as deceiving as the Occuria, society has ill need for people such as yourself, consider your position null from now on." She finished, signaling Frimelda to pull the shocked man to the outside with no expression. "Vaan. Please, do explain." She asked, now with a tone in the betwixt in between stern, curious and somewhat hopeful.

"Captain Basch, This is where you'll pay me for that little wager." Balthier scuffed.

"I do hope I will." Basch said as he observed Vaan trying to gasp for words. It was quite amusing to be honest.

"Well, you see, when I saw you die… I… you know… I promised you that I would…" He looked up and she was right in front of him.

"Are you telling me you were to destroy the whole world because of a promise? Well, doesn't that invalidate all you ought for? What good is "freedom" if no one can enjoy it?" Well, wasn't he between the sword and the wall. He didn't know what Ashe wanted with that, if that was just pure curiosity or… well, he still persevered.

"Well, it's just that…" He tried to explain, but then something inside him just snapped.

"_Your crystal is… freedom."_He remembered, and oh boy, he was going to put that to GOOD use.

"AW SCREW IT!" He exclaimed and out of nowhere, he grabbed Ashe's hip with his left hand, her head with his right and planted a kiss on her lips. Needless to say, the whole room stopped in shock, except Balthier. Surprisingly, Ashe didn't push him away immediately, she didn't push him away at all. The kiss was brief, even more so due to Vaan realizing what he had just done, more importantly, WHERE he had just done it. "This is the part where I…"

SLAP!

"… Exactly…" Where did Noel come from? Still, no one paid attention as Vaan was caressing his reddened cheek, looking almost horrified at Ashe, who went from a shocked look, to slapping him, and was now sending him a glare from the depths of hell itself. Before anyone could try to calm her however, she raised her hand again, Vaan flinching. But she wasn't going to do anything like that, instead, she sighed and rubbed her eyes, opening them and now supporting a more stern look, not evil, just stern.

"You say you "matured" but Vaan… is that truly the only way you could conceive of asking a woman out?" She finally asked, yet again sending the room into a state of shock.

"Your Majesty, that is a blas…" One of the councilmen began, to which she cut.

"I could give him your lands, would that suffice?" Harsh… "Vaan, would you do it the proper way this time?" She asked, almost tauntingly.

"Basch, please." Balthier extended his hand.

"Do I have to?" Vaan asked looking around to see most of the room on the verge of crying after holding in their laughter for so long. The way Terra eyed him was more than enough to send shivers down his spine. "How do I go about this? Do I have to kneel or anything like that?"

"Unless you're going to propose, I don't see your reasoning." Ashe replied.

"Fine then, do you want to go on a date?" Vaan replied with a completely embarrassing grin on his face, scratching the back of his head.

"I don't see why not." The queen told the sky pirate, one that not able to contain his excitement, grabbed her by the hips and spun her in midair. It was then that his dark blue nethecite left his pocket and floated in midair, a pure flash of white light covered the room, a familiar feeling entering Vaan as, when the light died down, he beheld a wing-like sky blue crystal. "THIS is freedom? Well, I'm not complaining!" Vaan exclaimed, putting Ashe on the ground and snatching his crystal. In another surprising turn of events, a torrent of water entered the room from its window, one that Squall noted to be from the fountain, floating on the middle form it to form a mirror-like substance. From it voices began to come, the blurry effects of the water stopping any recognition. But the voices made up for it.

"Neat pin there Neku!" That was definitely Shiki.

"Yeah… still, now it seems to be stabilizing…" As he did say that, the image of the inside of the Strahl became clear, Neku looking over them. He glanced over everyone and found Vaan holding his crystal as he had one arm around Ashe's waist. "That's… retardedly convenient. And I was just calling to ensure you could find a way to get Vaan's crystal. Well, now that that's done, we have good news or ba-"

"Bad ones first." Cloud interjected.

"Fine. Tidus is MIA. Hell, SPIRA is MIA." Neku told them in the same apathetic look.

"**WHAT?**"

"Before you try and go around taking pity, let me finish what I have to say, we can't waste time. Jecht got Tidus' crystal. Since we have all of this planet's crystals now, why not put them to use? Get to the Pharos a Ridorana ASAP, we have some things we need to show you. Bartz, Vaan and Squall, your crystals are needed here." He explained. "Neku, out!" And the water splashed on the ground, terminating the "call".

"My world is on this planet? Who would have known? So I in reality jumped from planet to planet on that hole?" Bartz commented, surprised.

"Looks like it." Zidane nodded.

"Well… guess we can't stop here then. Let's mosey!" Cloud urged, everyone in the room that was on the team running out and leaving only Ivalice's team out.

"Okay, who stays?" Vaan asked.

"I'd say I need to go. My ship is on the line due to her Highness over here…" Balthier told in an underhanded slap on Ashe, who faked a distraught look. "Who seems to be able to take a joke now. Lightened up, heh?"

"If what you have told me about my brother is true… I must go with you all." Basch stated, and who could blame him? Vaan actually wished to be on his steed.

"Guess that leaves me to mop up for you, doesn't it?" Larsa joked. "Do not worry, I had already imagined it would come to this anyway, I made preparations for Archades to stand on it's on for a month when I left." He explained, everything looking more and more like a plan.

"You're not coming Penelo?" Vaan asked.

"Nah, I have no reason to go." She replied with a very well hidden hint of grief. It was true after all.

"I won't force you… just take care of Lamont over there." Vaan quipped, to which Larsa gave him a pat on the back.

"If I may be so bold, can I accompany you? Seeing Luso and Adele would be really heart-warming." Frimelda asked and she was in.

* * *

><p>"Is everyone inside?" Laguna asked, Squall nodding in approval. "Estimated time for arrival at full speed… one hour! Everyone, grab on tight!" He exclaimed, not even giving a second warning as the ship launched.<p>

* * *

><p>"Snake?" The codec called him.<p>

"Empty." Solid replied with a worried tone.

"That's the third empty factory we found out about… just what are they up to?" Otacon wondered. "Where could they be hiding them?"

"Otacon, we need expert opinion on this. Call my dad." The man added.

"Big Boss? Really Snake?" Otacon asked, taking of his glasses in surprise Snake would go so far.

"Really. I've got a very bad feeling about this…"He replied as he picked up some leftover plans from the ground. "This looks different from those Warmechs…"

* * *

><p>"Are you really going to tell Terra the truth?" Tyrael asked God who was walking around the room, watching different reflections of places inside Hell.<p>

"As much as it hurts, she has to know." Replied God. "I'm more worried with what Vincent told us."

"The fact how the Lifestream…" Tyrael commented, watching over the current of mako.

"Yes. I honestly have no idea how this is possible. At least… I hope. I feel powerless. Ever since the souls of the Farplane vanished, I know how I cannot affect the outcome." It sighed, steps being heard down the hall.

"We haven't vanished. The Farplane has just become too dangerous." A man's voice stated from behind.

"High Summoner Braska?"

* * *

><p>"And that's what I remembered up until now…" Terra finished explaining Shin. "Since you had problems like this before, do you have any idea what this means?" She didn't feel very hopeful on an answer, but it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?<p>

"Well, I… it's impossible for you to BE that person, you even know your birth and all… but at the same time, in any other case I'd say you ARE her… I don't know how you got those memories Terra, sorry, but even the old lizard here doesn't know about that." He replied as he questioned Shinryu in his mind.

"Well… it was worth a shot." She replied with a sigh. "Still, at least I can move! We can fight together again now!" She thanked with newfound enthusiasm.

"Y-yeah." He replied, not sure why that was awkward.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, getting a little too close for comfort. "Are you embarrassed?" Thank god Laguna blared they had to land right then. "Well, let's go." She said, pulling him with her.

"_Hey, kid, why are you acting up like that?"_ The dragon taunted. Shin didn't exactly have an answer to that… yet. Still, he found it weird how much Shinryu sufficed lately, was he taking sides?

"Were her eyes… always so violet?"

_"You're not making sense me."_

"I… know?"

_"Did Vaan have an unusual effect on you my boy?"_

"I don't know, nor do I WANT to know what you mean."

* * *

><p>Still, nothing major happened until they got of board. They greeted each other normally, except for Luso and Adele basically jumping on Frimelda, Ramza and Balthier giving each other and acknowledging look, some teasing from Luso about Vaan and of course…<p>

"Brother." Bach acknowledged, watching over the currently seated Gabranth.

"Basch." He replied, silently inspecting and evaluating each other.

"I took over for you." Basch said, breaking the silence.

"I know. I've been atoning. Still, this dog couldn't manage to escape its leash. I am sorry for what happened to Lord Rasler. I truly am Lady Ashelia." Ashe shook her head.

"It was not your fault, you could not have done anything else." Ashe said truly, not holding anything against the man.

"So soft…" Gabranth dismissed, shaking his head.

"Noah, you asked for forgiveness… you've changed, I needn't any other proof." Basch stated, beginning to take off his armor. "From now on, I am again, Basch fon Rosenburg of Dalmasca!" He finished, finally donning his more identifiable clothes.

"That's all dandy and all, but I gotta get in, so move it!" Jecht groaned, really, who could blame him for that, he was without a son.

"Fine. Look, we don't need a freaking army to go in, we do need people to guard the ship. People with the crystals, come with me. Also, Terra, come with me, I know you are going to want to chew on Bahamut, but I can't let you do that, and that goes for you too you dragon reject." Neku stated coldly, signaling them to follow him.

"Don't you even think about it." Squall threatened the already preparing to sneak Zidane.

"Awwwwwww." He whined. "You and Bartz always get the cool stuff!" Just after they left, however, Noel came bolting out of the ship with a giant on his tail.

"This is bad! This is very bad!" He exclaimed, calling everyone for him to explain just what Snow had relayed to him.

* * *

><p>"You do know this elevator only leads to Subterra, don't you? We already explored it all when we joined Montblanq's clan." Ashe pointed out.<p>

"What's she doing here anyway?" Neku asked.

"I fear for my health…" Vaan replied.

"You can be such a pussy kid… just like mine. DAMNIT! Let's get this over with, he might still be alive!" Jecht roared, it took three people from stopping him to smash the nearest thing, the controller.

"You did see it all, but did you discover it all? I highly doubt it. Now, I ask you, why was the Shadowseer on Hell's Challenge, on the very depths?" Neku asked, programming the elevator to take them to that exact location. "The answer is… that." He pointed at the crystals which were all pulsing. "There is something sealed there… something that in the wrong hands even God would fear."

"But shouldn't ask permission before unsealing them?" Shiki asked, Neku only replying:

"We are way past that." As they arrived on the platform where the Seer once stood, the pulsing beginning to rise even more. The four circles right in the middle of the room resonated, slowly rising from the ground, forming four pedestals that one could see were made to house the crystals. "What are you waiting for?" Neku asked. The four nodded, heading to the pedestals whose format fit theirs, each one of them was numbered, respectively with the numbers V, VIII, X and XII. As soon as they placed the crystals however, the now familiar flash of light covered Subterra, even going as far as shooting from it and into the heavens, piercing any wall it came in contact with. The light went on into the darkness of space and, with a resounding crash, it made an entire new planet come into display. But that wasn't what Neku was talking about when he talked about the seals. When the light faded, the crystals vanished from the pedestals and returned to their owners, from each of the pedestals rising a different object.

"Wh-what are these?" Terra gasped as she beheld the four floating treasures.

"Claíomh Solais, the Sword of Light. Never has the one who drew it from its sheath lost." Neku explained, grabbing the jewel incrusted pure white sword in the bluish sheath. "The Spear of Lugh, a spear whose holder was never challenged due to its power." In the same style as the sword, a long, thin spear came into Neku's hand. "The Lia Fáil, the Crying Stone. When two people fought under the blessing of this stone, the winner would become a king whereas the other would be imprisoned in it until anyone who challenged the king's rule had to defeat him before challenging the King." The stone was deceptively small, filled with golden carvings that little did they know, were ancient Irish for "King". "And the cauldron of Dadga, the bottomless source of magic." This one was much more simple than the other ones, it looked like a regular medieval cauldron, except bigger, bigger than anyone there to be exact. "These are the Four Jewels of Heaven. The finest work of Masamune the smith. All of them made from the closest to pure Orichalcum that ever was crafted." He finished.

"But don't we have… pure Orichalcum?" Terra questioned, remembering the Orichalcum that they stole from Lezard.

"You have what?" Neku blared, almost letting go of the sword, spear and stone. "That's something more to report! But still…" He regained his composure. "We're done here. Let's get these back to the ship and plan out what to do."

"You don't need to do that." A male voice told them, for some reason, behind them managed to sneak two teenagers. Both wearing the same kind of black, beige and red uniform we once talked about.

"Kunagiri… what are you doing here?" Neku hissed at the sight.

"Same as you Sakuraba." The man replied in an equally dark tone.

"Guys, calm down!" Shiki intervened, standing in between the two guys.

"Yeah! Neku, Machina, you're acting like children!" The woman with burgundy hair that reached her shoulders exclaimed, doing the same as Shiki.

"I guess I shouldn't step as low as that guy. Still, what's Class Zero doing here?" Neku asked, not Machina, but the woman.

"Well, me and Rem were sent here to Spira to evaluate what happened. We didn't find anything and as such, we trusted the reports and decided to come here and inform you on this whole situation…" He lift his cellphone and pressed the "replay".

"This is Eight! No sightings of people in world five!" A male voice exclaimed from the other side of the line. Bartz swallowed dryly but saw it wasn't done yet so he kept his mouth shut.

"Queen and Seven reporting, no sightings in Vana'diel."

"This is Nine, can't say I see anyone in world number Two."

"Jack and Sice reporting. Cornelia is completely abandoned."

"Trey and Cater reporting, exactly zero people in Baron."

"Tiz and Joker reporting. Number three is empty."

But the worse was still to come.

"King reporting. This is extremely bad. No sightings in both Midgar and Alexandria."

They all looked on shocked as the tapes finished.

"We have no idea what is happening. Ace, Deuce and Cinque can't be contacted. Something out of our control, out of God's control, is happening." Machina explained. "Oh, and Terra, God wants a word with you. No need to report Neku, we've watched the whole thing, Zodiark kind of made it necessary." He did have a point there.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to them, right about then on Cosmos' Sanctuary, a pink crystal fell on the Goddess' lap.<p>

"Firion… not you too…"

* * *

><p>"Well, it seems it's time for me to do some real work…" Magus contemplated as he watched over the city of Valhala.<p>

* * *

><p>"What does God want with me?" The girl asked curiously, she really had no idea of what she was going to learn…<p>

"Well, I don't want to frighten you child but… we've made an unforgivable mistake…" The plushy on Shiki's lap told her, rising up in the same, pardon the expression, godly light as before. "This might hurt to ear, but, after recent happenings regarding your memory, it has to be done…" The voice was filled with sadness and shame, what matter of news could be so grim? "Terra, you ARE Tina and for that, you will die."

* * *

><p><span>Next Part:<span>

_The disappearances, the virus and Lezard's plan. All of these come into light as fights we would never expect erupt. Who can we trust? Who is an ally, who is your enemy? And Terra, just what'll happen to her?_

Find out on the next time on:

Part Five: The Black Queen

"_Come to me my children…"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter note:<span>****Well, I'll just cover the part that will not get me killed. The four sealed treasures are actually very old Irish legends. Why did I implement them? Well, my uncle lived there before moving back when I was a kid and told me all about that so yeah. I did change the Lia Fáil and the Cauldron a bit to fit "upcoming events". Anyways, remember to leave your opinion or comment with that blue bu... what was that crash?

Shin: I'M GOING TO FREAKING KILL YOU!

**For the love of… how the hell are you here?**

Shin: Bartz told me.

**How can you even talk with characters from other fics AND authors?**

Shin: The same way I break the fourth wall! Now, own up and die like man!

Wait! Don't you know the proverb "things have to get worse to get better?"

Shin: Well, knowing you, I don't think that's the case. Really, we killed, what? Xande and Ultimecia and we lost Seifer, Vincent, Tidus and now Firion! And don't even get me freaking started on Terra! Isn't she your favourite?

**It's a guilty pleasure of mine…**

R.F. Shin : The same sick pleasure you get from cutting away my screen time on every fic you make?

**Get back to your own fic!**

R.F. Shin: I'd say YOU need to get YOURSELF out of my fic, "Mark".

**I told you, Fire Emblem works that way! I'm SUPPOSED to be the tactician.**

R.F. Shin: Look at my caring expression.

Shin: Is that me? Why am I so… archaic sounding?

R.F. Shin: This fellow here thought it would be nice to ravsh our personality in every fic he makes. Look at Normalcy? Extremely Overated's Shin. He doesn't give a damn.

N?E.O. Shin: Wait wait… I'm still searching for a fuck to give... nope, can't find one.

Shin: You're right… you bastard!

N?E.O. Shin: Wait… this sounds fun enough to make me move. DEATH TO THE AUTHOR!

DEATH TO THE AUTHOR!

**I'll see you all next week… I hope…**


	57. Planet JENOVA

****Author's note:**** Okay, this got delayed by three reasons. One, I want to get this part just right. Two, all my stories are calling out to me! And they are all in exciting parts! God, that beats my head. And Three… you'll get why on the post-chapter note… Anyway, enjoy part five!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Part 5: The Dark Queen**

**Chapter Fifty-Seven**

****Planet J-E-N-O-V-A****

* * *

><p>"Do you think, even for a second, that we'll just stand and watch?" Shin intruded, glaring at the doll that housed God's voice.<p>

"I think you misunderstand. I would never want Terra to die. I'd never want anyone to die if not be of natural causes. I am simply stating that Terra WILL die." The stuffed cat stated solemnly. This was far worse than it simply being trying to kill her. She WAS going to die, no interference from anybody.

"Who is this "Tina" anyways?" Squall then remembered to ask.

"Tell you about that latter." Shin replied.

"W-when? And… W-why?" Terra asked as she tried to digest the information the best she could.

"Well, let's talk to the culprit then." With a point of the stuffed paw of the pet materialized, or rather appeared, Terra's esper side. "Hello Tina, it's been twenty-one years, hasn't it?"

"What do you mean? Be clear damnit! What's this crap all about she dying? What happens to me? WHAT AM I?" Most of the people there were more startled to the apparent twin than at the news, Terra didn't actually say much about her.

"Maybe I should start from the beginning… What do you believe happens if you ever… get tired of existing?" God asked, the question proving too vast for the ones there to answer, Neku decided to simplify it.

"You know, being in heaven forever can tire even the most resilient minds. You might not comprehend it now… but after millions, billions of years, some just… get tired you know?" He explained.

"I don't understand how, but I understand what you are saying, that's enough for now. How does that link to our Terra?" Squall asked, not wanting this conversation to become a moral debate.

"Well, what do you think we do with those souls?" Machina spat. Seeing the silence, the one who had brought the revelation spoke.

"Reincarnation." God explained. "We only ever deleted one soul from this world, the rest of the ones who did not want to exist anymore were reincarnated into other people. The myths about animals are lies though." As soon as the explanation was finished, it dawned to Terra.

"So… I…" Her supposed esper side began.

"We are her reincarnation?" Terra finally asked.

"Not exactly… if you were, there would be no problem in that. Reincarnations are totally safe. The problem is… you." Rem interjected, pointing at her esper side. "You are NOT a reincarnation, you ARE her." She revealed.

"That doesn't even make sense! I was born twenty one years ago!" Terra, or Tina, or heck would I know, shouted.

"Maybe I can put a light on it. You see, reincarnation USUALLY just leaves residues of the former person. You see, if for example Zidane would reincarnate, the resulting person would most likely be nothing like Squall." She explained. "To that extent, it's because of this "residues" that some of your stories for books, movies and the like are in fact, things that happened in the far past. For example… do you know that in a few thousands of years, if Luso is to be trusted, you all will be involved in a multimillion gil game series in Ivalice?" If this was any other moment, Bartz would be cheering, but because of the matter at hands, they just looked surprised before nodding and expecting the rest. "Well, Tina… never liked being dead, especially with how her world never truly got back up from the war. I almost immediately knew she wasn't going to "stay" for a long time. When Maduin got Madeleine pregnant she immediately said she wanted to be reincarnated in that baby, considering how it was everything she fought for in her final days. That… is where unexpected happenings came to be. Terra, you are half-esper. Because of that, you are NOT the same species as Tina. Normally, this would make your body not accept a soul from an esper BUT for some reason, it did and we thought it had been a success, but still, we kept a close eye on you. We noticed something very worrying about you as we did. Terra, your personality didn't resemble Tina's in the slightest. You were calm, understanding and humble, Tina was brash, overconfident and prideful. We knew something was off. But we didn't exactly have much where to guess. We only began to understand what had happened when Terra began using her esper form more and more. She… changed. And while at first it was just a beast, a year later, during the war against Kefka after the Apocalypse, her esper form began showing some real personality. She got it under control by the end, but that personality was brash, arrogant and loved to fight, even going as far as playing with her opponents. This has only developed as time went on, to the point where in Memoria memories of her were shown. We hoped this wouldn't get this far but I think we know what happened."

"Spit it. Why are we like this?" Terra's esper-side, I think… I can't even follow this.

"As I said, inter-species reincarnation is considered impossible. Terra's human side didn't accept you, you became stuck on the part of her that DID. Now, this actually made so the body itself had two souls. This… can't happen. Ever." The way she punctuated it suggested this was just the problem. "It was of no consequence when you two were, at the most basic level, two different personalities, the problem lies now. When both of you are going in separate directions. You Terra, are yourself, while Tina is regaining her memories, now even quicker. No body can was made with two souls in mind, especially of two different species living inside it. Eventually, when you two become different persons, more specifically when Tina gets all of her memories back… your body won't take it. I am not going on a limb saying this, I am positively stating this, no body can exist with two completely different souls in it." The explanation was finally over, the atmosphere on the room growing ever so heavy. No one wanted to speak, or even imagine what Terra was going through.

"How long…?" Terra asked meekly, her violet eyes losing her shine for once.

"We have no certainties, but one month would be the most optimistic way to go about it. This only based on how fast the memories are coming." The being answered. Then, out of the blue, Shin just punched it.

"You mean to tell me that this happened… because you took an unnecessary risk?" He exclaimed, blinded by rage.

"Seriously… what is it with you and punching transcendent beings in the mouth?" Shinryu asked, appearing as his older self by his side. "Look, this conversation here is getting out of hand already, but I'm just here to remind you that you EXIST due to a similar process. But that's hardly the reason I'm here. So, you're the person who calls itself God now, huh?" He asked, the now somewhat damaged plushy.

"Yes. What is it Dragon God?" The being asked. It was only then that the spectators, who were not even surprised after what they had seen already, realized it was Shinryu talking.

"You wouldn't happen to know who created me, would you?" He asked simply. Now that Shin thought about it, it was strange how he remembered nothing.

"Your creator… that far exceeds my reign, unfortunately, no, I have no idea." It replied.

"I thought so… Also, how do you feel knowing the person you took mercy on is an instrumental part on this?" This line however, was not as friendly as the first one. The wind blew as the silence settled in. That question was dipped neck deep in poison. "Good to know you are at least ashamed. But remember, your decisions have already cost the lives of thousands of innocents, Terra is just another one."

"You! What morale do you have to say that?" Machina blared, the punch he threw missing the spectral man.

"Me? I've done far worse yes, the difference is that I am paying with my very existence for that." He replied, turning his back and vanishing.

"What does he mean…?" Machina asked.

"The difference between Shinryu and Tina. Shinryu is fading as Shin's personality becomes complete. They are merging. Tina and Terra are separating. Shinryu will vanish soon, Terra AND Tina will die because they are doing the exact opposite." The voice was tired and somewhat regretful. "I… I am truly sorry for this. I cannot do anything to help as I have no direct control over your world, the best I can do is… accommodate for Terra when she "arrives" here. That and I can guide your-"

"Save your time, we aren't taking any help from you." Ashe suddenly interrupted. "You want to send people to help us? If we happen to trust them, we will accept their help, but I think the last thing we need is your "help"." Se pointed out.

"I understand… I-"

"Save your breath. Sorry just doesn't cut it now. This is OUR fight, we don't need gods to fight it for us. You interfered too much already." Ashe interrupted yet again, slapping God across the face through the plushy. The plushy just fell on the ground at that very moment. She was pretty harsh at that time. Even if that was going overboard on GOD!

"Ashe… that was pretty dangerous. Getting on the bad side of a being like that." Vaan commented, but the woman just scuffed.

"Look at Terra." She replied. Terra was just staring blankly into the sky, even though you could see she was bleeding inside.

"One… month…" She muttered, a raindrop that came from the cloud's that gathered as the conversation had went on crashing on her right cheek and running a tear's course.

* * *

><p>"What… have I become…?" The supreme being questioned after the transmission, touching his cheek. It had felt that slap. "Even God shouldn't play with the natural order of things…"<p>

"Too late to regret that. We need you doing as much as you can now." Braska pointed out. "Considering the plans your spy found, the last thing we have is time."

In the screen, the plans for a multi-legged machine flickered. MK. XIII it said.

* * *

><p>Two days have passed since then. After their discovery they went back and told the group of their hollow victory, only to be informed of the planet that appeared. It wasn't a surprise, considering how many crystals were missing, but some did wonder just why the planets had been split in the first place though. That and Noel had something to say about Snow or something like that but well, Shin wasn't really paying attention. At all. In fact, for the next two days he kept to himself at all times. Either he did some training exercises to clear his head off, all while experimenting on some new combinations for Spellblade or even attempting Spellfusion, or simply conversing with Shinryu. He thought long and hard on ways Shinryu could have seen to separate souls from bodies, but the one way that actually would accomplish said goal only worked on Valkyries, and Terra wasn't one. Shinryu did point out several times he was just sulking. Anyway, no one bothered him. They were too busy modifying the Lagunarok to fit space. Turns out the Lunar Whale would take a week or so to get fixed. Way too long to wait, considering Omega's timer and Terra. So they loaded everything needed and began working in Archades, which was by far the most advanced city on the planet after what happened in Esthar. This only made it easier for him to till, he sometimes wondered what she was thinking about right about now. Not only had her <em>children<em> so to say disappeared, but she also got the equivalent of being diagnosed with a terminal illness. He would soon know.

He knew that at the third day they would depart and, because of that, he decided to put his bed to good use for once in Archades, since he hadn't slept those two days and headed to his room. It was already late at night and, considering how only the technicalities were being solved now, like the navigating system and such, most were asleep by then, only the tech geniuses actually could do something by now. On the way to his room through the royal halls of the castle however, he turned a corner without looking and hit something tiny and seemingly fragile.

"Couldn't sleep… again?" Terra asked softly. The tone, the look on her face and how she hadn't even bothered to get up said a lot for her state of mind.

"Didn't try to…" He replied, extending his hand to her.

"I was going to say you should, but that would make me a hypocrite, wouldn't it?" She mused weakly, taking his hand to get up. "Say… what do you think about going to the balcony to talk for a bit? It's been two weeks since last time." Not to mention forty five chapters.

"Alright…" He replied, following her.

* * *

><p>Just like last time, they sat at a castle's balcony, overlooking the city while a clear night sky hovered over their heads. It took some time till one of them actually worked up the nerve to interrupt the silence, Terra being the one.<p>

"I… have to ask you something." She finally voiced, breaking the awkward mood.

"Sure." He replied simply, not exactly knowing what to expect.

"I believe that all these disappearances can't be deaths… It's just my sixth sense." He had to agree with her there. There had to be something darker behind this, simply killing random people would not benefit anyone… right? "So, when we end this and I… you know… can you please take care of my children for me?" He was… more than shocked at this request. To be fair, the shock was so great he even lost balance from the edge and fell backwards, slamming the back of his head on the balcony's floor.

"Why me? I mean… What about Celes and Locke?" He asked, not really knowing how else to react.

"They… well, it's no secret when this is over they will be busy attending to their own family. I don't want to burden them like that. Also, you were actually the first person who I thought to ask this, but if you don't want to but chained down for six years or so, well, I can always ask Ed-"

"No! It's totally fine! I'll do it! Don't worry yourself with it!" He snapped, the nervousness bursting forth in the form of ridiculous and fairly unnecessary arm movements to get her attention. She, looking amused at his antics, went as far as giggling at them. A saddened one, but hey, it was some happiness, wasn't it?

"Thank you… I just wish I didn't have to ask you this…" Her mood suddenly took a turn for the worst. _"No… I can't do this… not in front of anyone at least… not in front of…"_She told herself in an attempt to repress them, but she just broke when Shin touched her shoulder and asked what was wrong. At that moment she burst into tears, clinging to the thing closest to her, which incidentally was his chest. "I-It's not FAIR! Why is it always me? I-I don't ask for a lot… I just want a quiet life… why does all this happen to me?" She blurted in the midst of her sobbing. She was trembling all over and clung to his jacket like a newborn and god did that make reality sink in even more. The amount of disasters she had powered to, some could even downright break a normal person and in the end what did she get? A predetermined death that would reap her right when peace would have been achieved, right before she could finally rest. Worst of all, it was decided at birth and, if her Esper side, or well, Tina had stayed dead with magic of her world, none of this would've happened, which by extension…

"I… had a hand in this… I'm sorry!" He apologized, realizing that if there had been no Dissidia, which was partially his fault, this wouldn't have happened.

"_Don't do this to yourself kid. It's my fault, not yours." _The dragon in his head retorted, trying to shift the blame off himself.

"Y-you didn't do anything bad. No one did… it's hard because… I can blame everyone but… I shouldn't. No one wanted this to happen to me… I-I'm just… afraid! I don't want to die!" It was just heartbreaking hear Terra break down like this, even to me. We all know life can be cruel, but this? It was then that something clicked in Shin's head, that one resolution you happen to have once in a lifetime that, even if it's just stupid to pursue it, you do it anyways.

"And I won't let you!" He exclaimed, suddenly full of conviction, pulling Terra in for a hug. "You don't deserve it, so I won't let you. I'll bring you your children back and you'll be able to stay with them!"

"D-Don't be ridiculous… there are some things you can change and some things you just can't! How do you plan on doing what you say?" She blared back, still gripping the jacket, one that would be permanently stuck to Shin's shoulder due to how drenched it was by now.

"I don't know…" He answered truthfully. But, he simply grabbed both her shoulders and pried her off him, now telling her eye to eye. "But a great man once said, sometimes, some things must be done. If people say they can't be done, it's your job to kick reason down the curb and do the impossible!" He exclaimed, almost playfully. No sane person would take this as an explanation, but heck, for the moment it was it seemed perfectly logical. The best thing was… it worked! After a very tense moment where he thought Terra was going to just disregard anything he said and continue to wallow, but instead, her eyes seemed to suddenly beam open as she began giggling uncontrollably. She let out a small burst of laughter before telling him:

"This is a promise, right?" She asked happily.

"O-of course!" He was surprised at how it had worked, but he wasn't going to waste it like that.

"Well, I guess I can sleep soundly now..." She told him earnestly, beaming an equally earnest smile from her fragile and… well, what can I say but beautiful features? That smile, for some reason he did not know, made Shin's heart skip a beat or three. That and there was that strange feeling on his stomach, one that he either couldn't or only identified subconsciously. "See you tomorrow!" She gave him a quick hug and waltzed away.

"That was… sudden." Shin commented.

"_I don't understand why the hell you would promise her that, but I can see your determined to do it… it'll be interesting seeing HOW though. Don't worry, I got your back the whole way!" It was funny how Shinryu was becoming increasingly more "human-like". _Maybe it was true, he was being assimilated and he was fine with it.

"Yeah, I won't, I can't break this promise! Let's get some rest now! Two days of training need to be followed up by a good bath and a bed!" He was on fire for some reason. His heart was accelerating to almost dangerous levels as he bolted towards his room, even whooshing past Terra, who just giggled again at his antics.

* * *

><p>"<em>Well, are you really going to put this all behind just because that guy told you it was going to be okay?"<em>Tina, god it feels weird to call her that, asked Terra.

"Well, why not? Crying… won't do much about it, now will it? Let's just take this one step at the time." She replied much more cheerfully.

"_Heh, why not? Anyway I think we should tell Naminé we have no need for her now."_ She reminded. Yeah, maybe some memories were missing, but the last thing they wanted right now was for them to get back.

* * *

><p>The very next day:<p>

"Is it just me or did Terra shake _it_ off? And in only two days no less." Locke pointed out. Everything was set for departure on the Lagunarok, Fusoya was just running preliminary tests to the crystal engine.

"Open your eyes. Who was depressed and suddenly got better overnight as well?" Celes pointed out, Locke seeing Sora and Shin engaged in friendly banter.

"Should we start taking bets?" Zack input, following it up with. "Ten Thousand on that he does it in a week."

"I'd say two… yeah, two." Aqua stated.

"Terra'll do it. Two weeks." Locke guessed.

"They'll never do it." Celes stated abruptly.

"Well, the bets are taken… scatter!" Zack commanded as he saw Terra walk in Celes' direction. The duo that had nothing to do with their world flashed away by the time Terra arrived to greet Celes.

"Well, you're just shinning with confidence today. What happened?" Celes asked, trying to prod just enough to further her suspicions.

"I'm not going to die!" She exclaimed with a straight face, like it wasn't even in question.

"Is that so…" Celes let out a small chuckle at it. "Well, good to hear!" She rubbed the pony-tailed girl hard.

"Meanie!" Terra replied playfully, letting a healthy laugh out.

"Well people… the ship's going to take off in moments! So hold on to something! Who am I kidding, you don't have time too!" Laguna exclaimed, the last sentence happening as he was already flying around the cockpit with the rest of the crew.

"_My father really is a moron…"_ Squall told himself as he slammed against the wall, soon to be dog pilled by his "team".

"You're a pretty good cushion Squall!" Zidane exclaimed, Bartz and Vaan nodding.

"_Correction, I can only make friends with morons…"_

* * *

><p>The trip was now a few hours in and, if everything went as planned, they would arrive in one day. Well, a lot of time to burn still and Shin was hungry, to satisfy that, he stopped his matches with Zack only to go grab a bite out of something.<p>

"Do you any idea how you're going to do it?" That guy, he knew it from somewhere… was it… Machina right. The guy Neku abhorred for some reason. He didn't have an impression that was THAT much better of him, but he had to give the guy a chance didn't he? But what did he mean? "You promised Terra to do something for her even GOD can't. Explain to me your plan of action. Don't ask how, I just know." Well, wasn't he direct? Still, he could feel his eyes penetrate on his MIND, not that that would make him back away though.

"I don't have one, yet. But I WILL do it, I don't care how." Shin replied resolutely, eying Machina's steel cold gaze head on. The way he looked back seem to amuse the seemingly young man, who patted the dragon slash human on the shoulder while saying:

"Been there, done that. If you really put your all into it, it WILL work. If you need anyone's help, you know who to call." That was surprisingly nice of him, it was if he felt empathy towards the man. "And even if she does die, NEVER give up!" That advice however, was crazy talk. Crazy talk that Shin seemed to be able to accept since he sounded so sincere.

"Will do." He shook his hand. Machina smiled and continued down the hall. Shin chuckled and continued towards the kitchen. "Kick logic down the curb. Do the impossible. See the invisible… Row Row Fight the Power." Okay, enough with that. Dude, you don't have a mech!

* * *

><p>Anyway, back in Noctis' Kingdom, which by the way, was called Caelum for further reference, things weren't going so well. By the outskirts of the city, one of the countless skirmishes was taking place.<p>

"They just keep coming!" Stella shouted from the top of a hill, observing how even more enemies were crawling at them. Shades, Manikins, Heartlesses, even the maddened fanatics. And every single one was the enemy. Worse, they were now using Tenebrean machinery, bipedal mechs and such. This automatically made the moral drop substantially as no normal soldier could take one of those. Fortunately she was just seeing a select few, and even then only the less advanced ones. Even then, it was a formidable foe for anyone except Orlandeu, who incidentally was guarding the North Edge of the barricade by himself. The South Edge was covered by the Warrior, who had just returned and his group. The West Edge was covered by Reks, Joshua and Auron. Finally, the East Edge, where she was, was composed of her, Noctis, Ignis and… the man that was single handedly jumping against one of the really advanced mechs. And cleaved it in half. In one swing. Did I mention his sword was huge? Also, the MANDATORY "The Sword That Cleaves Evil" was playing.

"Waga Zankantou ni… Tatenou mono Nashi!" Yeah, that was Sanger Zonvolt doing what he does best. Cleaving giant robots with an oversized sword. Was he overcompensating for something with that sword? No, the sword was overcompensating for something by having SANGER use it.

"Good to see you haven't lost your touch General." Ignis commented, seeing as the troops had regained all of their morale by only doing that.

"I am the sword that cleaves evil. It's only natural for me to do just that." The silver haired man replied, heaving his Zankantou on his shoulder.

"Well, it seems your chances to do that are getting thinner." Noctis pointed out, seeing as the enemy troops had been so demoralized by having their trump card cleaved in half that they decided to retreat. "I already knew that Orlandeu had wiped out the North Edge by now and how the other two were slowly dimming, but you seem to have stricken the final blow." He clapped slowly before walking away. Noctis could be cold, that or he was just jealous, like a normal man would be!

Anyway, they all made their way to the inside of the city once again, receiving a call King Caelum, summoning them to the command center.

"I'll stay behind." Sanger told Noctis, who nodded and took the rest with him.

"What are you doing here old friend?" The silver haired pilot asked the blonde who had just arrived. The zone seemed to be filled with music when he did.

"I'm pilots might not always fight, but give me two guns and Rätsel Feinschmecker will do what has to be done." He replied, adjusting his goggles.

"Elzam, are you really still using goggles just conceal your identity? Your theme still overrides anything that's passing. Seriously, there are no music systems nearby and I'm hearing TROMBE!"

"Just keep it down okay Sanger…" He actually believed goggles could make a disguise.

* * *

><p>"Why did you call us father? The attacks are getting more frequent, we can't leave our posts like this." Noctis protested.<p>

"It's obvious we can't go on like this for much longer. We can't take the entire planet by ourselves. If you're here to give us a solution however, I'm all ears, if not, we'd best be off." The Warrior nodded, agreeing with Noctis.

"I'm not going to give you a solution, I'm going to give you a way of having us grasp it." Cid intervened, giving way for Hope to explain it.

"We need a sample. In other words, we need an infected. This is a physical disease, there might be a way to counteract it. " The young scientist explained. That seemed easy enough, problem was, it wasn't. "HOWEVER! It can't be on the first stages, we need someone in an advanced stage. We don't exactly how the virus changes people, we do know it should cause physical mutations. At the first sign of them, you need to capture said person. Until then… we need to keep fighting." He explained. The group nodded and seemed quite relieved at it.

"At least we know there may be a way to fight this… Still, it'd be easier if we weren't so few…" Reks pointed out. Suddenly, as if to answer his prayers, Joshua's phone rang for the first time since they arrived in Caelum.

"Yes? Joshua here." He answered, a very loud squeal being heard from the other side.

"Joshua! You're alive! We were so worried!" A girly voice exclaimed from the other side of the line.

"Yeah, don't worry Rhyme, I'm completely fine. Still, what happened for you not to be able to call me?" Joshua asked, the voice switching to a more manly one at that.

"Well, we couldn't locate you. That world wasn't on our maps until Neku broke the Seal of the Heavenly Weapons back in Ivalice." This was her older brother speaking.

"Neku did WHAT? Beat, why would he do that?" The blonde one blared.

"He… felt like it." He replied the best he could.

"… Why am I not surprised? Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?" After hanging out with Neku for so long and never being able to predict the teen… yeah, he had decided to just go along with it.

"Oh, the good news. I'll send you the Lagunarok's frequency by message… Don't ask about the name. Just guide it to your location. It's the only reinforcements we can send…" The word reinforcements made Joshua take a deep breath and letting it all out. Things were getting pretty bad until he mentioned that. "But, I have to know Joshua, you didn't happen to see any member of Class Zero there, did you? Ace, Cinque and Deuce were sent to survey what happened but we can't contact them." This worried Joshua, not because they went missing, but due to them actually using Class Zero of all divisions to do this.

"I didn't see a single one of them, but, I understand that there must be a reason for you to send yet another team. Care to share?" Joshua asked. He could hear the groaning from the other side of the phone, he knew something was up.

"There have been "disappearances"… to be more precise, there's only a handful of people we could keep track off on the three planets. The Ivalice is fine, and World number VIII as well, but that's it really." Okay, Joshua didn't expect that, and worst of all, he couldn't make sense of it. "But we can't worry about this now, you have to help them land on your city, if they land anywhere else…"

"I know, thanks Beat." He replied, terminating the connection, shortly after a frequency appeared on screen, one that he showed the king.

* * *

><p>"This is kinda boring…" Laguna lamented, fiddling with the controls a bit. He was stuck at the bridge, watching over the ones piloting the ship. For him, that was the worst job. He was at the bridge doing absolutely nothing. Just watching. Good thing something snapped him out of that nothingness.<p>

"Laguna, we are… getting a call?" Selphie warned. "Are we going to answer it? We don't know who could be…" The projection had just popped up on the bridge. Laguna's face told how he was responsible for it, and proud mind you.

On the other side of the screen was the person we know as King Caelum. He was surprised at how relaxed the man in front of him seemed to be for the dire situation Joshua stated they were, but nonetheless he introduced himself.

"My name is Solidus Caelum. I am King of the democracy of Caelum that is a part of the planet you are about to land on. I have to warn you of a danger that resides on the planet." He introduced himself, but not before asking: "Are you the leader?"

"I can't say I'm the "leader" but I AM president of the republic of Esthar. Is that enough?" Laguna was serious for once. He was going to see now if the story Snow had told them coincided.

"Very well. I believe it's safe then. Our neighbor hooding countries have been affected by a virus. We had no idea it was a physical condition, but it appears to be. This causes cells to rebel against their body's will, even going as far as taking control of the very brain of said person, it's basically the same principle of mind-control. Anyone infected with said disease becomes a fanatic apostle of the "Dark Queen" as they call her. We suspected this Dark Queen to be our goddess Etro, but it seems even her has been subjugated. For that, we would have you land on Caelum capital city in order to not only help us survive the siege the fanatics are orchestrating, but also try and find a cure." This ticked with everything Snow had warned them about. He told Noel that after he vanished from his world people started worshipping a being by the same name, even his wife which led him to escape using the Void of all escapes. This would be more detailed if Shin wasn't sulking while the explanation happened so deal with it.

"Okay then, your story checks out with ours, we'll follow your lead." Laguna replied.

"Great. Follow these coordinates once you arrive at the atmosphere." Caelum urged, Laguna nodding.

* * *

><p>"Where are we Ace…?" An orange haired teen-like woman asked the blonde teen-like man on her side.<p>

"I'm scared…" The other stated. The ruined city spelled an ill omen, that and how they had to disguise themselves as one of the black cloak wearing acolytes to not be caught even furthered the tension.

"By the description… this could very well be the lost city of Valhalla, the End of Time… but how are there so many living beings here?" He questioned himself. Class Zero's leader had never seen anything quite like this city, but he was more scared for the fact his phone had absolutely no connection. They were on a completely different realm from what they "lived" in. How would they get out? The answer, or more specifically, the hope presented itself quickly though.

"Come with me if you want to live… you are not like these mad men, are you?" One of the cloaked men whispered, not stopping for a second. Ace was confused and didn't know if he should really risk so much in following the man, but they didn't really have a choice, they had no idea where they were, they just had to gamble on it. And they did, by following said man as he seemed to be heading towards the outskirts.

* * *

><p>"I don't know how it's possible for it to be repaired like this…" Crono mumbled, watching over the Epoch. "It seems to be even better if you look at it from the inside… and Ashe said they weren't making progress… who could have done this?"<p>

"Does it even matter? We can't be picky at this point!" Luso exclaimed. It was a childish way of thinking, but one they had to accept.

"It's true… if we really need Epoch, we can only pray it isn't a trap." Considering how LEZARD rebuild it, I highly doubt it, but time will tell.

* * *

><p>"So THAT'S where you come from. That's actually pretty awesome! You're just like Crono, a warrior in time! I dare say… a Hero of Time!" For a moment, everyone imagined Noel wearing the green tunic that Link always wore, holding the Master Sword and the Hylian Shield. Zack was one that could always find a reference to fit in. Noel was just explaining in depth his adventure in the common room, you know, where you could play card games, billiard, video games, the works. This ship had one of course.<p>

"But, what did you mean with "your future doesn't exist"?" Serge asked, worried about the implications. He would have no answer however, as Laguna's voice resounded, calling them all to the bridge. Or better, calling some, they would never fit in the bridge. Even if a majority had stayed behind repairing the Whale for a bigger transportation. They arrived at the bridge only to have Laguna inform them of what Solidus had told him. Considering how they were already nearing the planet, by the time they were finished, the atmosphere was already in sight. The planet seemed… grey from the outside.

"It's as if it's devoid of life…" Terra pointed out, feeling an eerie sensation creeping up her spine.

"Maybe it's the virus." Noel commented. "Pulse wasn't like this except in the grimmest futures and by the existence of a civilization, this means that this isn't one of them." His logic was flawed by the fact they were different worlds joined, but he was right on the fact that the planet couldn't be like this because of a tragedy on Pulse.

"Well, grab onto your seats, we're entering the atmosphere!" Laguna exclaimed and against the wall they went again. The trip to the coordinates was safe BUT depressing. Seeing as all cities they flew over were destroyed or simply deserted, plants burned and dying and how the sea was grey with the land being almost a black desert would look like. What was weird, or not so weird considering what Machina had showed them, was how there were NO people. 0, nothing, nada. There were SOME animals, but life itself was… kinda eroding from the planet. How was this possible? Was the question that hovered on most of their minds as they approached the coordinates. They could see, at the end of the dead forest, an advanced city they guessed to be Caelum. They were right. They WEREN'T right when they thought they were "nearly there".

* * *

><p>"Sir, an unknown ship is heading towards Caelum. What should we do?" A faceless soldier asked his superior.<p>

"Bring them down." A blonde young man ordered, a slew of soldiers saluting before jumping on their war machines and doing just that, shooting the Lagunarok down. "And when they're down… send the puppets, I'll inform Mother." The young man added, a despicable sadistic smile tainting his features as he put on his hood.

* * *

><p>"Cosmos, I should be going…" The young man that had arrived earlier to Cosmos' sanctuary heavily wounded told her. The "goddess" nodded and opened up a portal for him.<p>

"I'll take care of your friend…" She assured him, he only smiled and replied with:

"Good to know you managed to memorize it."

* * *

><p>"We're being shot down!" Selphie exclaimed.<p>

"Stop being Captain Obvious and make us stay in the air as long as possible! Shoot back!" Squall roared, dialing the frequency he from which they had received the call. Fortunately, the king was paying attention to the frequency and instantly received it. "Listen, we don't have much time! We are in the forest south of your city, not too far away, we can't see it in the distance, but…" The screen flashed, the ship trembled and the light's dimmed, explosions being heard everywhere. The Lagunarok managed to get some of the machines and small ships down, but they were just too many, not to mention mages. "Damnit, we're crashing already!" Squall cursed as the altitude began diminishing. "We need help! FAST!" He stated bluntly just before the main generator got hit, turning any leftover functions off and sending them crashing straight to the ground. The fall would have been disastrous at that speed… had it actually happened. In a desperate attempt, Terra jumped out of the ship and positioned herself by its side as it fell, she gathered all her energy and chanted:

"FLOAT!" Channeling her very being onto said ship it surprisingly came to a full halt meters away from the ground, gently hovering to the ground. The most surprising of all… it wasn't hard. How? How was it so easy? She couldn't dwell on that though, she landed near the exit hatch, the stairway quickly opening, everyone leaving the ship. They looked around and realized that they were on a small valley, surrounded by hills in the middle of the dead jungle. Then, the hills began to be tainted black and crystalline as the cloaked fanatics, Heartless, Shades and Manikins surrounded them. But… this could never prepare them for what came next. Three figures then jumped from the crowd, boldly landing by themselves near the small army in front of them. They were fully covered in their garbs, so they couldn't be recognized though. Not until they stepped forward and began talking.

"You have trespassed on Mother's territory…" This one was clearly a woman, some thought to recognize her voice, but the one they remembered was kind and pure, this one was sadistic and twisted. "We should have you executed this moment."

"But mother is merciful. She knew you would come and told us to spare you as long as you bow to her gift." They also recognized this one, but once again, he could never be this twisted.

"Resist and be disposed of, join us and live in eternal bliss on her lap." The third one completed. Okay, this one was just too much. The coincidence was too much, but no one wanted to believe it, no one even dared to think it.

"What gives you the right to say it? Where do you think we are? How can you call this planet yours? You who spread a virus to be accepted by it!" Terra replied, thunder cackling around her.

"Virus? The term is, illumination. We granted eternal bliss to everyone we touched and, in turn, they allowed us into their planet, their homes." The man replied.

"Lies, all lies! I don't care WHO you are, you are no ally of mine! Stand aside or I'll make you stand aside!" The girl roared, her sheer aura surprising both her companions and her enemies.

"Mother predicted you would react like that… she is too merciful… she even told us to cause the least amount of damage to you and your companions. You should feel lucky." This time, he was reaching for his hood, the other two doing the same. "You will leave to see our world, to be welcomed by it." As the hoods dropped, so did their hearts. Their subconscious fears, all realized it. The sandy blonde hair, the short brown and the bandana covering the silver hair. The only difference were their green, cat-like eyelids, ones that were reminiscent to… him.

"No! Why?" Terra cried as she saw the trio in front of her.

"NO! FUCK NO!" Jecht roared.

"Those bastards!" Cloud shouted, realizing just what these fanatics were all about.

"Welcome to… Planet J-E-N-O-V-A!" Tidus greeted.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"I'll just have to punch some sense into you!"_

_"Accept the fact that you are all my future children!"_

_"Say goodbye to your shinning hope…"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****Well, I repaired the giant gaping hole on the fourth wall, so I should be able to-

CHESUTO! *Giant crash, followed by an explosion* Waga Zankantou ni… Tatenou mono Nashi!

**Sanger? Why the hell are you…**

Thanks Sanger! The building to Project X-zone is that way!

**Shin…**

Thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, the chance to be in a Capcom crossover does not come every day. Hope I'll come to the states though, it has been too long.

*Sanger walks away like the badass he is*

**Okay, is this a thing now? You breaking the wall at the end of each chapter?**

Maybe. I must say that I never got my hopes shattered, revived and then put down on the same chapter. I came here to ask… are you done? I think this is bad enough. I mean, the whole planet, plus other planets, are against a small army for god's sake.

**This chapter was light compared to the next.**

WHAT?

**Trust me, it'll get better. Who gave you an extra job?**

Fiiiiiiiiiiine. Just because you gave me permit to be on Inhaled Corn's crossover doesn't mean I'll let you get away next time. Remember, I can tell Jecht about the hole…

**I'll be ready.**

See you then, you better be.

**Okay, now that that's controlled. Yeah, this part has got me truly excited, but I want to get it just right, especially next chapter, this, joined with the fact I'm actually in cliffhangers with all my fics means I, for once, might take a while longer on the next one, just a bit longer. I promise you, you'll not be disappointed That aaaaand… I might have gone overboard with Sanger, but that's just why I'm watching SRW OG: The Inspector just now (this may or may not be the reason this chapter got delayed)… and god, it's awesome. Rätsel and Sanger could carry the show, but they don't need to. Anyone who enjoyed any mech show… I recommend it, well, that and Divine Wars since Inspectors is a sequel but Inspectors is even better. TROMBE OVERRIDE! As always, leave a review telling me what you thought, they helped before and they will continue to help! Especially this chapter, what did you think of this part's setting? I'm all ears!**

* * *

><p>Translation corner:<p>

Waga Zankantou ni… Tatenou mono Nashi!: There is nothing my Zankantou cannot cut! (This seems to include the fourth wall… I mean, the hole is bigger than my house not, how the hell will I repair this?)

* * *

><p><strong>This Chapter has been awarded the Kamina Seal of Approval for its inclusion of manly mech pilots and for understanding how men must sometimes kick logic down the curb and do the impossible! Stay manly!<strong>


	58. Way to Fall

****Author's note:****Sorry for the delay. For one, I didn't want to write this chapter, I feel BAD for doing so. I mean… god am I angry at myself for doing it. You'll know why. That and, I was going to update yesterday. But, suddenly, out of fucking nowhere, KH3D! I'm in Europe, so suck it! Sorry for that, I have to control this better. ANYWAY, my consciousness led me to update this, since I was being a dick if I didn't, so, here it is.

**PS:** Way to Fall is a music theme in MGS3, which totally isn't here because I played the HD collection recently, nope. In any case, there'll be a where, if you know it, I'll tell you to play it, in your mind or on YouTube. Again, you'll know why.

* * *

><p><strong>Warning! Warning! A new challenger is approaching!<strong>

Welcome to the Unknowing Herald's… Dissidia corner! Now, this segment would appear right at the end of the chapter, as in an extra one, but considering THIS one, it'll only appear like that on the next ones. What is this you ask? Ever wanted to give someone a moveset in Dissidia? Well, me too, and considering how there are A LOT of people here that don't have one, why the hell not? I'll even help imagine the fight scenes. If you're not into it, skip this segment, I don't WANT you too, but it's your right. Now, without further ado, the two inaugurating ones:

Shin:

Bio:

A reincarnation of Shinryu, a dragon whose powers is said to exceed that of the gods. Initially unaware of his identity he meets up with Terra Branford's adopted children who sent him to find their mother. This triggers a series of events that will affect the fate all of existence. While optimist and quite the joker, he doesn't come off quite as goofy as Bartz or his group, except if you count being completely oblivious to certain things.

Fighting Style: Godsbane

Combining Spellblade with his past self's unique pool of abilities makes Shin the most adaptable fighter yet. His Spellblade can be accessed by pressing L+R or vice-versa, depending if you want to switch left or right. The order of the elements being Arcane(non-elemental), Fire, Thunder, Blizzard. Changing these changes the move set that consists of two element-specific brave attacks and one HP specific one. However, after staying in a said mode for more than two seconds, you must commit to that mode for a full fifteen seconds before switching again, giving the opponent time to adapt and counter. Furthermore, his Ex-mode doesn't work like most of the others. Instead, he follows an upgrade path. There are three levels, one whose Ex-bar rises considerably faster than normal, another where the Ex-bar regains the normal speed and slowly is depleted and, when that second bar is filled a third one is engaged for a limit period of time. This third one effectively acts as a regular ex-mode and will reset the bar when it's finished. Certain HP attacks are only usable in Level Two, while a final HP attack is available at Level Three.

Alternate outfits:

Alt 1: Honorary Soldier: SOLDIER 1st Class Uniform as he used during his outgoing in Midgar and against Minerva.

Alt 2: Honorary… Orphan?: The ragged clothing he wore until Midgar.

DLC Alt: Dragonborn: His yet-to-be-released 3rd tier class outfit in Radiant Fantasy.

Intro:

Short: Shin stands up from a kneeing position, heaving his sword onto his shoulder before swiping his thumb on his lips, assuming battle position.

Long: Shin crashes down with his wings still visible, smiling and enacting the short intro.

Brave attacks (Not depending on Element, only two for each position can be picked, as "Elemental Blade" must be always enabled in some button):

Ground:

Dragon Swarm: Slashes multiple times in a straight line in a vertical sweeping fashion while, hitting the sword on the ground and having it bounce all the way to the hand he wasn't using to prolong it. Multiple button presses can extend the initial four repetitions to eight, however, this takes away the possibility of a chain but leading to a great amount of Ex-force. Links to Divine Dragon's Flames if in Arcane Arts mode (leaving you in Fire Blade mode) by pressing square after the fourth hit.

Guardian Field: Stabs the ground with the sword, forming a small glyph that surrounds Shin, dealing damage to anyone inside it. Breaks guard, bad ending lag. Links to Tsunami if in Arcane Arts mode (leaving you in Blizzard Blade mode) by pressing square during the execution. Level-3 exclusive: This move can instantly chain into Tsunami if square is pressed before the sword stabs the ground, not needing to hit the opponent and can be used in Blizzard blade mode besides Arcane Arts mode.

Both Ground and Air:

Rising Falcon: Jumps backwards, diving at the opponent in a straight line soon afterwards. If on the air, the jumping animation is canceled, otherwise, very bad starting lag. Breaks guard. If on Level-2 or higher it gains a blazing form of a dragon. Links to "Raising Dragon" if on Level-2 or higher and in Arcane Arts mode. Leaves you on Fire Blade mode if linked.

Tiger Blade: Quickly ascends with a sweep, ending with a downward sweep that initiates chase. In case of airborne, the downward sweep will take the opponent all the way to the floor. Links to "Lighting Tiger Blade" if on Arcane Arts mode (leaving you on Thunder Blade mode) by pressing square before the downward sweep.

HP Attacks (Not depending on Element):

Does not possess any at Level-1, all are available at both Air and Ground:

Chaotic Deluge: Level-2 or higher. Shin charges briefly before shooting a beam of on the opponent's direction. Slight homing, long range, bad starting and ending lag. At Level-3 the numbers of rays are multiplied by three.

Savage Roar: Level Three only. After a brief delay, Shin roars as he swings his sword downwards. If hit by the initial slash the attack surely hits, if not, the earth will still scrap open, a linear eruption of energy doing Brave Damage before the Final HP hit. Good start, colossal ending lag if both parts miss.

Fire Blade:

Brave Attacks:

Ground:

Elemental Blade "Draconian Eruption": Charges the blade before slamming it into the ground, streams of fire erupting from it and forming dragons that hound the opponent. Charge by continued press of circle for increased damage and range. Large amount of Ex-generation, ending lag worsens with charge.

Air:

Elemental Blade "God Burst": Shin cloaks himself in flames and charges at the opponent in a straight line without any starting lag. Mid-range, no homing, bad ending lag. If it connects you can either press circle again for a blazing overhead that culminates in an explosion that does Wall Rush damage, or at Level-2 or higher you can hit Square for a HP chain, Heat End.

Blizzard Blade:

Ground:

Elemental Blade "Frigid Blast": Shin slashes twice in front of himself, leaving two frozen air lines. If the initial strikes connect the rest of the blow is assured to finish. Press Circle again for Shin to punch the ice, shattering it and causing both a chase state and a wall rush state, depending on the distance. Moderate ending lag if cancelled early, short range at the slashes, mid-range on the ice blast.

Air:

Elemental Blade "Freezing Moment": Shin deposits and nearly indiscernible ice flock on the air in front of him. Any opponent that comes in a set distance of it without dashing will be left frozen for three seconds.

Thunder Blade:

Ground:

Elemental Blade "Thunder Trident": Shin slams the ground in front of him to create three bolts of energy that speed in three different directions. Some starting lag but inexistent ending lag. Causes chase.

Air:

Elemental Blade "Thor's Judgment": Shin raises his sword overhead, a giant golden hammer appearing above the target. After a set amount of charging he swings his sword downward, the hammer crashing down on the opponent. Unparalleled Brave Damage, Absorb, downwards Wall Rush, very slow start but no ending lag.

Arcane Arts:

Ground/Air:

Aura Canon: Shin cups his hands before thrusting them forward in a straightforward blue beam. If it hits you can link it to True Aura Canon by pressing Square at Level-2 or above.

HP attacks:

Ground:

Fire Blade only:

Spellblade: Flare "Blazing Dragon": Shin does a quick but short dash at the opponent, leaving a red mark on the ground. If it hits, the mark will now erupt in flames, dealing brave damage before HP damage.

Blizzard Blade only:

Spellblade: Freeze "Final Rest": Shin thrusts his blade into the ground, causing a freezing line to steam from it, tracking the opponent with increasing speed. If it hits or stands directly beneath the opponent (short vertical range though), it encases him in ice and bursts, causing both brave and HP damage.

Arcane Arts only:

Dragon's Crest: Shin holds his sword vertically on his front, a glyph of light appearing around him. If this glyph captures the opponent, it will flare up, causing a small amount of brave damage. Shin will then leap up, pulling the sword backwards before delivering an overhead slash on the opponent, crashing him into the ground and causing HP damage.

Air:

Thunder Blade Only:

Spellblade: Thundaja "Lightning Storm": Shin raises his sword upwards, causing random glyphs to appear in the sky, giant bolts of lightning giving way. Can be maintained by continue press of square, unlimited max range, slightly tracks the opponents general direction, very slightly though, extremely random.

HP Chains (All change depending on the level):

Divine Dragon's Flames: Chains from Dragon Swarm. At Level-1 Shin cloaks himself in flames but only slashes twice before ending it with a flaming stab, dealing HP damage. Level-2 enlarges the combo by adding a crescent sweep instead of the final stab, sending the opponent upwards, Shin following him for another sweep, sending him even higher and dealing HP damage. Level-3 makes so the second sweep is less pronounced, allowing Shin to follow it up with a diagonal stab, going all the way to the ground, inflicting HP damage and Wall Rush

Tsunami: Chains from Guardian Field. Shin hits the ground with his hand, water appearing around the area before stabbing the ground again for an upward current around him. Level-2 adds brave damage while Level-3 makes it so you can chain it without hitting Guardian Field.

Raising Dragon: After Rising Falcon hits, Shin quickly follows it up by encasing himself in fire that resembles a dragon, rising to the sky with his opponent, causing brave damage. Available at Level-2, Level-3 amplifies the damage and causes upwards Wall Rush.

Lightning Tiger Blade: After the first hit a large lighting traverses the opponent's body, causing brave damage before being finished up by a lighting-infused downwards overhead.

Heat End: Chains from Elemental Blade "God Burst": Shin thrusts his fist into the opponent's chest, lifting him upwards and causing an explosion.

True Aura Canon: Shin puts his all behind the stream of energy, increasing the potency tenfold, causing brave damage as it drags the opponent horizontally. Causes HP damage after a set amount of time or when a wall is reached, causing horizontal Wall Rush.

Chase Animations:

Neutral: Shin stabs at the opponent.

Upwards: Shin punches the opponent up.

Downwards: Shin spins in midair, hitting the enemy with his foot.

HP: Shin charges his sword with darkened light, shouting "Spellblade: Almagest" as the blackness explodes into purifying light.

Ex-mode:

Level-2: "All power limitations off!"

There are little to no changes on Shin's appearance during Level-2. He gains access to HP attacks while upgrading some of his brave pool during this level. He also gains Glide, which spawns his transparent wings.

Level-3: "Dragon and Human as one!"

This mode causes a very drastic change in appearance. Besides the permanent Golden Aura Shin's hair turns red, his eyes gold while his cloth's black becomes silver. In this form his voice is always doubled with Shinryu's and his wings are permanently materialized. He gains usage of even more attacks and a Special L+Square command as well as Regen. Shinryu's default outfits change the weapon to the Sword of Seals while the Dragonborn outfit's weapon is… not going to be mentioned yet.

L+Square: One Slash with both Sword and Soul. Two stages charge. The first stage takes less time to charge than other commands but it is simply an HP-attack that always hits on a medium radius around Shin. Shin shines when ready to use it, if you continue pressing Square you HAVE to wait for another equally long charge phase before unleashing an Omnidirectional, unlimited range HP attack. Both of these consist of the same, except far less impressing in level-one charge. Level one causes Shin to flare up said Sword of Seals, slamming it into the ground and creating a pillar of flames around him. Level two however, causes Shin to vanish from sight, appearing just above the opponent as the screen cuts to a black and white slow motion perspective while Shin bisects the opponent, flames erupting after he does, dealing HP damage.

Ex-burst: Be Sealed!

Shin cuts the screen and kicks the opponent away, he then charges the Sword of Seals as as five random letters appear on a straight line on the screen. The player must choose the right one six times, S-H-I-N-R-Y-U. The sword's flames increase with each letter. If done perfectly, Shin rises the sword overhead, it flaring before he slashes at the opponent doing repeated brave damage with its flames, a white gash appears on the opponents chest afterwards. Shin then sheaths his sword and does a high backflip, as he lands the opponent is revealed to be encased in pristine crystal, dealing HP Damage. If this kills the opponent, he does not break free, he stays encased. If the ex-burst is inputted wrongly, the sealing part does not occur and the flames are much less pronounced.

Victory pose:

Shin throws his sword into the air, letting it fall into its sheath by its own while giving thumbs up to the screen. If he finishes in Ex-Mode his sheathing is much like Lightning's before the thumbs up. An Ex-Burst finish skips the sheathing as the sword is already sheathed.

Defeat pose:

Shin falls to his knees, punching the ground angrily.

Versus Quotes (May Vary in different outfits):

VS Warrior of Light: I can fit your character development in one paragraph.

VS Garland: People only like you for your meme.

VS Firion: Aren't that many… overkill?

VS Firion (Dragonborn Alt): I call Bulllshit. You don't have the inventory space for so many.

VS Mateus: Just one more in the Evil Emperor trend…

VS Mateus (Dragonborn Alt): I'll enjoy this far more than I should…

VS Onion Knight: How I've waited for this chance!

VS Cloud of Darkness: I've heard of "dress to impress" but this?

VS Cecil: Your redesign killed you.

VS Cecil (Dragonborn Alt): A paladin? Where's your horse?

VS Kain: If Cecil gets a girl, how are you single?

VS Kain (Special Quotes Enabled): Ever considered a role in a Mario game?

VS Golbez: A villain I can respect.

VS Golbez (Special Quotes enabled): Let me guess, you are my father?

VS Bartz: Can you mimic yourself?

VS Bartz (Special Quotes enabled): This fight will decide it… the owner of the hole on the 4th wall!

VS Gilgamesh: I know where the Excalibur is… Come on, maybe I'll tell you!

VS Exdeath: Too many jokes… can't decide on one.

VS Terra: I'll show you I can stand by my own now!

VS Kefka: Some men have no redemption…

VS Kefka (Special Quotes enabled): I'm the Batman to your Joker.

VS Cloud: A spar with you? I'm in!

VS Cloud (Honorary Solider Alt): Does this technically make me as much of a SOLDIER as you?

VS Cloud (Dragonborn Alt): Hypocrite…

VS Tifa: I really don't get what you have that's so special…

VS Sephiroth: You think you're just the best, don't you?

VS Sephiroth (Dragonborn Alt): Once you start losing, you won't be stopping so soon.

VS Squall: Relax and fight.

VS Laguna: Do you need a map?

VS Ultimecia: This better be the last TIME I hear those puns.

VS Zidane: Shouldn't you grow out of that pimp nature?

VS Zidane (Special Quotes Activated): A monkey-based alien that can transform? Sounds familiar… just "saiyan".

VS Kuja: I'll get you a mirror for birthday.

VS Tidus: Grudges aren't supposed to be held against family.

VS Yuna: Sorry, but Rydia's better.

VS Jecht: If I beat you… I'll be the manliest one here!

VS Jecht (Dragonborn Alt): Not my lucky day…

VS Shantotto: Sooo… Ultimate spell ready yet? No? Lucky!

VS Prishe: Too much sugar.

VS Vaan: Don't go overboard again.

VS Vaan (Dragoborn Alt): Just like the old days, huh?

VS Gabranth: Can you judge us separately?

VS Gabranth (Dragonborn Alt): His aid? This will be tough…

VS Lightning: I believe I've seen you somewhere else... but you were a guy.

VS Lightning (Dragonborn Alt): Can't you just believe?

VS Chaos: If she did it, I can too!

VS Feral Chaos: My creation, my opponent!

Special Quotes: 1000 PP on the store. Can be turned into four. Always on. Partially on in which before every action it's randomly determined if he uses one, random match, where if one match has one, the entirety will have and finally off.

Aqua:

Bio: Keyblade Master Eraqus' star pupil, earning the rank of master at a tender age of eighteen. Childhood friend of Terra and Ventus, she saw her life crumble away in front of her very eyes as Master Xehanort tried to use her friends to conquer Kingdom Hearts. Unable to thwart his plans completely, she is forced to face both Ventus and Terra, even going as far as playing an instrumental role in breaking the X-blade. Still, not wanting to believe Terra had been taken over by Xehanort she falls into the Realm of Darkness to save him. In a world where time doesn't appear to follow normal rules, her body remained the same until she re-emerged in our time. She still owes a date to Zack.

Fighting Style: Keyblade Master

Aqua fighting style consists in nimble and skillful movements, exploring openings or keeping the opponent at a safe distance. Her assist bar can be sacrificed in lieu of using command style. These styles upgrade brave attacks correspondent to them, granting them chains or other effects and all have an HP attack specific to them. Four of them, Magic Wish, Firestorm, Diamond Dust and Thunderstorm only spend on assist bar while the other three, Ghost Drive, Blade Charge and Sky Climber spend two bars. Each attack will lead to a specific style when chained with L+Square. The style will also depend on the assist bars stocked. Styles have a 20 second timelimit.

Alternate Outfits:

Alt 1-Original Aqua: This changes her hair-style to a longer one that goes to her shoulders before spiking outwards, its shading darkens and her clothing reverts to its original, not censored self with an exposed back. (Taken from her concept art before Disney got its claws on it.) Its Ex-Mode pallet has also been altered to fit the Birth by Sleep secret ending in KH2. This alt uses her Rainfell instead of the Stormfall.

Alt 2-Armored Maiden: In this alternate Aqua's in her characteristic Keyblade armor even before Ex-Mode, including the usage of Bright Crest before Ex-Mode. Differences between Ex-Mode being the lack of helmet, which traces are still there (think KH2 secret movie) and the lack of cape. Said Ex-Mode will still only maintain the remains of her helm.

DLC Alt-Beach Aqua: HEY! She has no more clothing, it's free game! Also, Prishe, 'nuff said. In this alt Aqua dons her swimwear which consists of a two piece dark-blue bikini tied with a Mark of Mastery symbol. Yeah, shocker, more blue. She also wears two matching bracelets on her right wrist and a dark-blue thin chocker. Her default Keyblade is her ice-cream theme Sweetstack and her Ex-Mode changes it to her Destiny's Embrace.

Intro Animations:

Short: Aqua extends her hand forward, materializing her Keyblade horizontally before taking battle position. (Taken from versus Terranoth.)

Long: Aqua approaches the screen in her Keyblade Armor, touching her arm to retract it before enacting her short animation. If on either Alt 2 or DLC, Aqua will simply approach the screen and take a deep breath before enacting her short intro.

Brave Attacks:

Ground:

Graceful Combination: Aqua's go-to physical attack. She quickly slices twice before doing a backflip with a curving strike. If the enemy is at midrange, she will perform a stabbing motion before the slices. Can combo without hitting, causes chase, quick but slower at mid-range due to range increase. Does not count towards command change but chains into an HP attack according to the command and is slightly changed by said command style.

Seeker Mine: Aqua raises her Keyblade, creating six mines around her. These mines stay in the same location until an opponent approaches them, if so they'll bolt towards him, explosion on contact. Cannot be blocked, can be linked to most attacks due to high stun-state. Can initiate Magic Wish and Ghost Drive, chains into Magic Hour. Magic Wish doubles the mine's range.

Thundaga Shot: Aqua holds her Keyblade towards the enemy and quickly shoots an omnidirectional ball of lightning towards the opponent. (Think Un-nerfed Blizzara from Terra, except the ridiculous range.) If it hits, a bold of lighting crashes on the opponent, sending them downwards. Quick cast, perfect initial tracking but none after the shot, down Wall Rush. Can initiate Thunderstorm and Sky Climber. Thunderstorm multiplies bolts by three.

Air:

Elegant Combination: Much like the ground version. Aqua quickly sweeps at the opponent with and upwards sweep then spins in midair once vertically and another one horizontally, knocking the opponent away. If the opponent is farther than the initial sweep, Aqua will thrust towards the opponent. Can combo without hitting, begins chase. Adapts to commands as the ground version, chaining to HP attacks in some.

Freeze: Aqua extends the Keyblade upwards, a clear mist surrounding her. If the opponent is anywhere near the mist, it will be frozen in place. Slow start, un-blockable, chains into Glacier. Diamond Dust extends the range on it.

Firaga Burst: Aqua creates a massive fireball on top of her, from it shooting various small firebolts that slightly track the opponent. Increased firebolds number in Firestorm. If any of them hit, Aqua can then chain it into Raging Storm. Random nature, exposes defenses if used up close, no ending lag and quick starting lag.

Both Ground and Air:

Triple Firaga: Aqua sends out three fireballs that home in on the opponent with a massive persistence. Firestorm increases speed. Below average speed, godly tracking. Can initiate Blade Charge and Firestorm.

Triple Blizzaga: A much faster version of Triple Firaga but without any tracking after the shot, even then, the tracking is weak even at the beginning. Diamond Dust causes Aqua to shoot them shotgun like, covering a cone in front of her Extreme speed, unblockable, no tracking post shot. Can initiate Diamond Dust and Blade Charge.

Thundaga Rain: Aqua creates a ring of lighting around her, with each button press raining lighting around her. Increased range on Thunderstorm. Highly accurate inside the ring, low range, causes chase also possess high vertical range. Can initiate Thunderstorm and Sky Climber.

Barrier Dash: Aqua cloaks herself in a barrier and rams into the opponent, breaking his guard and deflecting weak projectiles back. Can dash three times in Magic Wish and can also initiate it. Good way to close distance.

HP Attacks (By selecting "Finish" in either Air or Ground you gain access to any command style specific finisher):

Ground:

Magic Pulse: Aqua extends her arms upwards, holding her Keyblade as multi colored orbs erupt from her. In case any on them hit, Aqua will repeat the cycle two times, each time bigger than the other, causing brave damage before finishing it with an even bigger explosion. Quick start, low range.

Diamond Dust: In lieu of her command style, only usable once in it. Aqua freezes everything in front of her with a whip of her Keyblade, she then turns with a swing of her arm, the ice breaking, causing HP damage. Deals 175% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also cancels the style.

Thunderstorm: In lieu of her command style, only usable once in it. Aqua raises her Keyblade and lighting begins to spew from it, randomly bolting horizontally and vertically. Very Slight tracking, bad ending lag. Deals 175% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also cancels the style.

Blade Charge: In lieu of her command style, only usable once in it. Aqua spins her augmented Keyblade around in a massive range causing brave damage, she then jumps and attempts to bisect the opponent for HP damage. Bad vertical range, wide open if spin misses. Deals 200% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also cancels the style.

Air:

Prism Rain: After a quick charge Aqua shoots seven rainbow colored beams of energy towards the opponent. Times button presses repeat the process. Somewhat slow start, dangerous to keep repeating because of a possible counter attack.

Firestorm: In lieu of her command style, only usable once in it. Aqua charges briefly before sending bolts of fire downwards in a cone in front of her. Quick execution, bad horizontal range. Deals 175% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also cancels the style.

Sky Climber: In lieu of her command style, only usable once in it. Aqua prepares herself and then rams the opponent with her skateboard-like stance, rising up into the air with him in tow dealing brave damage as she climbs. She then quickly leaves him, reappearing in front of him bolting to the ground. Downwards Wall Rush, slow start but fast charge. Deals 200% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also cancels the style.

Both Ground and Air:

Transcendence: Aqua creates an anti-gravity field around her, incapacitating the opponent. If it hits she barrages him with quick slashes that do brave damage before a final overhead one for HP damage. Quick start for an HP attack, medium range, bad ending lag if misses.

Magic Wish: In lieu of her command style, only usable once in it. Aqua creates a light sphere on top of her, placing her Keyblade in it and spinning, absorbing any opponents around her into it, dealing brave damage before the final spin for 175% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also cancels the style.

Ghost Drive: In lieu of her command style, only usable once in it. Aqua vanishes from sight, bolting to the opponents position with an energy spear. If it connects, she repeats the process extremely fast, ten times total leaving energy spears each time she hits for brave damage, then she finally detonates them for 200% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also cancels the style.

Reflect: Aqua surrounds herself with a protective dome. If any attack hits her, it will explode, the shards dealing HP damage to the opponent. Tremendously hard to dodge, and only possible at long range. Don't hit a counter-initiator kids.

HP Chains:

Graceful Combination "Calm Ice": Besides having different effects with ice, if you press Square just before the last strike, Aqua will freeze the opponent in place before bisecting it, dealing 125% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also canceling the style. In the event this is used while in Blade Charge, the same rules apply but the damage is increased to 150%.

Graceful Combination "Storm": Different effects and animations due to styles effects. Before the final blow you can press Square to make Aqua thrust her Keyblade into the opponent, shooting lighting at point blank range, transfixing him for 125% of current bravery as HP damage but also canceling the style.

Elegant Combination "Fire Blast": Again, different animation and effects. Before the final blow you can press square so that Aqua explodes in fire, damaging the opponent for 125% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also canceling the style. In the event this is used while in Blade Charge, the same rules apply but the damage is increased to 150%.

Elegant Combination "Fleeting Ghost": Aqua teleports behind the opponent and stabs him for brave damage, then, like an illusion she vanishes, appearing above the opponent for a final stab, dealing 150% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also canceling the style.

Glacier: Chains from Freeze. Takes the frozen appoint and hurls it away with a graceful spin, the breaking of the ice causing HP damage. Horizontal Wall Rush.

Raging Storm: Chains from Firaga Burst. Aqua conjures a storm of fire around her, sweeping through the opponent cloaked in it, dealing brave damage as the winds whirl him, finishing with and explosion for HP damage.

Magic Hour: Chains from Seeker Mine only in Ghost Drive or Magic Wish. Aqua vanishes, appearing on top of the opponent with a teleport, spearing through him vertically while leaving a light trail multiple times. The first two times deal brave damage while the last one finishes in an explosion to deal HP damage. While in Magic Wish, this acts as the finisher of said style, dealing 125% of Aqua's current bravery as HP damage but also canceling the style.

Command Style Changes (Specific changes to attacks already detailed):

Firestorm:

Flames are added to the attack physical attacks making them more powerful. Elegant combination can now chain into Fire Blast.

Thunderstorm:

Faster physical attacks, lightning emanating from the assault. Graceful Combination can now chain into Storm.

Diamond Dust:

Physical attacks can now freeze a blocking opponent. Graceful Combination can now chain into Calm Ice.

Magic Wish:

Aqua can now glide and her physical attacks gain immense range but are slower. All magic is powered up considerably both in range and power.

Blade Charge:

All of Aqua's physical attacks now break guard and have highly increased range by Aqua sweeping the massive blade around, changing their animations to those of Birth by Sleep. Gains the chaining potential of both Firestorm and Diamond Dust.

Ghost Drive:

Aqua's dodges are now teleports and all attacks can be canceled by teleporting at ANY stage. Gains the chaining potential of Magic Wish, as well as increased magic and range and has access to Fleeting Ghost.

Sky Climber:

Aqua is now flying on her Keyblade, disabling physical attacks but allowing her to cast while she moves.

Ex-Mode: "I am Master Aqua!" ("Let's get serious, shall we?" in DLC alt)

Aqua cloaks herself in her Keyblade Armor for her first two costumes, only gaining the cape on her third one. The last one only gains a blue aura around her. All Keyblades change differently. Default gets Bright Crest, Alt 1 gets Stormfall, Alt 2 gets Ultima Weapon and DLC Alt gets Destiny's Embrace.

Style Master: While in Ex-Mode Aqua's need for an assist bar to activate styles is eliminated, making it so any style inducing attack automatically puts you in said style Pressing L+Square upgrades the style to its two-bar counterpart.

Teleport: Dodge is now replaced by teleport, which positions you behind the target. If no target is locked on, you teleport randomly.

Ex-Burst:

Lightbloom: Aqua spins around with a growing light aura while you spin your stick clockwise, causing some light spheres to bolt from Aqua into the target. The spinning of the stick fills u a bar, if half-filled the second part begins. Aqua then stops and spins counter-clockwise, you having to do the same. The amount of spheres in the second spins is tremendously bigger. If the bar bellow her fills up to the limit or beyond during said time she will finish the spin with her Keyblade in Blade Charge mode, vanishing like in Ghost Drive mode only to impale you in midair through the torso, stabbing you into the ground. (Think Link's sword finish in LoZ or his down-A in midair in Smash Brothers).

Victory Pose: Aqua dismisses her Keyblade and sweeps her hair back, leaving her hand to rest on her ear as wind blows through her hair.

Defeat pose: Aqua falls to her knees with her legs spread to the sides, one hand grabbing her wounded Keyblade arm.

Versus Quotes:

VS Warrior of Light: You're Master's ideal…

VS Garland: Fighting leads to hate, hate leads to darkness!

VS Firion: I only need my Keyblade!

VS Mateus: You're even more despicable than Xehanort!

VS Mateus (Radiant Quotes on): This is for my fallen colleagues!

VS Onion Knight: You remind me of Ven. *Giggle*

VS Cloud of Darkness: A being of pure darkness… I'll cleanse you!

VS Cloud of Darkness (Beach Aqua): And you still manage to show more.

VS Cecil: I wish Terra had your control…

VS Kain: Your friends can forgive you…

VS Golbez: Walking in the darkness to perseve the light… Thank you.

VS Bartz: Let's see you mimic a master!

VS Gilgamesh: I doubt you can wield this.

VS Gilgamesh (Beach Aqua): My eyes are up here!

VS Exdeath: The number of people who'll just accept you is VOID!

VS Terra: Relax. Let's have a magical time!

VS Kefka: I don't know if I should hate you or feel sorry for you…

VS Cloud: Let go of your past, no matter how dark it is.

VS Cloud (Radiant Quotes on): Why? Weren't you Zack's best friend?

VS Tifa: Wow… I don't usually feel insecure, but... WOW.

VS Sephiroth: An angel of darkness… What made you fall?

VS Sephiroth (Radiant Quotes on): Selling your soul to the devil… you're past redemption!

VS Squall: You kinda remind me of Terra back in the day…

VS Laguna: The saying like father like son does NOT apply here.

VS Ultimecia: Revenge is never the answer, this time is no different.

VS Zidane: Aren't you engaged?

VS Zidane (Beach Aqua): HANDS OFF!

VS Kuja: Your redemption warms my heart.

VS Tidus: Carefree only on the outside… like Ven.

VS Yuna: Your summoning skills are amazing, can you teach me?

VS Jecht: Don't you hide under tough love!

VS Jecht (Radiant Quotes on): Why not fight for us if you only want to battle?

VS Shantotto: Let's share knowledge!

VS Prishe: You make Ven look like a zombie next to you.

VS Vaan: Follow your heart, never look back.

VS Gabranth: I'm guilty of many crimes, but I'll repent in my own way!

VS Gabranth (Radiant Quotes on): The one you should be judging is you and your Emperor!

VS Lightning: Closing yourself to others will only lead to darkness.

VS Lightning (Radiant Quotes): Claire… I know you can't stand down…

VS Chaos: I know that look… you're just like Terra…

VS Chaos (Radiant Quotes): I'll challenge the heavens if I need to!

VS Feral Chaos: Whoever did this to you… they'll pay… now rest.

VS Sora: Sora! Show me if I can stake my life on you!

VS Roxas: Ven? No… it can't be.

VS Shin: I wish Terra could have had your view of things…

VS Shin (Beach Aqua): How come you can ignore me so easily? Anyone already in your sights? Hum? *Evil Giggle*

Okay, so, what do you think? I might move this to my profile, but I think I'll just write it here and put a reference to it on my profile. Anyway, if you want someone to get a moveset, just tell me in a review. I have two more planned for now, but feel free to ask.

Now, let's get out our happy glasses and get on with the real story, shall we?

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Fifty-Eight**

****Way to Fall****

* * *

><p>"I get it now. It all makes sense! The virus… it's the J-E-N-O-V-A Cells!" Zack spat, realizing only then who was behind this. "That makes her… the Dark Queen…"<p>

Laughing in an eerie and downright evil tone, Tidus clapped. "Took you long enough, but at least you found that out. I wouldn't call it virus though but I won't try and convince you, I was blind to." With that, he summoned the brotherhood. "Don't worry, pain will only last an instant." His smile, ironically, only lasted that much as a bellowing laughter came from the crowd.

"Stupid kid! Gone and got himself brainwashed… AGAIN!" Jecht made his way to the front of the crowd laughing all the way. "Well now… since we don't have Yuna on her right mind either…" He began, slamming his clenched fist against his open palm. "I'll just have to punch some sense into you!" He roared, the next steep he took filled with such power one could feel the earth cry out in pain. Tidus didn't even follow the following lunge, only realizing it when his jaw cracked under an unknown pressure. Before he knew it, he had already broken through three trees, hitting a rock with the back of his head, slumping to the ground, his conscious slipping away. "What, you didn't get an upgrade? God this is going to be boring!"

"TIDUS!" Yuna cried, racing to her lover. It was unnerving for anyone there how the way she acted now was so similar to her normal attitude.

"Sorry lady, but he's mine!" Jecht intervened, kicking her in the opposite direction.

"What are you standing here for? ATTACK!" Firion ordered, seeing as Jecht had taken into his hands to stop the stalemate. The valley trembled a black cloud began descending rapidly towards the center of it.

"When did we get into Braveheart?" Zack joked, most of the people around him eying him darkly. "What? I'm used to worse odds." Zack replied, pulling out the replacement for his sword given to him by Crono. "The only hard part about this is how we can't exactly kill the ones infected, the rest is same old "who kicks the most ass" contest."

"I hate to agree with him, but I can't say we have any other choice. Don't go off by yourselves, you'll get yourselves killed." Squall warned, summoning his Gunblade while he turned his head ever so slightly to the side. "Coming?" He asked, chuckling at how the ones he had directed it landed right by his side.

"You betcha!" Zidane exclaimed, not able to stay still with the excitement he hopped around, twirling his blades.

"Come to think of it, this is our first outgoing as the Pride, right?" Bartz asked, rotating his arms to get warmed up.

"Guess so…" Squall told him. _"Should be… amusing."_He told himself, chuckling.

"Lead the way!" Vaan exclaimed. Squall just sighed and did exactly that, rushing to the forest.

"Where do you think you're going?" Firion, feeling completely neglected shouted, preparing to throw a rope and intersect them only to be warned by the wind that he had to move swiftly, only managing to dodge the Ragnarok Basch had given Cloud by inches. "Cloud... you are the only one. The only one who I don't understand how Mother can still crave for. After all you've done…" He noticed Cloud's bored-out-this-world-look and stopped talking by the shock.

"Oh, you done? It's just that I have heard the same speech so many times… I'll cancel it out sometimes… Ready?" Firion had to be, immediately being sucked in into Cloud's low sweep, one that he blocked by striking the ground with his spear, blocking Cloud. The SOLDIER countered with quick thinking, swinging with the spear like it was a pole, kicking Firion away. "So… it's this all your "new dreams" are worth? The last ones were worth a lot more." Cloud taunted, resting his sword on his shoulders. Firion roared and ran up to him guns blazing, just like Cloud wanted him to.

* * *

><p>The forest was surprisingly dense for such a lifeless one. The dense foliage had decayed but nevertheless it was visual impairment for the ones fighting there. Such was the case with Crono and Serge, who were simply lost in the wilderness. It wasn't until they heard a woman's chuckle, one that they knew far too well.<p>

"You sure know how to hold a grudge." Serge taunted without turning. He wouldn't have if he knew what was behind him.

"Well, we were not amused with your little stunts… humans. As such, we are inclined to believe that your deaths would give us… some exhilarating entertainment." The ever sadistic being of darkness flaunted, crossing her legs in a provocative manner as she sat on top of a bright blue machine.

"What the heck is that?" Serge babbled.

"A… Warmech?" Crono gasped, remembering it from a brief passage on the reports. A firing sound alerted him and, even though he had not seen it fire, he pushed himself and Serge out of the way. They rolled through the dead grass until a stop, an unpredicted one, came. They looked up to see yet another metal monstrosity charging its laser at them. A nimble dodge earned them the ability to access the situation. "Wasn't there… only a couple of these left?" Crono exclaimed, seeing as they were completely surrounded by the creatures slash robots.

"You speak in the past, and you speak the truth. Now… squirm!" The cloud ordered, commanding an all-out assault.

"Gonna give up?" Serge taunted, now back to back with Crono.

"Please. I've been through a lot worse with only a frog and a cave woman." Said person replied with a smirk. With one lightning fast move they were both in the air, well above the machines that wanted them fried.

"Masa, Mune!" They both called, Serge adding "Doreen!" As they drew their weapons.

"Let's go!" The swallow blade exclaimed.

"Fly!" The sword roared.

* * *

><p>"Hey Shin, remember when we used to have to worry about some of these?" Terra asked in a somewhat unusual excitement for a battlefield. Truth was, she was right on target.<p>

"Now that you mention it, they just seem so slow and clumsy now!" Shin admitted, seeing as most of the enemy forces just seemed to vanish before they even got close to him. He, as everyone else, was making sure to only knock out humans as they could have easily been infected. To speak the truth, the lack of… named opponents made it so the odds of this battle didn't SEEM that bad.

"Guess I was right, you just needed experience." She complimented, this time jumping on a bipedal machine, tearing the pilot out of it by parting the metal, leaving it to explode.

"You flatter me." He joked, enchanting his weapon with ice. "FRIGID!" He exclaimed, crossing two frozen currents of hair and crushing them into a projectile hail. _"This is actually kinda fun…"_He told himself, even if he couldn't quite put the finger on why.

"I think we should not stray so much now, the others might need our help, keeping us to ourselves is selfish, don't you think?" She suggested, gracefully freezing any human assailants in sight. For some reason, Shin didn't agree with her. Not that he was going to voice it, but the prospect of "keeping her to himself" suddenly seemed all the more appealing. Still, be careful with what you wish for… it might just come true.

"Terra…" A voice called from nowhere, a swift singing blade cutting through the wind. It didn't faze Terra though, swinging the Ragnarok to match the pure green crystal blade she had managed to make out. "Branford…"The silver haired man greeted almost sadistically, but he was too calm and reserved to show that towards her. Terra grimaced at the sight, pushing her aggressor back into the air, him revealing his plethora of wings as she did. Seven in total.

"Sephiroth… so it's true… I can feel Aerith inside you…" Terra was disgusted as to how such pure, crystalline aura could be holding hands with such a corrupt stench. A nightmare within a dream.

"That's certainly true… so, _Godslayer_, what are you going to _do_ about it?" The fallen SOLDIER's tone hadn't changed from its depreciative tone, but both Terra and Shin found it strange how he just… showed up like that. Not that asking him would actually GET them information, so they both nodded at each other to be extra careful on how to deal with this. "Besides... aren't you… doing the same?" Until that underhanded comment happened. They didn't know how he knew, and quite frankly, Terra didn't seem to care one bit.

"I… am… NOTHING LIKE YOU!" Terra spat, unleashing a clear white pulse of energy, knocking any opponent backwards except Sephiroth. But then, what no one expected happened. She gave a small chuckle before asking: "That's it… isn't it? It's just how you wanted… how you thought I'd react." It was Sephiroth's turn to grimace. It wasn't a lie that he did NOT expect Terra to ignore his provocations that easily, to be more precise, he did not expect her to do anything less than go berserk on him. This was certainly a great step backwards on his plan. "It's sad… sad to see how even after taking over Aerith, you aren't even on the same level as me. I'd wager Shin could beat you."

"_Is Terra… talking trash?"_ Shin asked himself flabbergasted. Not only that, but Sephiroth was visibly shaken by the statement, anger and indignation staining his expression. _"She just took an underhanded comment with little to no reaction AND she's beating Sephiroth at his own game? Who is this girl?"_

"You talk highly, but I don't see you followi-"That was the sound of the air in his lungs being shout out by a giant icicle. Terra had just pointed her finger in his direction and immediately the ice formed a spear of over ten meters to pierce his lungs.

"This curse I bear may be the end of me, but for now? Sephiroth, can you defeat a battle instinct that spans across one thousand years?" Terra's voice had changed, but it wasn't Tina's either, it was confident like Tina's but still retained Terra's tone. This could be interpreted as a very good sign or a terrible one, but, just for this fight, it had gotten Sephiroth to reconsider his choice to appear alone in front of the girl. A bit too late for that, his shoulder had exploded in a rain of blood, Terra had cut through it with the Ragnarok. "I won't waste my trance on you." Shin really doubted that was still entirely Terra talking, but that was a question for later.

"Beautiful isn't she?" A voice asked from behind, startling the young man, who turned as fast as he could, his eyes meeting glass covered ones. "It's the first time we meet in person, isn't it, Shinryu?" The brown cloak, the split brown hair, the way his rational look flashed madness for a second and how he adjusted his glasses was sufficient for Shin to connect the dots.

"Lezard?"

* * *

><p>"For such a loudmouth you really can't back it up, can you?" Sora asked, hopping up and down to keep his adrenaline pumping, looking down on the blue haired man in front of him.<p>

"At least Sora can back it up to a point." Riku taunted.

"To be fair, five at the same time might've been overboard." Roxas pointed out. The teens complete lack of interest in the man made him burn inside. He was going to make them pay!

"Roxas Roxas, you can't go around and do what's "fair". They wouldn't, would they?" Xion pointed out.

"He doesn't seem to be controlled though. Why would he be fighting here?" Kairi asked, turning to Naminé. "Can you…"

"SILENCE! I AM MEISTER SEYMOUR GUADO! AND I WON'T BE MOCKED!" The Guado shrieked, pyreflies surrounding it's entire body and then transferring to the area around his back, the wailing of a suffering… thing filling the area. "PARADOX ANIMA! COME TO YOUR MASTER!"

As the cry of suffering filled the air and the large glyph that Seymour had summoned vanished, leaving behind a disgusting sight.

"Ooooookay, _maybe_ you can back it up…" Sora corrected open mouthed.

* * *

><p>"How interesting, how can a human, even with your capabilities, come so far in so little time?" The sorcerer with the glasses mused, betraying what you would think it to be a mages modus operandi and swinging his massive Demon Sword "Levantine" to meet with Shin's Apocalypse.<p>

"I don't have anything to say to you! Tiger Blade!" Shin cried out, taking to the skies with a swift upwards cleave. "No…" He corrected, his weapon filling with thunder. "LIGHTING TIGER BLADE!" He cried, calling down lightning to pierce the magus before striking him into the ground with his electrocuted blade.

As the dust settled, an eerie cackle grew, one that suddenly turned into an insane laughter. "You're… you're just as I expected you to be! Everything is as it should! GUNGNIR!" He summoned, the sword vanishing in lieu of the gold two edged spear the man now wielded. The pages from the book on his hands detached and started flying around him forming a sphere of magical pages, all steaming almost endlessly from the book that floated in front of the now airborne sorcerer. "Godsbane… Quite the tittle, but will you prove yourself to deserve it? Prismatic Missile!" The man hailed Shin with an array of multi-colored rays to test him.

"I think we're going to have to put some real effort into this…" Shin commented, the transparent wings from his coat materializing in order to allow him to dodge the rays by flying above them. He didn't expect however, the way they followed him and he paid for it as he felt an excruciating pain on the left part of his torso.

"She dodged it last time… then again, she was up against a prototype… the true one has no way to compare." Lezard commented in a seeming attempt to pile up data as if it was still part of his research, but, not surprisingly, this caused him to temporarily lose contact of Shin, who vanished into thin air.

"Chaotic…!" He heard from above.

"So predictable… The sapphire light burns deep in hell. Witness their sins and call forth the day of judgment." The chant was done in an inhuman speed but yet, it was still discernible and it matched the launch of the already charged giant pillar of light Shin created. "Pale Flare!" The three strains of blue fire congregated into one and the ensuing explosion wiped out any trace of foliage and trees around them, enemies falling by the hundreds.

"This guy… can't say I didn't expect it but he's no pushover." Shin told himself, landing on one knee before looking around to try and find said man.

"I'm flattered…" He heard coming from above. "Drink deeply the power of the orb…" Before Shin knew it, above him was no sorcerer, just a group of flowing red liquid snakes that lunged at him.

"Elemental Blade: "Draconian Eruption"!" He chanted to counter it, stabbing the ground with his sword, from the cracks rising three flaming dragons that clashed with the snakes in midair. The three dragons seemed to be winning, feasting on the snakes, but that was until…

"BURN IN THE FLAMES OF THE APOCALYPSE!" Lezard ordered, the remaining snakes congregating into a gigantic crimson dragon that came crashing down the young man.

"Guardian Field!" Shin said out of instinct, his sword still carved on the floor. A glyph of light surrounded him just in time for the dragon-shaped flood. The barrier did its best to hold back the torrent, but it was just a matter of time until it cracked under the pressure. Knowing this, Shin decided to put an end to this as fast as he could. "Tears of the ocean! Tsunami!" He punched the floor and thrust his sword on the ground yet again, a circular colossal stream of water erupting from it, cancelling out the dragon. This constant usage of two days-old techniques started to take toll on the body, his muscles crying out for a break, they could not have no such thing. In the midst of his forced breathing he heard… clapping. Floating above with his legs crossed as if he was sitting on a throne, Lezard clapped mockingly at him, the taint of madness now at full display in his glass covered eyes.

"Far more impressive than what I've been told, you've been training I presume?" He questioned, Shin nodded in response. Why did he respond? Maybe to try and understand just what drove this man. "As I expected. Now, as a kind reward, I'll inform you of why I am indeed here to block your way. Truth is, while I do dislike that simpleton with an Oedipus complex, he is of much more use to it alive than dead. And, even after blocking you from it, I'd wager I'll have to settle with the second condition…" Shin was alerted to this and looked backwards, where Lezard was looking.

"What the…" He gasped.

* * *

><p>"<em>Was he always so slow?"<em> Terra asked herself, floating in disbelief. The agony and disgusted filled expression Sephiroth was shooting her, one that could only do so much to hide his embarrassment still was a hard sight to believe. How his coat was ripped to shreds, only one sleeve and some scraps here and there surviving, the way cuts piled up on his formerly pristine body and how he even now was having a taste of his mako-filled blood all lead her to believe that it was just as she thought. She was… dominating Sephiroth. Effortlessly. She didn't even have to use any magic to do it, just pure swordplay.

"_I think we just got better Sunshine. Still, what I'd give to know what's in his head right now!" _Tina mocked before bursting into mental laughter. This even caused Terra to break a smile, one that made the fires in Sephiroth's heart explode. _"Wait… is that the four eyes?"_ She asked, glancing over Lezard with the corner of Terra's eye.

"DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME!" Truly snapping for the first time, Sephiroth flapped his wings with all his might, dark and crystal green mako surrounding both him and his sword while he charged at Terra. "Kneel, like the scum you are!" The booming words bore no substance. The way the sword scratched the very foundation of space and time didn't either. Truth was Terra grabbed the sword with a blue flame wrapped hand, hitting the back of the dark angel's head with the blunt part of her sword while at hit, sending him reeling a good five meters down before his body regained enough force to sustain itself again. "How is this… possible? I have Mother's power!" The way he squirmed made Terra uncomfortable. He lunged again, but this time, he didn't even get near, as he was reflected by a barrier, the shards piercing his wings, making him plummet miserably into the woods bellow. Terra felt wrong doing this.

"_Oh no! __NO NO NO!"_ Tina screamed, already figuring out just what was this feeling that was slithering into their subconscious. _"Sunny, he's EVIL! E.V.I.L. There are no redeeming qualities on him, don't you DARE feel sorry for him!"_But both her and Terra knew it was too late for that, she was already feeling sorry for him.

"Maybe when Jenova is exterminated he'll snap out of it…"Was the answer Tina got. At this point, Terra couldn't even lift a finger at Sephiroth, the hope that a cure would take him back to how Zack told them he was just blocking her way. Without another word, she turned her back at the place where the man rested, flying away in the direction of Lezard and Shin's battle.

"How dare you…" Sephiroth mumbled, the buzzing sounds of people whispering about his humiliation already in his ears. Everyone wanted to be Mother's favorite, communicating Sephiroth's failures to her was the best way to do it. "You are an aberration… I am the heir to the world! I am Mother's firstborn!" His heavy breathing kept getting more and more unstable, his pals were sweating and his eyes were burning. Becoming surrounded two streams of Mako, one green and one black, he roared: "AND I WILL NOT BE HUMILIATED BY THE LIKES OF YOU!" Projecting the streams, crossing spirally to form one, heading at a blinding speed towards the girl.

"Sunshine, if you can't do it, I WILL!" Tina told her using her own mouth.

"No!" Terra cried, but her esper wasn't taking any of it. Suddenly, Terra's hair changed colors, Tina taking control.

"YOU FOOL!" She roared, turning and firing a concentrated blast of Ultima. The size of it dwarfed not only Sephiroth's desperation filled ray, but it dwarfed anything in miles, even the giant robots. To be fair, it seemed as if a shining meteor of light was about to crash on the valley, and it wasn't so far away from reality.

"No… impossible… Mother, I- "Sephiroth spat out as his life, or the twisted memories of himself and his "mother's" corpse flashed though his eyes, no mention to his glory days in SOLDIER in the former member's conscience. Then, the all abolishing light enveloped him and his surroundings, rocks being disintegrated, heartless' screaming as they vanished and his flesh burning to it. Everything went blank for him, a single black feather escaping the blast.

"Aerith… We're sorry…" Tina and Terra said in unison.

* * *

><p>"D-did she just…" Shin asked himself.<p>

"Just as I predicted. She's on a different plane from all of the others." Lezard chuckled at the confirmation.

* * *

><p>"Terra just took Seph down!" Zack shouted excitedly, kicking down a bipedal Warmech on his way to help Crono, landing on its "eyes" or whatever the red glass was and thrusting his sword into it, causing to explode. "Guess it's about time we turn this around, don't you think?"<p>

"How can you handle that guy when he gets like this?" Terra sighed, running after Zack, trying to catch up to the man on fire.

"It's part of the fun." Aqua giggled as she accompanied him.

"Riku! Let's go!" Sora exclaimed, pumped up by the display.

"Alright! Watch this blue boy, our Final Session!" The silver haired teen announced, both him and his childhood friend bolting towards the suffering entity, rapidly stabbing it countless times.

"Sting!" Sora exclaimed during the assault, kicking Anima's face at the end to gain distance.

"Burn!" Riku shouted as they both showered the Aeon with Dark Firagas, the cries in pain echoing in everyone's ears. "Thirteen Blades!" Now, they both created a circle of blades around them, cutting through the weeping summon before charging both their Keyblades with their light.

"Master Hearts!" Two swift sweeps by the Keyblade Masters sent the monster reeling back. "Let's finish this!"

"Right with you!" Riku agreed, both the teens throwing their weapons to opposite sides of Anima, incarcerating her in a stream of pure light.

"All's End!" Both exclaimed as the Paradoxical entity vanished.

"There is nothing…" Riku began.

"We can't beat!" Sora finished.

"Tsk, showoffs…" Roxas pouted, more jealous than anything.

"Where's Seymour?" Xion exclaimed, noting the lack of screams in indignation.

"Typical." Kairi scuffed. He had escaped, leaving what was once his mother behind.

* * *

><p>"Okay, Lezard's next!" Tina exclaimed, positioning herself to once again fly to his location but a sudden surge of… something made her look back. The massive crater which should house nothing but rubble, the one that equaled to roughly a quarter of the entire valley, had only two figures standing in it. "Who the hell is that?"<p>

* * *

><p>"My poor Sephiroth." The woman said in a womanly fashion. "Mother should have been more careful with you…"<p>

"Mother, I…"

"Do not fret, you have done your task, now, it is up to me…" The woman, clad in a dress of black feathers that covered her entire body until she turned to face the girl who had done all this, two black wings erupting from her back.

"Those wings… Sunshine, jackpot!" Tina exclaimed, passing control back to Terra. _"Let's finish this early and go get some food!"_

"Right." Terra responded, gripping the Ragnarok and flew to the scene. That was the one responsible for all of this. That woman had taken away her babies. That woman was going to pay!

"Would you please help your Auntie?" Jenova asked to what it seemed to be no one.

For some reason, something didn't FEEL right on Terra's heart. Something weighed heavily on it, like she was going to fund nothing but despair on the quest she had put herself into right now. It was strange, how the woman continued to walk in her direction fearlessly, herself being dive-bombing her. She kept getting closer and closer, making out the woman's eerie yet strangely comforting image. How many had she enticed with it? She was about to find out.

"Jenova! Your horror of a world will end now!" Terra exclaimed, pulling the Ragnarok back.

It was easy. Too easy. The way the most important pieces simply appeared, no protection, nothing. Under no circumstance would Sephiroth appear without a purpose, even more so his mother. Unfortunately, the reason they had was as close to being accomplished as it could me.

"MAMA, stop!" Terra froze at the person who put herself in the line of fire between her and Jenova. She gasped, her heart almost crushed itself and in confusion, she slumped, hitting the ground hard as she lost her concentration, rolling to the feet of the teen. When she looked up, Terra was crying.

"No… Katarin… not you." She cried, her arm extending weakly to her daughter. "Please, tell me you don't think of her like…"

"My Mother? Sorry Mama, but she is as much of my mother as you… she is your Mother too, you are just blind." Katarin had grabbed her hand and was holding it tightly, genuine care and attention oozing from her fragile form. This was the most sickening display Tina had witnessed, but, like Terra, she had grown too fond of the girl to do anything more than weep at the situation.

"Don't worry, we'll help you…" Her stomach wrenched itself at that voice.

"Duane…" Before she knew it, she was surrounded by her orphans, each of them embracing the entirety of her body. The heat from their bodies was too real, she wasn't dreaming, she was living a nightmare. What could she do? They would give their lives for Jenova, she was sure of it.

The Dark Queen as she was called just watched gleefully, taking in every bit of despair like it was feeding her.

"What can I do… what can I do, what can I DO?" She whimpered, the answer to her cries for help coming from the one she loved the most.

"Just… let it all go…" Katarin answered, opening her mouth to…

"_Terra wake up!"_ Tina exclaimed too late. Katarin bit Terra's hand. In such a way it was bleeding.

* * *

><p>Shin had been struggling to get through Lezard, but this had been the final drop. As he saw Terra getting bitten, his eyes flared up in a golden light, his hair crimson as blood, his clothes exploded in silver light and the pin Neku entrusted to him exploded in red flames.<p>

"GOD BURST!" He exclaimed, mercilessly piercing through the pages and into Lezard's body. "And now… Heat End!" In a brutal assault, he thrust his hand into his body, heat rising from it as a bright red light erupted from it, an explosion annihilating the man in front of him. Shin didn't even pay attention to his talk about Homunculi before departing. He couldn't care less if he had been duped by a homunculus. He couldn't care less about anything else right now, he damn near crash landed on the location, the wind from his wings and the tremors from his feet knocking Terra's children away. "Terra!" He exclaimed, beginning to run to her.

"No! Get away! I… I can't…" Terra warned, her words turning into shrieks of pain. She got into a kneeling position, her very memories burning inside her. Clutching to her head, all around her seemingly vanished due to the pain.

"YOU!" Shin roared in both his voice and Shinryu's. "YOU DID THIS TO HER!" He drew the Sword of Seals, flames coming from both the sword and everything that surrounded her. "No mercy for the damned!" He exclaimed, lunging towards her.

* * *

><p>"My name? Locke Cole! And you are?"<p>

**We… fa… I lo… le… a…**

Terra clutched her head as the memories of her first meeting with Locke flooded her head.

"So what you're not human? You're just little silly Terra to us!"

**Do… res… you…**

Her palms were sweating, she could barely see, excruciating pain was all she knew.

"Mama! Please come back safe!"

**We are family…**

How could she turn her back to them? The voice… it was so soothing.

"You? What does a monster like you have to gain with defending humans?"

**Do not resist…**

What was she resisting from? It wasn't that voice, was it?

"We'll call you Shin, alright?"

**I love you…**

Was that… her life? She couldn't be sure. She was surrounded by white. What was happening to her.

"You are just like me Branford…"

**You will not be discriminated ever again…**

That… sounded tempting, for some reason. This… voice, it couldn't be bad, could it? It was so soft, so… caring.

**Let it all go… start anew.**

No more memories? She didn't care anymore. Living her life again… as she wanted. It was so…

"_Sunshine, snap out of it! It's tryi…"_ That voice was familiar to the girl, but the way it was muffled and how aggressive it was made her discard it, she wanted to hear that voice again.

**I will guide you… to our Reunion.**

A woman appeared in front of Terra, she was entranced by her silver hair and hypnotizing eyes. The woman embraced her, Terra never felt so safe in her life.

**Please, save me, my daughter…**

Terra looked up and all she saw was Madeleine. Her mother was in danger? No, she wouldn't stand for it. In a flash, memories oozed into her mind. No matter how twisted some had become, she believe them. She believed them all. Her mother was giving them to her after all.

* * *

><p>"The earth cries! SAVAGE ROAR!" Shin roared as he brought down his sword upon Jenova. Suddenly, the perfect slash tilted to the right by an unknown cause. "What?" The earth exploded, the mountain behind Jenova bisected. The flames covered the figure for a movement, but Shin did not want to believe it when he finally discerned whose eyes were staring at his.<p>

"I… can't say I did not fear this…" Shinryu said darkly.

"Terra…?" He managed to say, at a loss for words.

"Get away from my Mother…" She whispered on his ear. Blood was running down his chest. He had been impaled by her. By the person he most trusted. By her hand. It missed his heart, but…

"Now now my child, we still might have some use for him…" Jenova told her… newest collaborator. "Don't kill him just yet." Terra nodded, pulling out her hand from him.

"I'm sorry… but I had to protect her, you understand, don't you Shin?" Again, that kindness… disgusting to see one show so much confidence about how she was on the right side.

"You… monster…" Shin directed at Jenova. The was no edge in his words. He just couldn't deal with what just happened.

"I don't expect you inferior beings to understand, just… Accept the fact that you are all my future children!" The look she gave him was worse than staring the Devil in the eyes, one of pure madness and evil, conveniently, Terra still had his back turned to her and none of her "children" was observing. "Shinryu, bane of Gods… you'll make a very interesting family member…" Shin couldn't move as she loomed closer and closer, slightly opening her fanged jaw. He was still being held in the same place by Terra and, even if he wasn't, there was no will to move left. "Welcome, to our Reunio-" Her figure was quickly disfigured as a fist made its way into her face.

"I won't let you!" Snow roared, putting all of his might behind that one blow, Jenova reeling back from the shockwave it caused.

"Eat this! Meteor Javelin!" Noel cried from above, showering Jenova with multiple swords of his, explosions blinding her and then finishing it up with a bigger one, leaving Jenova out o sight.

"Hey! Kid! Get that girl back to her senses! Or knock her out, whatever comes first, I'll hold the bitch back!" Snow cried out to Shin, dodging Terra's swipe. "Fast!"

"But you…" Shin held his sword but was not sure if he should do it.

"A hero never dies!" Snow reassured, giving a thumbs up that came with an extremely cheesy smile.

"Alright, let's go old lizard!" Shin exclaimed, ignoring his wound as he lunged towards Terra.

"M-mother…" Terra gasped, flying above the smoke in hopes of finding the being she now called her mother.

"TERRA!" Shin called, stopping right in front her, at a supposedly safe distance. "Whatever she did to you, fight it! I'll help you!" He offered, the look he got from her getting to him. Those eyes… she felt sorry for him, like HE was wrong.

"Shin… I don't want to do this. You, Celes, Locke… you all stood by me on your own ways, but, I know you won't be dissuaded. If you won't lay your sword down, for my Mother… I'll do it. Please, don't judge me…" She told him, pointing the Ragnarok in his direction.

"Don't worry. I don't…" His heart was killing itself already when he said those words, preparing to fight the person he cared most. "Let's go, I'll save you, no matter what!" He exclaimed, lunging at the girl with a 180 degrees sweep. The blades clashed in midair. Now is a good time to do what the author said at the beginning.

* * *

><p>"Who are you, little lost lambs?" Jenova asked Snow and Noel.<p>

"You… took Serah from me, you turned her into a monster! You'll pay! No doubt in my mind, you'll pay!" Snow roared, recklessly charging with only his fists and determination.

"Snow Villiers? Claire, he's yours."

"Claire?" Snow gapped, his eyes catching a white flash crashing near the woman, the flash moved to him and, before he knew it, his left kidney had been pierced. "L-light?"

"Run… you idiot." She whispered to him, sliding the sword off his body. "Jenova, shouldn't you be concentrating in the dragon?" She asked, turning his back on Snow and Noel, who had just ran up to treat him.

"That… is certainly true. No matter the order, they'll all be mine so it matters little. Farewell… hero." Those words were worse than being shot in the heart for Snow. The way they walked away like he was nothing, like he could DO nothing, it made him rage on the inside. However, as he pulled himself up, he and Noel were already surrounded.

"DAMN IT!" He cursed, crushing two manikins.

* * *

><p>Back in Shin's side… it was pitiful.<p>

Every blow he attempted, every movement he THOUGHT, Terra was one step ahead. He slashed at her vertically, she dodged and slowed the back of his head. He flew upwards for another one, finding a ball of Graviga on his head. As he fell, another thrust left now two holes on his torso. He coughed blood and groaned, flying backwards.

"Elemental Blade "Freezing Moment!"" He chanted, creating a small flock of snow that was to encase Terra. She didn't seem to notice and ran right into range, flash-freezing herself.

"_He__ can't win. Not now, not with __this determination. He wants n__othing less than to hurt her. __Her__? She'll kill __him__ in a second if needed…"_ Shinryu told himself, noticing how he never tried to cut her, he just threw his sword around hoping for a miracle. "Let me fight boy! You can't!" He roared.

"No! I can do this, I can sa-"

"GRAAH!" Terra roared, erupting from the ice, surprising Shin by how fast she did before she delivered a near-mortal gash on him, stretching from his right shoulder to his thigh. "I'm sorry…" She said softly, pulling him in as he lost consciousness.

"No… I... broke my promise…"

"Very good, my child. Very good. Now, let us show him the light." Jenova told her as she flew to the duo. "Misguided lambs!" She boomed, her voice infiltrating in the heads of everyone in the valley.

* * *

><p>"Is that… Terra?" Locke pointed out. Jenova, caressing Terra's blonde hair just chuckled at the gasps of surprise, despair and disgust she could feel.<p>

"NO! Terra!" Celes cried out, her normally ice glare shattering, only to receive one just like it back from the girl.

"Say goodbye to your shinning hope… Your Terra has already understood how misguided you are and has accepted to aid me in my quest for a united world. Now you can either lay down your weapons or end up like this insurgent." She grabbed Shin by the hair and showed his broken body to the crowd. "And… no matter how you fight, you will all end up like…" She bore her teeth. "This…"

"Can't let you do that!" A jovial, brash voice exclaimed from nowhere. Suddenly, a shining white portal opened above Jenova, fire bursting from it. "BURN BABY!" The familiar voice shouted, Jenova's arm separating from her body by a wall of flames. The flaring redhead that emerged from it, grabbing Shin and landing on one knee was no stranger. Jenova was now no more than a shrieking banshee. "This is the second time we meet, ain't it? Did you get me… memorized?"

"Terra…" The little silver haired child on his side muttered. "I'm sorry, I promised to protect you…"

* * *

><p>"Axel?" Roxas stuttered.<p>

"It's Lea to be precise, but yeah, it's Axel." Riku pointed out, again getting into battle position. "Let's go greet him!"

"YEAH!" They all exclaimed in unison, running up to the scene.

* * *

><p>"Mother!" Terra cried out, grabbing her separated hand, joining it with her stub and beginning to chant healing spells.<p>

"Lightning, call the rest of the force! Call in the airships, that's an order!" Jenova blared.

"I cannot." Lightning replied, almost satisfied.

"Are you… perhaps betraying me?" She asked, eerily returning to her calm persona. Lightning held her phone high.

"MOTHER HELP U-"

"CHESTO!" A series of explosions, following by a crashing sound filled the rest of the tape. And the recording ended. "Wa… Zanka… Tatenou… shi." Right on time, a lighting crashed a few meters from the woman.

"Jenova, there will be no escape for you this time." Orlandeu threatened, drawing the Excalibur. Soon, an airship was soaring through the skies, carrying within all able soldiers in Caelum. The small grimace this caused Jenova to spare was no match to how she chuckled it off.

"So, it was as I expected, I could not win in one swoop. No matter, retreat my children!" Before anyone else could try and stop it, time itself seemed to crack in order to save the fanatics and the beasts. Jenova, now with her arms restored, pompously turned her back on our heroes, threatening: "We shall meet again, and when we do, you will all be mine…" As she vanished into thin air.

Shin started to regain consciousness by then, just in time to see the last of the stranglers disappear. Only one remained, one that had watched over as her children left. Said person looked back to him, their eyes meeting for a seemingly unending moment.

"Goodbye…" Terra whispered, her body vanishing into thin air.

"TERRAAAAAAAAAAAA!" His cry feel into the silent void above.

_"So... you've got a Way to Fall..."_

This was the story of their first, true, devastating defeat.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****No breaking the fourth wall, no preview. I hate myself right now. The things I can do with this setup down the line are just ecstatic, but writing this setup killed my soul. You may try and kill me, but you would be doing me a favor right now… I have to go back to 3D to cheer up… You know the drill, leave your hate for me in the reviews, or comment on the new "segment", I don't know… anything. I'll just go kill my consciousness now.


	59. The Queen's Realm

****Author's note:**** I took way too long I know… but I was in London for two weeks for the Olympics, what can I say? I barely wrote. I hope that having this uploaded and knowing the next one will come out as fast as possible will appease you.

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><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Fifty-Nine**

****The Queen's Realm****

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><p>"He still hasn't come out, has he?" Aqua asked Zack, bringing him a mug of hot chocolate.<p>

"Can't say he even made a sound." Zack sighed, taking the mug and sipping on it. "He just took that stone and locked himself in there. Considering how outnumbered we are and how we didn't only lose Terra, he'd better snap out of it fast." Easier said than done.

* * *

><p>Inside the dimly lit room, it was just Shin, Shinryu, and what he had found on the dirt after she left. It was Terra's crystal. When she had vanished only one thing caught his eye. Shinning dimly between two rocks was the oval black stone with the red fire markings. Why had it not returned to Cosmos he didn't know. It had appeared near him and only him, as if trying to convey a message. Now he just had to figure out what it was…<p>

"_Kid, you aren't about to go into another depression, are you?" _The dragon asked, surprisingly getting a negative response by Shin's head movements.

"No, I'm not going to blame myself for this. It's not worth it." He replied, standing up for a moment and walking around the room aimlessly.

"You're not really trying to "find out why Terra left the crystal to you" are you?" Shinryu asked, having prodded into his thoughts just a smidge.

"Stop getting into my mind!" Shin spat back, irritated, he liked his privacy.

"Look, I may or may not have been getting into your head, but that is not important for what I'm going to say." His tone suddenly changed to the tone he used when Shin first met him. "You always arrive at the same conclusion, but cast it away for you do not believe it. And if I want to speak truthfully, I do not understand just WHY do you now think that." Yeah, he was pulling "that" manner of speech on him. The last time he heard him talk like that was… to God?

"One month Lizard, one month." He retorted. "I know her for one month flat."

"_Which is… all your life, remember?"_ The dragon replied, now focused on another objective.

"_That doesn't have anything to do with her_!" Shin spat back, becoming irritated, playing right into Shinryu's trap.

"_Does it now? She's known you ever since your very first day, why, she must think of you as a… son."_ If there ever was a mental punch to the gut, it was that Shinryu got after verbally doing the same.

"Shut up, what do you know?!" Yeah, he said it out loud.

"_Getting defensive are we? It almost seemed you… disliked being thought as her son. Why? It's the closest to a mother you have. Maybe it would come out as strange since your bodies are roughly the same age, but other than that, I see no reason for violence."_ As serious as the conversation was becoming, he hadn't evolved above the joys of teasing.

"_It's… not like that…"_ He stuttered mentally. _"I'm not her son, okay?"_

"You're an orphan technically, she adopts them." He pressed on.

"We don't act like mother and son!" He shouted, again vocally. Right where he wanted.

"_I concur. Now… what do you two act like?"_ He was going to love hearing him trying to weasel his way out of this.

"I… hum… We…" He fumbled. As much as he wanted to say "friends", most of the actions lately weren't exactly on that category. Still, he did manage to say it: "Best friends." He surprisingly managed to keep a straight face over that.

"_Best friends lean on each other's shoulders when they sleep? Not to mention how you told each other things you never even thought of mentioned to your other best friends. You may deny Zack is, but you can't deny Celes and Locke are also Terra's 'best friends'."_ He wasn't going to say it, he had to hear him admit it. "And I am only grasping the tip of the iceberg with this statement. Friends may think of each other, yes, but on almost every conversation I, or anyone has with you either has you call upon said girl to join it, wonder what she'd add to it or even make the subject of said conversation end up being her. The frequency of this has gradually increased, not to mention you have a fur ball in your feet right now that you gave her for Christmas." Shin looked down to see Chocolate trying to make his way up his legs, unsuccessful. He smiled gently as he remembered that night and how they named it and grabbed the dog, cradling the baby to sleep. "Now, does what I said remind you of how best friends act?"

"No…" Shin sighed.

"_Then, your actions are more akin to that of…"_ He led.

"A c-couple…" He finally answered after a large gulp.

"_Then, it is safe to say that, considering none of you repudiated these actions, to be more precise, both endorsed them, that the point__ you came up with is not that invalid, the point being…"_ He trailed off again.

"_Look, the chances Terra would just up and… fall for me in one month are just too slim. I mean, look at Edgar."_ He pointed out, considering how the King still had to recover from the loss. Okay, no he didn't, he had already noticed it much before he got dumped.

"_You seem to forget that, even for Terra, more than one month of contact with anything but orphans only happened once. You may have lived a short life, but her "life" as I'd define it has only been of about two years.__ Also, that is a really weak argument as you know considering you do have most of the memories of former warriors. Even if you didn't… case in point, Aqua and __Zack. They haven't been together for more than two weeks and they are already entering a relationship status."_That silenced Shin for a while. _"You really are just afraid you're getting ahead of yourself."_

"_What if I am?"_ Shin asked.

"_Be a man, keep your promise you made not even a day ago and get her back. I think any woman likes to have someone who cared enough to do something and not one who sat in a room wondering if her... excuse me for this… COMPLETELY OBVIOUS HINTS had any foundation."_ He coughed to regain his tone after the outburst. _"Also, ask Celes, by the looks she gave you she knows it too."_

Shin finally broke into his demands and grabbed his sword, painfully remembering on how the Apocalypse was Terra's and how he had to remove it from the ground she let it drop, fixing his clothes so he wouldn't look like a hobo and prepared to go outside. "Fine, I guess for once, I'll have to do the saving around here." He chuckled by then, the Cocker had awoken from his sleep and was ready to be himself again. "You can come for now Choco." Shin grinned, opening the dorm the puppy following outside. Surprisingly, the first person he saw was neither Aqua nor Zack, even though we established they were sitting on a bench nearby. What he saw as a man of about his height, hair as black as night.

"Need some help?" Machina smirked, already knowing what was on his mind by his look.

"I'll call you if I do." Shin replied, going past him to talk with Zack. After some talk Machina didn't listen to, Zack did his job and led him to the meeting room, the puppy having eyed his way into Aqua's embrace for a ride.

"Do you think he…" Rem asked as she walked to his side.

"Yeah, he's figured it out." Machina assured, putting his arm around her shoulders.

* * *

><p>The meeting room was bursting with heated discussions on what to do from either part. No one agreed on what to do next and, quite frankly, no one was making ANY progress in convincing the others. This would drag on and on if it kept going undisturbed, however, we'll just have to shake it up a bit, aren't we?<p>

"What did I miss?!" Shin asked as he slammed the double doors open, causing cease fire on the discussions by diverting all attention to him.

"I can't say I expected you to get up from the shock so easily. Not complaining, we need as much input as we can. Have a seat." Squall told him, pointing to one of the few unoccupied chairs. Shin took it and looked around. Since he had memories from many different worlds, eh was able to recognize most of the people there, except for Noctis and everyone from his world…

"_Who the heck are these guys? And this world, where was it hiding?"_ He asked himself, getting no answer from the dragon. He would just have to figure this out by himself. "Again, what did I miss?" He asked, Laguna explaining since he was one of the ones who could keep a cool head.

"Well, we were discussing our next step. We were deciding on if we should hold out for a cure or if we should send a squad to their Headquarters in Valhalla, possibly open the way for us or even severely crippling them." Laguna explained, a fist hitting the table right after.

"Too risky!" Noctis shouted. "We can't send a handful of people there and expect them to do everything for us! We don't know what's even there!" Squall had had enough of it as well.

"Oh, so what do you suggest? Staying here, sucking on our thumb as they whittle us down? It won't take long, I promise you that. If they only have to make any fluid enter your body, and they have the likes of Sephiroth and Terra on their side, we won't last more than two assaults! Orlandeu, as powerful as he is, can't protect us all!" Squall roared with the might of a lion. Both the strong young men stared down at each other, a bold of lightning passing through their middle.

"Both of you raise valid points. However, these points have been overdone, please refrain from causing inward vendettas." Cidolfus calmly stated. Knowing he was right, both men sat back down. Shin still needed some explanation though.

"Wait, I thought Valhalla was a different dimension altogether, like Heaven and Hell. How can we get there?" As he asked that, he saw Noel get up.

"With this little guy!" He exclaimed, Mog, his faithful companion, showing himself. "He finally decided he had to do something."

"I won't let Serah and Lightning be her toys, Kupo!" As much as he was unable to express anything akin to rage, indignation or anything like it, Shin knew the moogle meant business.

"And how will he help us exactly?" Shin had to ask.

"The Epoch." Crono said. "It's fixed, not that you'd know, you were a bit spaced out when we discovered it." He reminded, now passing the word to his blue haired companion.

"Valhalla is just a time period. If Mog can pinpoint it, the Epoch should be able to follow it." Serge explained. Even though he knew nothing of the Epoch workings, after an entire night of conversing he was confident he had understood it all.

"Okay, how many people can the Epoch fit?" Shin asked. That… was the downer.

"Three…" Crono replied, knowing that that was just what his plan lacked. Practicality.

"My point is made. How can three people do anything by themselves in there?" Noctis was never the optimist, who could blame him anyway? A three person mission was suicide. They didn't know however, it was NOT a three person mission.

"And that's… where we come in." Joshua eloquently said, entering the room by Hope's side. "There are two facts no longer valid in those statements." He pointed out.

"Well, enlighten me." Noctis spat, receiving a very angry glare from both his father and Stella. They didn't enjoy his way of treating others.

"I'm no newbie in quantum physics so I could grasp most of the Epoch's in an hour or so. It's so simple it makes me think I'm an idiot for not realizing it earlier." Hope confessed, chuckling in the process. "I doubt you'd be able to understand even the basics, so I'll cut to the chase. I've managed to attach a total of four of your Reihards to the Epoch. Not physically, but since they are designed round Rift-inducing technology, with some tweaks they are able to follow through the wormhole the ship creates. In essence, it means four more people can join. I'd have adapted the eight, but I didn't have enough time." He explained, some gasped, some nodded and others…

"The heck did he just say?" Zidane questioned, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

"Something about worms…" Vaan guessed.

"HEY! Speak English!" Bartz demanded, ruffling his own hair in order to understand what was happening. Squall had enough of their collective stupidity and decided to answer for them.

"It means we can take seven and not three." He explained, the trio going "ooooooh!", embarrassing their significant others in the process.

"That's why you're the boss Squall!" Bartz exclaimed, patting him repeatedly on the shoulder, Squall only taking a palm to his face.

"Now that that's out of the way, I guess I should reveal your second mistake Noctis." Joshua continued with that characteristic smile he kept at all times.

"If you may." Noctis replied, now ticked off.

"Now, have you seen Magus anywhere nearby?" Joshua asked, getting no response. "Truth is, neither have I, but, I do know this: he doesn't play around. The reason he is not here is without a doubt he has found a path to Valhalla. That combined with how we cannot reach Ace, Cinque or Deuce makes us believe how we already have four undercover agents in Valhalla." It was only then that it hit both Crono and Schala. This couldn't be… Before they asked though, Joshua had already taken note of their expressions, quickly adding: "It is indeed Janus. As to how he appeared in our heaven… that's even above me."

"So, you're saying we should send seven of our already limited resources on an untested ship… because of a guess?" Noctis asked, receiving a nod from Jo shua.

"Noctis, we MAY have a cure soon."Hope began, Genesis stepping from the door. It was pretty obvious Hope had gotten his "subject", even if Genesis didn't have THIS stripe of the virus, he had shown some symptoms during the battle, rendering him unable to fight. "However as long as we don't have a way to enter Valhalla, we cannot win as they can regroup and assault us when they see fit. They can infect us as we can cure us, we are at a stalemate right now, a stalemate which has a one month time limit if I'm correct." Hope was right, in the middle of all of this, Omega was easy to forget.

"I concur with the scientist, we cannot give them a preemptive strike." King Caelum stated. "Now, if I am correct, Mog can take Noel and Snow through time… we need volunteers for the Epoch."

"We're going, and you can't stop us!" Edge and Rydia roared slamming the door open. A mess they were. Rydia's usually exquisite garments were rugged and dirty, the same applying to her usually shinning hair. Her eyes were sunken, as if she had been crying all night. Edge was mostly the same, his clothes ripped, blood not wiped from his hair. Shin was confused at their straight forwardness and zeal, but then he noticed… someone was missing…

* * *

><p>"Urg… the hell just happened?" Tina grumbled, shaking her head to "wake up". She looked around and everything seemed normal at first. Terra's subconscious was always calm and serene, alternating from the snow of Narshe to the fields of Mobliz. Sometimes Tina wanted a more diverse playing ground, but that was easy for her to change. Now, while she was SEEING nothing wrong… she quickly found out there was, in fact, a lot going wrong. First, she couldn't move. She took a deep breath and looked at her members. She didn't feel any pain whatsoever… BUT she was CRUCIFIED. And then her imagination went a little too wild at that realization, turning the pain real. She cringed and squirmed, blood oozing from her hands and feet. Soon she realized she wasn't going anywhere and stopped moving if only to avoid more pain. It was then that her senses captured the sound of footsteps in the distance. Two pairs of footsteps. Her stomach hurled when she saw who they belonged too. Terra approached her ancestor and other-self without any emotion or words, over her shoulder Jenova's face never disappearing as she slithered with her. Terra's eyes were so… dead. Yes, they had changed to the usual infected's green with cat-eyes, but it wasn't that. There was no emotion in them, not even the mindless fanatism, as if Terra was dead inside. Tina wondered if there was still a part of her that knew what she was doing, and even more, how long was that part of her going to last? "What do you want?!" She spat, not needing an explanation as to what had happened.<p>

"Why, nothing at all. Your response in itself has shown me that you have yet to see the light." Jenova left Terra and began to almost glide through the air near the imprisoned esper. Softly, with a form of twisted care, she slid her cold hand on Tina's cheek, the sensation causing her to shiver in disgust. "Do not worry, I WILL find a way to make you mine. The fact your species made you resist has only raised my lust for you…" She whispered, vanishing as fast as she came, reappearing near her newest "child". "Until then, watch as your niece serves under me."

"Tina… I'm sorry for this. Don't worry, you'll soon be gifted by mother as well, just you wait." Terra told her, a patronizing look forming on her face. Tina preferred her emotionless state, this felt so… wrong.

"I'd rather bite my own tongue and die! But you won't give me that pleasure, now will you?" She spat back in disgust, once again trying to fight against her bounds, only furthering her mental pain.

"I… thought like that once, but after the gift, you shall see the light. She needs us, she comforts us… she accepts us. Think Tina, a world where everyone is the same, serving under a mother that accepts us all. No discrimination, no suffering, just happiness." Tina had no idea who was talking, but it wasn't Terra for sure. She had discarded those worries already, she wasn't desperate enough to do what she was doing now for it.

"Say what you want! You can't contain me here!" The esper roared, struggling even more, her warm blood making its way down her violet skin and into Terra's hand.

"Tina… Mother promised she could save us." Terra finally said, her hand now slowly doing the same as Jenova's. It was cold, oh so cold. "She doesn't know how, but she promised she will have us both! How can you be against that?"

"You expect me to care? Shin promised us the same." Tina spat back. It was obvious she had hit a nerve with that answer, as Terra was almost shocked at the mention of him, turning her back swiftly. Sometime later, she finally managed to answer:

"Why would I believe him? A being that only knows how to destroy?" The way she said it, full of bitterness and anger left Tina speechless. "He believed Mother would hurt me. If that would have been true, he had done nothing to protect me. How could he save us if he couldn't even do something as simple as stand by our side?"

"You… you're not Terra." Tina snapped, her tone cold and penetrating. "She would never say that… you I get free… I'll ravage you if I have to." Terra began to walk away like she cared not of the threats. "I won't let you stain the memory of the sweet girl I once knew! Mark my words, I will destroy you, you MONSTER!" Tina bellowed, her emotions seething. That tone would never be Terra's. That answer would never be hers, she would never blame someone else. She would never be so cold. She had to tell herself that wasn't Terra, she couldn't be! Then, it happened. For a short moment that seemed to be forever, Terra turned her face and flashed the saddest, but truest smile Tina had ever saw, whispering:

"Please do..." Before vanishing. Tina screamed in pain, yet none of it came from her body.

"Why did you have to do that?! Why did you show me you're still there?!" She cried. "Fine, I'll get us out of this." She felt sleepy, her eyes closing on their own. "Maduin… she's just as much trouble as you were… Must run in the family." A peaceful slumber overtook her, the snow slowly covering her entire body. Months would pass before her eyes opened again.

* * *

><p>One day had passed since the meeting. Shin woke up to a beautiful morning, one that he could interpret in two ways. Either was God mocking him or it was a sign of good things to come. He didn't delve much in it, quickly getting ready for the one way trip to hell. Crono was piloting the ship, Serge tagging along as a backup in case Crono would be unable to. Sora and Kairi were picked to follow them. They needed a Keyblade at least, but two was the safest way to go. Terra had protested intensely against it, especially sending Kairi but Aqua convinced him they had to prepare for when the war itself broke loose. He of course was going. The other two however…<p>

* * *

><p>Right after the meeting:<p>

Shin ran up to catch up with the duo, who had been the first to leave the room after the end. Rydia's expression was enough to cancel any intention had to counter-argument, as the meeting was as fluid as it could be after it. Even if he had no idea what could have happened, he knew true despair when he saw it. Shin wished he didn't know that despair… that was a mother's despair. He made a swift turn to the right, hopping to still have vision on them. It seemed as if Rydia just couldn't take it anymore. When he turned, he saw how the emerald haired summoner had lost all composure in the middle of the hallway, falling to her knees bawling like a newborn as Edge kneeled and pulled her head to his shoulder's embrace. Feeling out of place, Shin turned his back before Edge calling his name.

"What were you going to ask kid? Don't worry, I can take it for now." His voice was so tired and resigned, it was painful considering how he normally was.

"I can't see… her. Was she…?" There was no way to ask this without touching what would be a very PAINFUL subject if he was right. Edge didn't even have to answer as Rydia began bawling even harder on his shoulder.

"The twins, Leonora and… Cuore. There might've been more losses, but I honestly, don't care. I may be being selfish but I CAN'T care right now." You could tell Edge wanted to CRY, but he held himself together just for his beloved on his arms. How could he console her if he was also shedding the same tears?

"I'm sorry… I can't even begin to understand how you feel. "However, as Shin ended that phrase with his condolences, Edge replied:

"I think you do kid. I think you do…" And right after Rydia managed to speak.

"I-it was all going so well… Edge and I had stepped back from your company just to figure out… us. It took so little time I was amazed…" She took a deep breath and separated her head from Edge's shoulders. A quick glance of her right hand caught Shin's attention. On her finger was a ring he hadn't seen before. It was a simple one, but it seemed exquisite at the same time. A single strand of green swirled around the gold that covered most of the ring, a strand that lead to a magnificent emerald in the center. No matter how Shin tried to think, the logical answer was obvious. "We were going to tell her when we arrived at the city. We were going to tell her that this idiot had kept and engagement ring for eighteen years on his pocket and finally found it appropriate to use it. I was going to tell my daughter she was going to have a real father…" She couldn't continue, she started crying again and Edge pulled her in. This was Rydia, she had barely grieved her mother's death at the age of SEVEN and she couldn't contain the pain. Shin's teeth almost broke and the power he put on that cringe. That monster would burn.

* * *

><p>"Shinryu." He heard a voice call. Considering how nobody addressed him by his "full name" but a handful of people, he didn't even have to turn to guess.<p>

"Yeah Neku?" He answered, turning as he did. He was forced to act fast as an unknown object was flying into his face. He deftly took a hold of it and inspected it. Why would Neku throw him the… Claíomh Solais?

"Only people that show true determination in achieving their goal draw that sword. I hope I'm not wrong giving it to you of all people, I know there are some others that could put as much of a use, if not more to it." Neku answered, already with his back turned and about to leave.

"Then, why give it to me?" Shin asked, slightly confused at his antics. For a second there, Neku released a very rare smirk, even if it was unseen, chuckling at the question. He then put his headphones back on, blasting at full volume and finished the conversation with:

"You need it more than any of us." And with that, he walked away with hands in his pockets.

"Thanks…" Shin answered, even if he knew Neku wouldn't hear him.

* * *

><p>"You sure my brother is around here?" Reks asked Bartz, who after knowing he was Vaan's brother had offered to take him to him. He wanted to see Vaan's face.<p>

"My sense of direction is flawless! That and considering what Vaan was probably going to do ten minutes ago, I doubt he left the covert balcony." They walked in the room which housed a view of the whole city. Finding no one on the couches, Reks doubted Bartz's "sense of direction" even more. That would come to be a mistake, even though Bartz had based Vaan's position on another factor. One that not only did that helped Bartz pinpoint the position, but it also promised Bartz and unlimited satisfaction when Reks discovered it. "Let's have a look on the last couch. You can't see it from here. It's a perfect location for Vaan to be, if you knew him like me, you'd know." And they did. Reks got his wish of seeing Vaan alright. However, he was currently having what people would call "spending private time with his girlfriend"…

Get your damned heads out of the gutter, they were just making out. Anyway, you should've seen Reks' face! His jaw dropped from his face as if it was filled with led. He couldn't even form a straight line.

"Yo Vaan, I brought someone about 75% as important as that one." Bartz spouted, instantly making both the pirate and the queen jolt for opposite sides of the couch, blushing and looking away as red as apples. Vaan hadn't even turned to face his brother, not that he knew it was Reks, he was just stuttering. They really were brothers.

"T-Th-the Q-QUEEN?! My brother is… by all that is holy! I mean… wow! How did… what about Penelo? How could I have been so blind?" This led Vaan to recognize the voice of his long lost brother and enveloping in a, totally manly, brotherly hug.

"Reks! You're alive!" He exclaimed, holding onto the person who had ultimately made him push through the fight against the Empire, even if it was only for his death. "Or you know… close to alive." He corrected, remembering why Reks should be here. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"He looked up to his older brother with tears welling up in his eyes, barely being held back. "I've missed you…"

"Me too you rascal. Me too…" Reks responded, ruffling Vaan's hair, much to his irritation. "I watched over you most of the time, but I guess I really am dense, I never got that you… you know."

"We were all blind. Even if I did blind myself." Ashe agreed, walking up to Reks to greet him. "You died for my country, is there anything I can do for you?" She asked, extending her hand in a sign of not only friendship, but insurmountable gratitude.

"Y-your majesty… Well, I guess I can ask you two things. One, take care of the rascal over here, I'm sure it's better for me not to disclose some of his more… daring adventures." He smiled awkwardly when Ashe crossed her arms as if to force the information out of him. But she was one to give false signs, she massaged her eyes like she used to when Vaan was involved and sighed:

"I was not sure I would even want to know if you would disclose them. Fair enough, what is your second wish?" She asked, somewhat disappointed she couldn't' do much for someone that was… well dead.

"Just a simple one. Bartz, you have a camera?" He asked, Bartz so happened to have one, isn't plot convenience beautiful? Seeing that, Reks smiled and pulled both Ashe and Vaan, stuffing them together forcefully and laying his arms on one shoulder each. "Soon to be family photo!" He smiled, Vaan and Ashe doing their best to shoot a non-totally-awkward one, failing miserably twice. Third time's the charm however, the way all of them smiled made the picture perfect. "And that's about it. So, I'll leave you to "it"." Reks poked, turning his back, only to be pulled back by Vaan.

"Oh no you don't, we have a lot of catching up to do!" Vaan exclaimed, his curiosity exploding.

"Tell us about heaven." Ashe demanded.

"And I'm going to get my wings torn out when I get back…"

* * *

><p>"Chrono-booster ready, Blackbird's wings functional at maximum, Gettah Engine standing by, Rheiard links at 97% synchronization." Let's be honest, none of us could get 50% of what Hope was spouting just now, but did it matter? "Okay, you're clear. Don't be rash." The young scientist gave them a confident thumbs-up as he said it.<p>

"Okay guys, this is it." Crono told them, adjusting the clock on the Epoch back to their year. Nothing really had happened until the launch, minus some farewells and last minute strategy discussions. Shin didn't care much about it, he would ask what the strategy was WHEN they managed to open the gate.

"Daw… I wanted to go too…" Bartz whined, Zidane and Vaan agreeing.

"Considering the role you guys gonna get, I don't think it's that big of a deal." Tifa comforted, a good hug on Zidane solving all his problems.

"Yeah, the first official Pride excursion!" Bartz exclaimed, remembering the massive role they had to play when the portal opened.

"Do it quick…" Squall told the people ready to depart. "I can't hold the here for too long." He finished with a small grin. The sight of a grin from SQUALL of all people brought a smile to everyone in the dock, except of course to the ones who had lost their loved ones. Especially Rydia, Edge managed to fake a smile, but she was still depressed. Not a mess anymore, but still, nothing like she normally was.

"Crono…" Schala began.

"I'll take care of Janus." Crono replied with a confident smirk to ease her soul.

"Don't be a hero… You already died once." She finished, but not as gloomily as one would think.

"Don't remind me. Well, everyone ready?" Everyone nodded.

"Alright, let's go!" Shin exclaimed, determined to bring down the house.

"Yeah!" The five non-depressed ones replied.

"Okay, Mog, take over." Noel exclaimed, the moogle nodding and waving the clock-staff in his hand, levitating Noel and Snow while changing the internal clock on the Epoch. Seeing this, Crono smiled with a newfound ecstasy. It had been too long!

"Epoch… LAUCH!" He pushed the take-off leaver with all his determination, the engines lighting up with a satisfying burst as the ship created a time-space distortion on the exit of the dock, suddenly shooting to it, Mog and his passengers following suit with the Reihards in tow. The scenery was nothing like how Crono remembered it, it was so… psychedelic and not empty. There were stone constructs as if paving a way for you to follow the road.

"This is Valhalla's way to travel through time, the Historia Crux. They aren't able to use it yet thankfully, as only me and the one with the Heart of Chaos can kupo, kupo!" Noel cringed at that. "But Caius has not appeared yet, even if he came back, kupo! Good news at least kupo!" And he took a breath of relief. Shin looked around and he saw innumerous images of different times and places. This connected it all. In a former life, this discovery would have ended the world considering his past self. And in one of them… there was Terra. "We're nearly there kupo!" The moogle exclaimed, a portal bigger than the others appearing on the horizon. It had a broken city in apparent renovation shining through, one that you could only guess it would be Valhalla.

"Alright, in we go!" And with another boost, the Epoch made its way into Valhalla, the Realm of the Dead. Or at least, it once was. Firstly, Shin noticed something. The feeling of it was… familiar. Like he had been in a place like it before. Then, Crono looked down to see… people. Workers. Building. Machines, weapons, buildings, you name it. Merchants, passerby, you name it. They only shared their black cloak, ones used it to its fullest, covering their head, but some even walked around as their life had never changed. This city was ALIVE, and it felt so wrong knowing what it used to be. Anyway, knowing that they couldn't stay in sight, Chrono landed the ship away from the city, behind a mountain, where they got off. It was then that Shin noticed it. When he landed on the floor it was… wet, almost squishy. Taking note of it, he stuck the Apocalypse right there and then on the ground. From it oozed…

"Mako? How is this here?" Shin gasped, cupping the substance and taking it up for a better look.

"It has been drained from the Planet. It has been without protection for too long." Upon hearing the voice, Serge jolted into action, spinning the Mastermune into the direction the voice came, coming to a full halt when it collided with a scythe. Four cloaked persons stood, one of them holding the scythe, the others just looking from beneath the darkness. They seemed to be Jenova's subordinates, but something just didn't add up.

"You just couldn't say "Hello, long time no see", could you?" Crono joked, putting a hand over Serge's sword, signaling him to lay down. "Magus." With a chuckle, the man removed his cowl, his silver mane falling below his shoulders as he did.

"Come, we have a lot to discuss. Cinque." He called, one of the newly uncloaked persons, the girl that looked at little too much like Cissney, bringing them similar cloaks. "As long as you stay under those garments, you won't be suspicious. Act like fanatics." Easier said than done. Either way, they all dressed up and followed Magus, not noticing the figure atop their ship.

"Suckers!" The voice mocked.

* * *

><p>Introductions had been set out of the way, mostly introduction Class Zero's leader Ace, number 2 Deuce and number 5 Cinque. Magus was leading them for a "normal walk" into the city, stopping to worship some shrines to not appear suspicious.<p>

"So, you changed our course to three months later than our present? Why would you do that?" Crono asked at the revelation Magus had tampered with Valhalla's temporal location without the knowledge of Jenova.

"We needed time for preparations and, since we can't link Valhalla to your world merely days after your departure due to their different timelines, you'll never know the difference." He answered, confusing most of the group. But not Shin, he had another bone to pick.

"Terra was supposed to die in one month!" He exclaimed, suddenly grabbing Magus' cloak.

"Jenova must've done something to Tina. A seal wouldn't be surprising." How did he know about that would be something he would ask if he didn't hear stories about Magus already. If he wanted to know something, it was not worth hiding it.

"We can't waste any time! How do we connect this world to ours?!" Magus looked to the right to see Rydia red in frustration. Who could blame her?

"The reason we had to wait three months… were these." He showed a plastic card with his. Ace showed one too as did Deuce. "There are seven facilities all around this city, which to answer your question, yes it was based on your Midgar." He replied when Shin was about to point out the Mako Reactors in Midgar. "They are being used to create Time Gates, however the technology to harness Valhalla's omnipresence is far from complete, they are limited to the recent past and future. Normally, only a few of the facilities are activated, resulting in small gates, but if we all activate them at once..."Magus insinuated.

"We can establish a stable link between dimensions!" Crono finished, earning a nod from the mage.

"How do we do that?" Sora asked, even though he didn't get ANYTHING of what had just happened.

"I got this from my workplace." Ace said, pulling out seven pens. "Connect these to the main console in all of the facilities and we've got ourselves a portal."

"Now, we only have 3 permit cards for facilities three five and two so that means we are going to have to break in four of them. Edge, from what I learned, you are a ninja, correct? I'm going to need you and Rydia to infiltrate number four." Edge and Rydia nodded at that. "Sora and… you girlie." Kairi scuffed at him not knowing her name. "You both have Keyblades, so it'd be better if you split up. You can open locks easily with those." Sora and Kairi looked at each other worryingly but ended up nodding. "Still, we have only thirteen, so one of us is going alone. I-"

"I'm going to number six alone." Shin interrupted.

"How come?" Magus asked, curious.

"I don't know, it's just a hunch. Don't worry, worst comes to be, I'll pull you in and switch with a teleport." He guaranteed, still now knowing what came over him.

"Very well. Now, let's sort out the groups." Magus nodded, immediately giving birth to the situation he knew very well.

"Ace's coming with me!" Both Deuce and Cinque said, the excitement of the orange haired one being mirrored by how low Deuce said. Deuce only hid her face at Cinque's glare, she was shy like that.

"Don't we need to guide the others? It'd be better if we all split up." Ace replied, stepping away from the duo.

"Dummy…" Deuce told him, grabbing Sora by the hand and pulling him away to one of the facilities they had to break into. Cinque cringed and did the same to Kairi. Ace explained the way into everyone respective facility clearly and wished everyone luck. They all split and headed their way.

* * *

><p>Shin walked through the busy streets, trying his best not to attract any attention. Still, his curiosity led him to look around. The city seemed to be in permanent night, but besides that, it was almost too normal. There wasn't much separating it from Midgar in the sense of both being rebuilt, he even went as far as thinking it was very similar to Edge. Still, the ground he was stepping on sickened him. It was literally oozing Mako, the substance that was, in essence, life itself. They were trampling life as they walked, and yet they were so… carefree would be a word that could describe the populace. One would never guess that they knew how Jenova would send them all to battle at the first sign of danger. Their devotion and trust to that <em>woman<em>was so disgusting it almost made puke reach his mouth. To make this worse, someone was following him. If there's something he learned by knowing Edge, is how you should always keep your eyes scouting the surroundings, even unconsciously. He had only caught flashes of the pursuer, and even then only on the roofs, limiting any analyzing he could do. Granted, if it were Edge, he would have noticed a lot sooner, but Shin did his best and turned into what seemed to be a dark alley in hopes of confronting his pursuer.

"Did he get lost?" The pursuer wondered as Shin appeared to be wandering aimlessly through the alleyways. In truth, as soon as Shin felt isolated enough, he shouted:

"If you're thinking to ambush me, you MIGHT have lost the element of surprise." He said dryly, pulling out the Apocalypse. What he heard surprised him.

"Really? Darn, you're better than I thought!" From the terrace nearby fell a kid in shinning red armor, silver hair escaping wildly from he's helmet, decorated by beads. Shin automatically recognized the person.

"Luneth?! Did you sneak into the Epoch?!" He asked, annoyed at the Onion Knight in front of him. He never liked the kid, as much as Terra dismissed his attitudes for his age, every memory he had of him in Dissidia either showed his whiny said, his brash and arrogant one or his cowardly one. Still, he also knew that it wasn't LUNETH of Dissidia, it was an aggregation of Luneth, Arc, Refia and Ingus, so he couldn't judge him for what he wasn't… at least completely. _"Which part of the __knight is this one though…?"_

"Yup! I promised to protect Terra, and I don't trust a reptile to do it!" He replied.

"_Oh… THAT part…"_The side that was technically the best of the Onion Knight was also the one Shin disliked the most, especially now. It was obviously the part that had a sick fetish for women almost ten years older than him, along with happy go lucky attitude. "Fine, just don't get in over your head." He noticed a change in his tone of voice saying that. _"I sounded like Squall just now…"_Like a lion defending his territory.

"Geez, they told me you were a nice guy." Luneth whined as he followed him.

"I highly dislike being called a reptile." He spat back, increasing his pace.

"Fine, I won't do it again!" Luneth shouted back, rushing to keep up.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Shin felt a vibe go through his body and was planted on the ground he stood on, looking at Time Bending Facility Number 6 in the distance. "So… that's why!" He chuckled, returning to the same pace as he was before just as Luneth caught up.

* * *

><p>"Mother…" Sephiroth said calmly as the alarm resounded through the "palace" on the center of the city. "I seems we have insects swarming our facilities." By this time Sora and Kairi had already broken into their designated facilities while Magus and Crono, Ace and Noel and Serge and Snow used their ID cards to safely get inside the facility. Ace had digital a map so it didn't take long to have the door to the main console room in sight, ready from activation. That and considering the way they so blindly trusted their safety, they didn't even bother to create security above a card, that and the cowls were optional, you didn't have to show your face. The other groups had guides or already knew the perimeter. While Edge and Rydia also had that, it took a while for them to get to the room, as they were sneaking inside. Sora and Kairi's groups were the ones causing the ruckus.<p>

"It took you longer than I expected to realize that. No matter my child, I already dispatched enough of our family to deal with them." The woman in the throne replied with a very noticeable disappointment in her voice.

"Why?! Why would you leave me in the dark mother?" Sephiroth growled, keeping his calm, but still seething with indignant rage inside his body.

"Because Sephiroth, the ones I dispatched were far more fitting to the task. Are you perhaps questioning my judgment?" She asked dangerously, not even sparing a glance of the man as she continued to gaze into the circle of water floating vertically in front of her.

"Why my dear, do I detect unrest? You could just say the word and we would be there." Lezard taunted from the other side of the mirror of water.

"I do not wish to speak with the intermediate, where is Xehanort?" She spat back, scratching the side of her throne with her bare nails.

"I do not know, only that he is very much occupied. Would you kindly answer my que-" And he was cut off as the mirror dissipated.

"I know what you want Lezard…" She gazed upon the statue of Etro. "And I'm not going to abdicate of it. You will not slither your way into my realm so easily." She spat ironically, as if she wasn't a snake herself.

As childish as it was, Sephiroth felt… left out. He felt the need to prove himself to his Mother. No matter the cost.

* * *

><p>"Alright, I think we're clear." Edge said as he laid another guard to rest after knocking him out could by falling from the ceiling.<p>

"This is the computer room? Let's make ourselves useful then… The sooner we end this, the sooner we can save her." Rydia hurried to the main console that was preceded by a quite large rotating chair. She stopped at the familiar sound coming from it.

"Save who? Father… Rydia?" Never did Rydia feel such excruciating pain at being called by her own name.

* * *

><p>"Okay, Luneth. Can I ask you a pretty huge favor?" Shin asked, turning to the young teen. Number 6 had been the farthest away of their starting point, they had just arrived at the entrance, which was conveniently unguarded. This furthered Shin's suspicions.<p>

"Already? Fine, if it helps us save Terra." He replied, always cheerfully.

"Look, I want you to, no matter what, put your speed to use and rush to the controller room. I don't care what you see, promise you'll do it, okay?!" He put his hand on his shoulders as he descended to his level, eying him intensely.

"I-I gotcha…" Luneth managed to reply, surprised at the request.

"Thank you. Here's the map." He gave him the holographic map pointing to the room. "Just press that button and you're done." He explained, taking a better look at said facility himself. It was a quadrangular one composed of two buildings, one that comparatively massive, limiting the perimeter, its center was a garden from which a tower rose. It wasn't hard to understand where the main console was, at least vaguely. But what Shin wanted was not even close to that. After Luneth nodded in concordance, they headed for the door and entered the building, arriving at the entry hall.

"HOLD!" A non-recognizable voice blared just as they entered the building. It was dark, none of the lights turned on, as Shin expected.

"It's an ambush!" Luneth exclaimed, drawing his shortsword. Just as he did, the light graced the room, revealing tens, if not hundreds of soldiers with rifles in position, ready to make Swiss cheese out of the two if the situation required it.

"You'd do well not to move! We have orders to let you live if you cooperate, but this time, Mother decided to have you shot on the slightest disturbance!" The random soldier shouted, Shin had never seen him, nor did he exactly care who he was.

"You know Luneth, this isn't really an ambush." Shin told him in an almost joking tone as he began to take steps into the crowd. As Luneth looked at him incredulous he continued: "An ambush would require them to have surprised us by them being here. And, while the numbers are bigger than expected, I already knew at least one person was waiting for us…" He stopped right in the middle of the crowd, some still stayed strong but others were trembling at how fearless he was being. "For you, it's been three months, hasn't it Terra?" He looked up to the upper level of the room, where all the snipers were. Sure enough, there was ONE person there that didn't fit the bill. That one person didn't wear the seemingly customary cloak, no, that skirt, top, cloak, boots, earrings, everything was something shin was used to seeing daily, only they weren't blue anymore. Instead, what was blue before had become black and what was white, red. The former silver draconic wings on her shoulders now black wings that emulated Sephiroth's and her ribbon had all but vanished, now a metal crown holding the ponytail. What really stirred him up inside, but only momentarily, as he knew it would probably happen, was how her hair had become pure silver and how her eyes were so… void of her former joy. They were rejoicing, but it was a sick pleasure of trapping their prey.

"I have to give it to you, you WERE pretty smart, we never even noticed we had moles… but to make your plan work, you had to activate all of the Time Gates manufacturers, something we can't let happen. Now, I don't want to kill you, so please, come with us…" Luneth was taken aback. It was like he was hearing Terra speak in her usual, soothing voice, but she would never be on her side. Still, he had already done his job.

"Yeah, yeah. You're not doing your job right, now are you? I mean, who said it was me that needed to get to the console?!" He taunted, the entirety of the guards taking their attention of him for the first time in too long.

"The kid's gone!" One of them shouted.

"I'll contact the rest of the guards, they'll stop him!" Their captain replied, grabbing his communicator. This was all the distraction Shin needed. He jumped as he drew his sword, aiming for the second level. Terra had been the only one to keep her eyes on him, but she didn't even move as he jumped.

"_You're acting so differently from usual boy."_ Shinryu taunted him as time seemed to slow down.

"_I never felt calmer in my life."_ Shin replied, not even him knowing why.

"_I can see that. Just be careful, she had three months to master that whole power up she had. Even if she can't use her esper form, she's a lot stronger now." _Shinryu warned as they closed in.

"Riot…" Terra began, surprising Shin.

"_She's going to use that so soon?!"_ He gasped, regaining his calm quickly and diving diagonally covered in flames.

"SCYTHE!"

"What?!"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"You were never my mother."_

_"Don't go out! You won't survive for a second!"_

_"C'mon, you stupid sword!"_

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****Yeah, there's a lot hanging on a thread right now! Guess you'll just have to tune in for the upcoming chapter "The Heavens Divide", Soon tm. Now more seriously, I WILL try to be as fast as possible. Anyway you know what time it is!

* * *

><p><strong>Warning! Warning! A new challenger is approaching!<strong>

I'm going to start this off saying that almost anyone I asked about this said "Rydia" and here it… *Gets stabbed and thrown away*

Lezard: I apologize, but due to the circumstances of the one who requested me, I'll have to abide. You know who you are.

Lezard Valeth:

Bio:

Eons ago, on a world ruled over by another God, a struggle between the humans of Midgard and the Gods in Asgard took place. Odin's neglect of the land if only to lead Ragnarok left the populace unattended and death took over the land. Lezard, once a student in the Flenceburg Magic Academy, once laid eyes on the Valkyrie Lenneth, instantly becoming enamored and soon, obsessed with her. Dancing around the thin line of her enemy and ally, he appears to vanish once Lenneth defeats Loki. In truth, now knowing Lenneth was in love with Lucian, he used a Time Machine to travel back hundreds of years into the past. Aiding young Valkyrie host Alicia and Rufus, Odin's vessel into fight and weaken Odin, he leaps into action, stealing the Gungnir and absorbing Odin's soul, becoming God of a new world outside of the realms under Yggdrasil. This causes Lenneth's timeline to be in peril and causes her to have to travel to his dimension to stop him. After a bitter confrontation with the three Valkyrie sisters, one that leads to all Valkyries giving up their individual selves and sacrificing Alicia to become one, Lezard falls, along with the woman he was so obsessed with. He slipped into oblivion, accepting his loss. One can only wonder if Xehanort knew the full extent of the danger he liberated by resurrecting this cunning monster.

* * *

><p>Fighting Style: Usurper of the Gods<p>

Lezard possessed unprecedented magical power as a mere human, his Godhood and obtaining the Four Treasures has made him all the more formidable, baring the unbeatable. As the God he is, he controls the battlefield, forcing the enemy into the positions he chooses with a wide array of incantations and usage of the Four Treasures, making it so all of the battle appears to be a mere stepping stone in his plans. That said, Lezard is a ground-based character that cannot escape his roots as a mage, being quite slow.

* * *

><p>Alternate Outfits:<p>

Alt 1: Lord of Vermilion: An outfit based on his cameo appearance in Lord of Vermilion. In this appearance, his cloak his dark green while his vest becomes violet with red strings. The bottom of his vest is also longer and possesses more intricate symbols.

Alt 2: Bonding Sage: As much as it displeases him, he never got to use this particular clothing. A simple white tuxedo crafted to its finest, simple but to the point, this is the wedding suit he made for the would-be ceremony.

DLC Alt: Lenneth Fanboy: Not for one second he is ashamed of this. Wearing a white shirt that had written on the front "I *Heart* Lenneth" and a picture of her upper torso and head on the back, brown trousers filled with Lenneth Keychains, ones that would sometimes depict her "less decent" (Before you call me a perv, Lezard ACTUALLY carries metal figurines like these, you can take them from him in the Seraphic Gate in VP2), he substitutes his Demon Sword by a replica of Lenneth's Glance Reviver, the Monster Manifesto is now a magazine staring the Valkyrie and his bow changes randomly to any of Lenneth's bows, finally in his Ex-mode, instead of being protected by pages of the Manifesto, he is instead protected by these figurines. His Spiritual Lancer HP Attack also changes to appear more like Lenneth's Nibelung Valesti version III.

* * *

><p>Intro Animations:<p>

Short: Lezard adjusts his glasses with one hand before swaying his cape to the side, assuming battle position.

Long: Lezard materializes from golden sand coming from the floor, enacting the rest of his short animation.

* * *

><p>Brave Attacks:<p>

Ground:

Dark Savior: Lezard raises his hand, calling forth three spears of darkness from the ground. Extremely fast and massive horizontal range but poor vertical range. Can link into Divine Assault: Spiritual Lancer.

Explosion: Lezard waves his hand. If the opponent is far enough, nothing will happen, but if he is close enough, he will spontaneously combust. Causes chase, low starting lag but huge ending lag if missed, breaks guard but doesn't go through.

Demon Sword "Levantine": Lezard does a quick heave of his massive blade, catapulting the enemy upwards. Causes upwards Wall Rush, cannot be blocked, small range, no starting lag but huge ending lag.

Air:

Sylvan Array: Lezard shoots countless arrows from the Sylvan bow, tracking the opponent. If circle is pressed after the initial hit, Lezard teleports to the nearest grounded location and the arrows turn around, bringing the opponent back into Lezard's close range. More Brave damage with the distance, long stun state afterwards, allowing for a combo, medium starting lag and speed, good tracking, canceled by multiple guards.

Both Air and Ground:

Prismatic Missile: Lezard fires twelve rays of energy that bolt to the opponent. Lezard cannot move for the duration of the attack as you can in fact control the missiles. The camera will focus on the missiles for the duration of the attack, press circle to cancel it. Can chain into Divine Assault: Spiritual Lancer and cannot be guarded against.

Lightning Bolt: Lezard's most basic attack. He extends his hand and fires multiple lightning bolts in a line in front of him. Very fast execution and good initial tracking, causes horizontal Wall Rush.

* * *

><p>HP Attacks:<p>

Ground:

Animate Earth: Lezard charges for the attack, creating a glyph beneath the opponent before igniting it, dealing brave damage and culminating in an explosion for HP damage. Long area of effect, slow beginning.

Pale Flare: Lezard creates four tracking tendrils of flame that slowly home in to the opponent. If any of them hit, Lezard recreates the ones that didn't sending them to meet the opponent, dealing brave damage before exploding into an HP damaging blow. Low speed, unparalleled tracking, can perform other brave attacks while it's on the field, HP attacks cancel it.

Phantom Destruction: Lezard summons ten multicolored orbs around him, sending them in all directions horizontally. If they hit, they capture the opponent, who gets pelted with thunder for brave damage and lead him upwards into a glyph in Lezard created which then explodes and causes HP damage and downwards Wall Rush. High speed, low vertical tracking.

Air:

Gungnir: Lezard materializes the Gungnir in his hands and hurls it downwards, either vertically or diagonally. If it hits, it skewered the opponent to the ground, causing brave damage based on height and exploding for HP damage. Extremely good all around, but can only hit opponents bellow him.

Both Ground and Air:

Dragon Orb: Lezard materializes the Dragon Orb and charges it. Releasing square makes it summon a giant dragon made out of a seaming liquid crimson magic. This dragon launches into the opponent and deals brave damage as it bites him, crunching him and exploding for the HP blow. Monstrous starting and ending lag if fully charged, range and tracking increase with charging time. Automatically released after fifteen seconds.

* * *

><p>HP Chains:<p>

Divine Assault: Spiritual Lancer: Lezard summons the Gungnir, which splits in three and cuts the opponent three times each. The opponent is then positioned diagonally towards Lezard and impaled diagonally by two massive spears, one from each side and again vertically by an even bigger one, all of this dealing brave damage. The Gungnir rematerializes into Lezard's hand who throws it against the opponent, colliding with him and exploding for HP damage and Diagonal Wall Rush.

* * *

><p>Ex-Mode: Transcendent Being<p>

Lezard taps into his Godhood and opens the Monster Manifest, whose pages separate from it and begin circling around him in a sphere like motion.

Power of a God: Lezard is permanently hovering, increasing speed and allowing him to move through midair unhampered. All of Lezard's Ground HP attacks are now usable in midair. If for example, Gungnir is already Neutral Square and Animate Earth as well, Gungnir has priority. Gungnir can now hit any height. Dark Savior's vertical range is increased dramatically.

Monster Manifesto: As long as Lezard isn't attacking, the pages around him act as a permanent block state.

Teleport: Pressing L+Square will cause Lezard to teleport to a random area near the opponent.

Ex-Burst: Archaic Entity

Makes the stage its own realm, transforming it into a circular arena filled with golden sand on the floor. During thirty seconds, Lezard can hit the opponent who lost the ability to guard and his slowed down. These attacks do NO damage but instead make said opponent drop crystals. Depending on the size and form they award different amount of "Points". Lezard loses one third of them if hit. If the points surpass five hundred when the time ends, Lezard will activate his Soul Crush "Meteor Swarm" calling out to Meteors from Outer Space to do brave damage, finishing with a massive one for an HP blow. Damage is equal to points times 1.5.

* * *

><p>Victory Pose: Lezard adjusts his glasses once again and laughs manically, then enacting his victory quote.<p>

Defeat Pose: Lezard begins falling with his back first into the ground but ends up dematerializing in the same golden sand, leaving no trace of him.

* * *

><p>Versus Quotes (May Vary in different outfits):<p>

VS Warrior of Light: A duty driven warrior of the light… ah the nostalgia.

VS Warrior of Light (Lenneth Fanboy Alt): My, what a perfect male Lenneth cosplayer!

VS Garland: When I rule, your battle shall be never-ending.

VS Firion: Ah, a fellow dreamer…

VS Mateus: Such a limited mind cannot rule even itself.

VS Onion Knight: You fail at protecting your loved one.

VS Cloud of Darkness: Begone, mindless wraith! This world is mine.

VS Cecil: Will you ever truly stand alone?

VS Rydia (Upcoming): Summon Odin, I would love to catch up.

VS Rydia (Lord of Vermilion Alt): So… we meet again.

VS Kain: We are the same, you have my sympathy.

VS Kain (Special Quotes on): How ironic, we even share voice actors!

VS Golbez: You'll never atone.

VS Bartz: Mimic a God? You cannot be serious.

VS Gilgamesh: Your obsession rivals mine…

VS Exdeath: What is the meaning in casting all to nothingness?

VS Terra: You remind me of her so… I'll have you!

VS Kefka: This turn of events is not at all surprising.

VS Cloud: Only the weak let death stand in the way of love!

VS Tifa: How could you waste your chance like so?!

VS Sephiroth: A mere puppet…

VS Squall: Answer me… are you truly alive?

VS Laguna: I'm envious, a mind like yours is easy to satisfy.

VS Ultimecia: Time was but a pebble in my plan.

VS Zidane: Intriguing specimen… Let the testing begin!

VS Kuja: Such feeble will, clinging to whatever it can… pitiful.

VS Tidus: I respect you, for what you did for love.

VS Yuna: The lengths you went for love brings a tear to my eye.

VS Yuna (Both on their Wedding Alts): We both called the altar but a dream… or nightmare.

VS Jecht: Your crude love cannot reach anything.

VS Shantotto: Finally, a fellow scholar!

VS Prishe: Would you be so kind as to give me your crystal?

VS Vaan: The skies are hardly free from the Gods.

VS Gabranth: I'll judge you.

VS Lightning: Pitiful Valkyrie, lost forever in her own world.

VS Chaos: God? Surely you jest, puppet.

VS Feral Chaos: Broken by so little? You would not last a day in my laboratory.

VS Aqua: Why give hope to those you do not love?

VS Shin: Come, march into my plan!

Shin VS Lezard (You'll have to hazard a guess the meaning of this quote): What you did to Terra… CAN'T BE FORGIVEN!

Aqua VS Lezard: How can love create something so twisted?

* * *

><p>Victory Quotes (I'll work on Shin and Aqua's later):<p>

Omnipotence and omniscience... Possessing them is less exciting than you would imagine! (When defeating an opponent of lower level.)

I will not deny you tried, but crude effort is no match for true ability. (When defeating an opponent of greater level.)

When you're forced to play your trump card, the game's already lost. (Used if the opponent activated Ex-mode.)

Death alone is not punishment enough for your crimes! (When winning with low HP)

Live always with the screech of insects buzzing within your skull, ants gnawing at your eyeballs for ever and ever!

I grant you the rights accorded to an enemy of the gods. You will live now and forever, in an endless cycle of rebirth; condemned in each life to behated, feared, scorned, punished, and obliterated! (He has an ending quote this long because he CAN, deal with it.)

* * *

><p>Defeat Quotes:<p>

I-impossible! I curse you, YOU DAMNED HUMAN!

This… wasn't accounted for…

A god… is not as almighty as I expected…

*Soft Chuckle* I have lost… (When defeated by Terra or… others)

This world… her soul… IT ALL BELONGS TO ME… GAAHH! (When killed in Ex-Mode)

All a part of the greater scheme… (When defeated by an opponent of higher level)

Imbecile... I do believe you think you won. (When defeated by an opponent of lower level)

* * *

><p>Lezard: Now that that's done, I must request you leave a review expressing any feelings you might have, or else you shall… <strong>Live always with the screech of insects buzzing within your skull, ants gnawing at your eyeballs for ever and ever!<strong>*Maniacal Laugh*

I really do have to fix that hole…


	60. Heavens Divide

****Author's note:**** Well, I'm here, I'm in Lisbon for another year of college… *Sigh*. Yeah, that's mostly why this took a long time, the second is, too much MGS! God damnit, they just HAD to anounce another one and get me hyped, didn't they? Now I had to replay Peace Walker to get what the hell was Ground Zeroes all about. You know, apart from seeing Big Boss being the most badass thing alive. This didn't in anyway affect this chapter. *whistles* NO! DO NOT GOOGLE THE TITLE! I'll discuss the last reason in the end.

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><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Sixty**

****Heavens Divide****

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><p>"Riot Scythe!" Terra had cried when we last left off. But let us not be fooled, this was nothing like the normal way to use her "Riot" spells, no. What she did was mold her energy into a scythe-shaped weapon and swung it like a usual one, meeting her own Apocalypse in a clash. This stopped Shin dead in his tracks, but didn't sent him away, Terra had used just enough strength to cancel out the impact and nothing more. "Surprised? Don't be… it's nothing compared to you, right?!"<p>

"_Is that… sarcasm?"_It very much was. She spun her scythe in her hands and swung it into the back of his neck. Shin turned to intercept and he did, blocking it just in time. However, he was just playing into her hands. Terra spun the handle of the scythe just enough for the blade to be upwards, effectively trapping Shin's sword and forcing his wrist. At the same time, Shin felt a very chilling feeling slowly creeping up his spine.

"Go away…" She muttered, a giant chunk of ice erupting from nowhere and launching against the wall. Shin lost his grip on his sword but managed to slip away from the block before it crashed into the wall. Even then, the impact had numbed his senses and made him decide to land on the ground to recollect his thoughts. When he did however, a small spark of fire was on his feet.

"Da-" He tried to curse, interrupted by the large explosion that came afterwards. It didn't hurt him all that much to tell the truth, but he wasn't worrying for that.

"Magic!" He knew Terra would chant that. The air was filled with the parts of one thousand fires, all of the congregating into an explosion that shook the building, catapulting him against the wall's cold steel. He was so driven into it his body created a flaw shaped like his body, trapping him within.

"_Maybe I can stall a bit if I stay here__ and act unconscious__…"_He thought, but not even that was going to help him.

"I know you too well… you're not done. Riot…" Shin noticed how the plan had bombed rather easily and tried to amend it by forcing one of his arms out and firing a concentrated elementless energy way with it. "Boomerang!" The scythe on her hand morphed into what was a larger version of the several blades she used on the Riot Blade and she hurled it at him, cutting through the energy without even slowing. Noting the danger, Shin used all of his strength to muscle out of the metal and brought forth his wings, dodging the projectile, which sliced not only the outward metal, but also the entire wall, going to the outside of the facility.

"_There goes our cover…"_Shin commentated as the first hysteric yell came. His thoughts were interrupted by the cackling of various lightning that surrounded him in the shape of a circle and drew closer. "Wait a second… boomerang!" He exclaimed as he realized what was coming, flapping his wings to gain altitude. He managed to outrun the lightning circle, but his guess was wrong, the blade didn't return from the same way as it came, but it bore through the ceiling. This caught him off guard and it cost him dearly as it slashed his back from shoulder to hip. He was going to scream in agony, but he was silenced by a small hand.

"It's alright, it's all going to end soon…" She whispered in a deceptively sweet tone, moving her lips closer to his neck, snatching the Sword of Seals he desperately tried to grab with one hand. "Wake up!" She herself urged, hesitating. Shin snapped out of it and headbutted the young woman away.

"Terra, you in there?!" He called. The change in behavior, even if just for a second was enough to awaken in him hopes he had already buried. She herself seemed confused with what she had just did, staring blankly into her own hands and then into his eyes.

"I… don't know…" They completely forgot that they were in fact being watched. "Who am I?" As if it had dawned to her, she clasped her fists and asked: "What… am I?" No one could read what was going through Terra's mind. For a moment there, Shin could see Terra fight whatever Jenova had cursed her with. For a brief moment that is. They had forgotten that they weren't exactly dueling alone.

"Madam Terra, is everything alright? Do you need our assistance?" The guard asked, Shin remembering he had been in firing range all along. Terra slowly glanced over the army, completely absentmindedly as her mind appeared to be in shambles. Not even she knew what she was seeing, or even manage to decipher what she was thinking.

"_I'm a daughter, nothing more… __Mother is not going to be happy with this."_ Was the first coherent thought she managed to express after that moment. Y-yes. I'll go stop Luneth, you handle S… him." She said as she began to vanish.

"Terra, wait!" Shin shouted, sprinting towards her. He could hear everyone in the room cock their guns, but he really didn't care.

"Don't kill him…" She added as she vanished, Shin missing her hand by millimeters as she ported away. Disappointed and despairing at her having escaped, he let himself fall in the middle of the room on his knees.

"Sorry Madam, but this will be the one order we will disobey. Open fire!" He ordered on the downed man. He failed to see the bitter smile on his face. When the guns clicked, Shin showed super human instinct by simply vanishing from their sights, if only for his speed. The commander looked up and saw that the young man had only jumped upwards. "Up top! Shoot!" Their unending fanaticism had granted them tunnel vision. They only saw their objective, paying no attentions to the surroundings. They hadn't realized that when Shin touched the ground water started seeping out of several apparently random places at an alarming rate.

"I don't have time for you!" Shin roared, his wings materializing once again and propelling him downwards where he carved his hand on the ground, the rumbling of incessant water filling the room. "Tsunami!" He chanted, the room itself becoming flooded as a gigantic geyser exploded beneath it, the sheer pressure of it most of the guards, incapacitating the rest. The water then suddenly vanished and he was the only one left on his feet as he stood back up, the wails of the wounded raping his mind. "Jenova… I'll kill her…" He growled, gritting his teeth. He noticed Terra had probably also taken the Apocalypse with her. "Great… I guess its Solais Claíomh full time now…" He sighed as he grabbed it. He still didn't have any idea how it worked. It only allowed itself to be used by the ones whose will to win was unmatched, hence never had one who managed to draw it lost, that's what Neku had said. That's extremely vague for a weapon that can cause such grief. He still tried to draw it, since he had no weapon to defend himself with other than that. "Let's try this." He tried to draw the Claíomh. "No cigar huh?"

"_What did you think? You almost lost on purpose."_Shinryu reprimanded on his mind.

"What do you mean?" Shin questioned, trying to find a weapon he could use without much consequences.

"_You shut me off. You did unconsciously, but you were."_ He informed him. Shin had no idea that he had done that, instead he thought Shinryu was refusing to help. But why did he do that? _"Tell me, did you REALLY want to beat her?"_ Shin didn't get what he was insinuating.

"_What do you mean?" _He asked again, becoming frustrated with how he was again speaking in riddles.

"THERE HE IS! OPEN FIRE!" Newly arrived from one of the corridors were a group of ten soldiers. Shin cringed and dove towards cover as they began firing their machine guns.

"_I know you are trying to save her…"_ Shinryu began.

"Not the time!" Shin exclaimed, looking around for something to use. His magic without a sword to channel it through had never been all that reliable. He spotted a machine gun nearby, on the hands of a dead body. "Well… let's see if Laguna was really that good." As he touched it, the memories of Laguna using it flashed on his mind, making the weapon feel instinctive to move, as if he did his whole life.

"_What I am asking though, is what you are really trying to accomplish on the big picture."_ Shinryu insisted. Shin popped his head out of his hiding place when the fire ceased, he figured they needed to reload and unloaded on them. He felt a cheating bastard for being so good with something he had never used in his life. He spent the whole cartridge on the array, but it didn't matter as every single one of the enemies fell dead on the floor. Shin ran up to their bodies and grabbed more ammo from their guns, quickly running to a nearby downed table for cover, the footsteps of tens of soldiers were filling the air already.

"_I want to…"_

"_Kill Jenova?"_

"_Yeah. That should solve everything, right?"_ The soldiers had entered the room from the upper level.

"_True, but what lengths are you willing to go to?"_ He asked, Shin bolted out of his cover for a second and shot a group of six down before quickly vanishing back behind the table.

"_You aren't suggesting that I…"_ He asked again, looking around to see the room being flooded by soldiers. He had to find a way out of there. There was just one corridor not being used, one directly across the room, and a dash from where he was. A dash he made, the sounds of bullets weaving through his hair, breezing through his ears and ricocheting off the floor.

"_Well, consider for a moment what you're doing. You are killing innocent people. People whose only sin__ was to be infected. What moral__ do you have to only want to save Terra?"_Shin stopped dead in his tracks for a moment. _"KEEP MOVING!"_If the dragon hadn't said it, Shin wouldn't have been able to digest the information in time. Even so, he clumsily threw himself forward, falling face first on the ground because of it. The bullets had missed him by millimeters and they weren't going to stop coming any time soon. Shin cursed himself for stopping due to a morality crisis in the middle of a shootout, and sprung forward, finally reaching the door and freezing the entrance with a very thin ice layer. He really needed a sword if he was to use magic properly, but that would have to wait. Gasping for air as the wound on his back began taking his toll, he leaned against the wall with his shoulder and tried to make the pain bearable with what little white magic he was able to use. Now that magic training they had suggested him to overcome his dependence on his sword didn't sound so boring. Sure, he remembered how to use magic, but without knowing the "feeling" there was not much he could do. Weapons? Easy. Magic? Not even in the same league.

He felt something dripping down from his chin. Was it blood? Sweat? He reached out to his face and wiped his hand across it. He looked at it and his eyes gained a new shine.

"Hey old lizard… I might have an idea!"

* * *

><p>"This went surprisingly smooth…" Cinque commentated after activating the console to synchronize with the rest.<p>

"Why are you so gloomy then?" Kairi noted as the orange headed girl scratched her chin.

"Because… why would they downgrade the security so much? And there were no reinforcements either… I got to call Deuce." She reached out for her phone and dialed her number. Good to know Jenova cared enough to establish a working communications line on her new city. The it was immediately picked up, like the other woman was expecting it.

"I was just about to call you, were there any guards there?" She seemed serious.

"Enough to make us have to make a commotion, but not enough to slow us down, there were also no reinforcements whatsoever." She replied, worry taking over her expression.

"Thought so… Magus and Ace didn't see much in the way of guards also, that and it seems that Snow's reactor was already activated by the looks of it. This can only mean one thing." Deuce said from the other side of the phone. "They want one of us. Maybe Edge and Rydia, maybe Shin. We have to go sa-"The connection went static immediately, no warning, nothing.

"Deuce…? DEUCE!" Cinque called desperately, redialing, no answer being given.

"What happened? Cinque, what happened to them? Is Sora alright?!" Kairi asked, even if she knew that there would be no answer. Even then, that was far from the biggest of their concerns.

"You'd best be worrying about yourself my little princess." She had only heard that voice once. It was in Spira, and if she remembered correctly:

"Lezard?!" Kairi gasped when she turned and saw the man appear from behind the closed door.

"I told you... you will be most useful to me."

* * *

><p>"You just HAVE to be a dick in whatever world you are, don't you?!" Sora spat, landing outside the tower, on the roof of the complex. He looked up, seeing Sephiroth descend in all of his self-proclaimed greatness. His expression however, was not as calm and collected as it usually was. No, it was full of anger, resentment, it was all but calm and civilized. Sora himself wasn't too happy he had ambushed Deuce, knocking her out and forcing him to deter him by running way.<p>

"Silence! You… the girl… I'll take your heads! And I'll take the other interlopers heads too! Then Mother will understand that all she needs…" He pulled back his sword and Sora got into battle pose. "…IS ME!" He cut the air, creating an array of shockwaves that all curved, forming a half-dome before converging into Sora.

"You're crazy! Guess I'll just have to go all out from the start!" Sora responded, his clothes erupting in a blue hue as he spun his Keyblade around him. "Aero!" The small shield that he created was not nearly enough to contain the blades, but that was why he activated his Wisdom Form. "Let is spin! Aeroga!" The Tornado created by this spell however, was more than enough. A giant torrent of whirling winds took the facility in all of its power, dispersing the energy blades, crashing on the roof and cleanly slicing what they touched. This also cut Sephiroth's vision of Sora. From the tornado, Sephiroth only saw countless energy rays erupt, at first at a blinding speed which he barely evaded by teleporting away to the left, but then they curved, slowly homing in on him. He flew upwards, they curved upwards, he circled around the rays, never did they collide with each other. He was getting frustrated. This seemed to be happening increasingly easier as time went on.

"Stop pestering me…" He stopped, swinging his hand across the air, creating a barrier of shadowy orbs. The rays collided with them, exploding in a light show of dark and yellow, one that seemed as bright as the sun. Sephiroth covered his eyes in response to it, blocking out any remaining vision. He shouldn't have.

"Gotcha!" Before he could react, a Keyblade had lodged itself on his shoulder and he was now falling at an amazing speed into the ground, the air pressure stopping him from using his wings. In a brief moment, all of it came to a halt. He must've broken at least two wings in the fall, that and he doubted that his right shoulder was supposed to move like that. Worse even, the impact had been so strong, the roof was now breaking. Sephiroth couldn't see much due to the falling debris and dust, but right at the last second, he saw as Sora was bringing down his Kingdom Key on him. Something took over him that moment.

"Vanish!" He commanded, his left arm whipping a flash of the emerald blade, catching the teen completely off-guard. As any slash from Sephiroth, Sora saw one, heard one, but felt one thousand. He groaned and did his best to jump out of any follow ups Sephiroth could come up with. Good thing even the man was stunned, that blow was just a reflex. Sora looked down upon himself. His black clothes were tattered, but fortunately all of those injuries he had received were naught but minor gashes. "Ready?" The question rung on his ears as a familiar one. Still, by the time he looked up, Sephiroth had already sheeted his sword. Sora reversed the grip on his Keyblade, but he was too late on stopping the blow. Sephiroth vanished as Sora completed the swing to block it. "A disappointment." Sephiroth relayed as he tensed his blade, Sora now exploding in blood. Sephiroth turned and quietly chuckled, a small, controlled grin growing on his facial expression as his normal, cold persona. Then, Sora laughed.

"Y-you really let yourself go! Sephs, don't tell me you didn't realize it yet!" Sora exclaimed, a green light coursing through his Keyblade. "I didn't try to block." Sora finished. Sephiroth's facial muscles suddenly contracted as pain took over his being. At first it was only a thin red line coursing from his bottom left wing to his one black one on the right, taking his torso as it climbed to it. Then, a gash much deeper than any of the ones he had inflicted on Sora was given way to, the man erupting in a rain of crimson, the chest bursting open and his two wings being bisected as his head arced back in pain. "Zantetsuken…" Sora mumbled before holding up his Kingdom Key and yelling "Curaga!" Ridding himself of any wound, he then reached for his pocket and pulled out a golden heart keychain, substituting his normal one for it. "Ultima Weapon!" Thus creating his most powerful weapon and taking up battle position once again. "Not done yet, are you?!" he taunted, hoping to get a reaction out of Sephiroth.

The silver-haired _angel_ straightened his head, his face revealing neither pain nor irritation. Instead, he was even calmer now, or he at least managed to control his emotions now. "You have crossed the line of a swift death…" He threatened, his body oozing crystal green smoke, his wounds closing at it, even if clothing recovered from any damage. Soon after, the golden halo that first appeared when he faced Cloud formed behind him. "I'll teach you the true meaning of despair…"

"No thanks! I've read the dictionary!" Sora quipped back. "But since you're so eager to get this show on the road… let me tell you something about me. Once I needed a friend to use a form, but you saw me use one without, didn't you?" Again, Sora's clothing started to shine, a second flashing light appearing next to his left shoulder. "You see, now, it's all about the memories of my friends… And I've got a LOT of them! Final Form, activate!" Sora exclaimed, his clothing settling on a shining silver and having the Ultima Weapon fly off his hand and to above his right shoulder. The shining light behind him also revealed a golden Keyblade with a curved handle at its top, the markings of a sun and as large as the Ultima Weapon. It's counterpart, the Omega Weapon. Sora was also hovering in midair, light circling around them. "Come on Sephy… give me your best shot!" Sora told the man while he tauntingly signaled him to come with one finger.

"That is beyond what you are deserving of…"

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><p>"Mother! I have information that needs to be discussed immediately!" One of the few people who hadn't changed clothing during this takeover, Tseng ran up to Jenova's throne and bowed. He was mostly the same, except for the obvious silver hair and green cat-eye pupils.<p>

"If you are going to tell me about how my firstborn acted on his own volition, I already am aware, thank you for caring." The woman replied with a voice full of kindness.

"Can't control your own brats, can you?" Rufus taunted. The only one that had been left untouched, he still sat on a chair to the right of Jenova. He knew that any attempt in escaping would end with his death, either physical or mental.

"Oh Rufus… he is already doing my bidding, unknowingly or not." The woman clad in black replied, her red glare enough to madden most humans didn't faze the president. "Shouldn't you be thankful for my pity? You have only your _freedom_ as you call it because I ordered it.

"Why are you keeping like this would suffice for me to express gratitude." Rufus retorted, knowing full well as to why.

"Simple Rufus. Think of it as a thank you. If not by your family, I'd never be here today, I'd be dormant on that rotten planet. As such, I decided it would be good for you to choose your fate, even if I think t to be a path of suffering." She replied.

"_That's not it…__ is__ it?"_ Rufus expressly remembered being knocked out like anyone else, why would he be free was beyond him. Still, he looked around. The crystals floating around Jenova gave her an overarching view of the city. Each one had a counterpart that was detached from the room, freely flying in the city. Not every single corner was covered, but she could command any of the thirteen to have their counterpart hover over the site she wanted to see and whatever was reflected on the crystal that flew through the city was shown on the stationary ones. One showed a blonde haired man being clobbered from behind by a black haired one as one with a bandana stepped in to stop it. Crono and some elf-like person were fighting a green wraith with almost no clothing and finally, the last crystal showed how Lightning as they called her was rushing to intercept someone. He had also seen Rydia and Edge face their daughter, but he decided against seeing the consequences of such clash until he had nothing more to see. Jenova was terribly calm for what she was about to say:

"At this pace, if the gate were to open, it would be a three fronted war… pity the sixth reactor will never fall." She seemed so sure of it, Rufus wondered what was in store for the facility. "But for now, let us see how much does the love between the child and her so-called mother extend to. Never to our level, but still, the face of despair worn by the two humans must be truly a sight."

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><p>"Why did you call me by my name… you stopped doing that even before we embarked on this adventure." Rydia asked, walking closer to her daughter, not willing to try and comprehend what had really happened. Cuore turned the chair to face them, her expression as emotionless as one of the Maenads they had fought a year ago. She made no motion as Rydia slowly approached her, Edge had stayed back for a bad feeling had taken over his mind. Or maybe he was being cautious, believing Cuore was setting them up, guards being ready to jump out of the walls or something. On a preliminary evaluation, that shouldn't happen, not only had Edge found nothing that resembled a trap door to the surroundings, but also Rydia was now face to face with her child.<p>

"Rydia… I love you." Cuore said, breaking both the silence and any coherent thought on Rydia as she broke down and embraced the girl. Edge instantly became weary.

"Rydia, don't she can...!" He began, but he was soon interrupted.

"I'd never do it like this father." Cuore assured. Normally, Edge wouldn't buy it, but a part of him couldn't say no to the girl. He wanted to believe that she hadn't changed so hard it clouded his judgment.

"If you love me… why can't you call me mother? I've cared for you, I've taken care of your ever need. I gave you my everything to make you happy. She didn't!" Rydia shouted, tears again filling her still swollen eyes.

"Because you are not my mother. You are the person who cared for me and for that I love you. I only call Edge father because I don't have a true father." Cuore explained. Rydia felt a cold shiver running down her spine, but she didn't pay it much attention, not with the rollercoaster of emotions she had entered.

"But she hasn't done anything for you… she has only tempered with your mind." Rydia accused. Cuore grimaced, but she controlled herself.

"I don't find it unusual for you to think that Rydia. I could try and convince otherwise but our time together must be short. Mother requires my presence elsewhere. So, for now…" She cupped Rydia's face the best her diminutive hands allowed and whispered. "Rest…" This set Edge off, something was wrong. Cuore vanished from in-between Rydia's arms, reappearing a safe distance from her. Rydia then shivered again, losing any sensation that came from her feet. She quickly looked down and found her feet incased in ice, a shrill mist growing in both size and width around them. The mist was visibly creeping up her, and as it did, she felt her ankles suffer the same fate.

"Rydia!" Edge called, trying to move towards her, but little did he know, his feet were already immobilized.

"Freezing Mist… joining ice with wind." Cuore explained. "Don't worry, you'll wake up when this is all over, then we'll talk about your allegiance."

"Cu… why…" Rydia asked, crying in despair, plucking her feet from the ground and advancing towards the floating girl, her hand reaching out for her.

"Blaze!" Edge shouted. Nothing happened.

"The air is too humid now for that father." Cuore told him.

"Damnit! Rydia!" The man did the same and slowly made his way towards Rydia. When the woman in green was almost reaching her daughter, the ice reached her hips and she fell to the ground, unable to move her legs. Still, she was too close to give up. Cuore was flabbergasted at her force of will, Rydia was dragging herself through the ground, her torso slowly turning to ice, her arms frostbitten. Worse, Edge had caught up with her. Cuore didn't move, she didn't understand it. For all the Maenads had been gifted with in terms of knowledge, this didn't compute. Finally, Edge and Rydia were just below her. They both reached out with their right arms, the only ones who were not frozen, each grabbing one of her hands.

"We'll save you!" They both promised, letting go of her hand before theirs became ice. Soon after, in the same position as they last spoke, were two ice blocks in their image. Rydia had only time to say:

"Ru…" Before her fate was met.

"I… know mother." Cuore surprisingly replied. She had studied the blocks and found how Rydia was wearing some kind of ring. She had smiled and answered them, turning her back at the duo and vanishing. They had surprised her once more.

* * *

><p>"She performed admirably for one who was to face her former mother, don't you think?" Jenova asked Rufus, who spat back:<p>

"You disgust me more than myself." This was the ultimate insult in Rufus' book.

"Now now… that's rude." She chuckled madly. "Now Serah. How many did we lose in capturing Shinryu?" She asked the side-ponytailed girl. The answer was more than unsatisfactory.

"Ninety-seven as of yet." It wasn't the number that had outraged Jenova, it was how it hadn't happened yet.

"We sent almost the entirety of the guard for the seven facilities after one man! How could he have eluded them? I know Terra is occupied with the brat, but what of him?!" She shouted to no one. She knew Serah didn't know. She turned her head to the right and watched over the crystal she had sent to stalk the man. It was in an elevator, but there was no one inside. Suddenly, the doors opened and two soldiers entered, chatting about how the man had vanished into thin air. Jenova crushed the side of her throne as she heard it. Then, her pupils show open. "He cannot be there!"

* * *

><p>The guards were so busy discussing where to look next that they had neglected one place. The elevator itself. Behind them was a box. A very big cardboard box. They never saw it coming. The doors to the elevator opened, revealing two fallen bodies and a young man taking their weapons to himself.<p>

"Can't believe they actually fell for that. Well, better for me, I need to conserve energy if I can ever stand up to Terra without a sword." Shin mused, taking any bullets the men had for himself.

"_You can't fight hand to hand with them, one bite, one drop of blood in your mouth and you're done."_ Shinryu warned. This was the only reason Shin hadn't gone in guns blazing and punched the crap out of them. He walked through the only corridor and saw a window from afar. He walked up to it to see if it lead to the outside. He got his answer, but the hard way. He was about to reach it when it exploded, sending him back a few meters, but still not knocking him down. What he saw when the smoke lifted was all but reassuring.

Cue, "Heavens Divide".

The space in-between the rest of the facility and the main tower was indeed after the window. But so were countless soldiers. _"Get behind the walls!"_Shin was already on it. He ran up to the hole where the window was and jumped to the left. The whole corridor to the left was filled with windows. This made him smile.

"I'll make them come to me." Shin said, poking his head outside and back inside just to inside him. There were a couple of Shinra helicopters outside, which only made the situation more grim. "If Zack were here, he'd have a fit." He laughed at how similar this was. Soon, the first fruits of his plan were running into the facility. They turned to face Shin as they entered the corridor. He was smiling. A grandee exploded on their feet. "I could get used to fighting like Laguna… strategy heavy but so easy on the muscles." He was so going to eat those words. Next, he popped his head on the nearest window, shooting from it and getting quite a few, but soon he noticed the unpleasant red dot on his forehead. "Snipers…" He mumbled, dodging the bullet by a millimeter. "This is going to be annoying." Then, in-between all the yelling and shooting, his ears picked up something different. "Crap!" He cursed, jumping away as the wall exploded, fruit of a missile the helicopters had fired. He didn't even have time to shake it off.

"Gogogo!" Tens of soldiers entered the now two holes. Shinryu cursed as Shin did the same, but with quick thinking, Shin threw a smoke grenade the other guards carried. He then spayed the group with bullets. The confusion of the smoke and the uncertainty of if they were even aiming in the right direction made it so they did not even fire back. Good thing too, Shin ran out of bullets with this little trick. After he made sure they were all dead, he rushed to their bodies and grabbed another, hopefully loaded machine gun along with a sniper rifle one of them carried. What really made him say:

"Lucky!" Was how he found a rocket launched on the captain.

"They really want us down." Shinryu commentated as he saw the heavy weapon.

"True." Shin replied, tying up the giant tube to his back and jumping back to cover as the grenade's smoke dispersed. "Now to take out those nuisances! He didn't go to the next window as most of them expected him too, now, he ran three windows into the corridor. There, he poked his head out again and aimed. The red marking found its way onto a sniper on the roof quite easily. They didn't have where to hide, the roof was flat. He pulled the trigger and it was one down. Best of all, they didn't know where it came from. Shin turned around the corner and advanced a bit. This whole area was like a square, so he could try and kite them around it all he wanted in theory. He saw two more snipers and easily shot them down. While doing all this though, he never let his guard down. He knew exactly when a guard was going to put him in sleeper hold from behind, and planned ahead.

"I've gotten you! Now you'll be one of us!" The generic fanatic yelled. Shin smiled and grabbed the back of his neck, doing a backflip before landing and throwing the man above Shin and against the wall.

"Nice try, guy." Shin smiled. He then noticed the red dot on his chest and dodged the bullet at the last second. "This is getting a bit too much." He mumbled, now more serious. For all he could gather, there was no more snipers on the roofs but he now managed to distinguish how there were five helicopters flying around, one had just opened fire at him with its machine gun. Worse yet, some of them had snipers on the side. This was not counting how the entirety of the guards now knew where he was, it wouldn't be long before hundreds of them began jumping inside through the windows. It was looking grim. "Wait a minute!" His eyes shot open and the sword in his back pulsed. "That's it!" He dropped the giant tube on his back. He heard quick footsteps approaching and, as such, grabbed the machine gun and shot down the tens of guards as soon as they flipped the corner. Then, he shouldered the rocket launcher. It was digital, just like he hopped.

"You need a distraction, isn't that it?" Shinryu smirked, reading his mind.

"And I'm killing two birds with one stone!" Shin exclaimed. Pointing the rocket launcher in the direction of the helicopter, he aimed it slightly upwards as it gained a target. Soon, a red:

"Target Locked-in!" Was shown on the digital screen. Shin nodded and shot the missile. Even though the helicopter tried to move out of the way, the shell turned to the right as it did, persisting to hit its target. And it found the mark on the junction between the propeller and the rest of the vehicle. Needless to say, the explosion cost the helicopter a propeller and caused it to plunge into the ground below, exploding soon after due to the fire reaching the fuel. Screams of agony and pain being silenced by the explosion pained Shin. But he had planned this and by god he was going to go through with it. "Let's go!" He yelled, pushing himself outside the window with one hand. The panic, the smoke and the disorganization made it easy for him to hide behind one of the bunkers the soldiers had made with steel crates. Ironically, these were put in there to make them safe from Shin, not the opposite.

"Irony is a bitch." Shin said, recharging the launcher with his one remaining shell. "That stingy captain should've had more…" He grunted, taking aim once again. "Two down!" He exclaimed, and it came to be. The panic was now the least of the enemies' worries. As soon as the second chopper blew up, the smoke had become their greatest enemy. They couldn't see anything more than their arm's distance ahead. In the midst of all that, Shin had a free reign to just shoot randomly. Considering how he was mostly covered and he was one guy trying to hit an army, it worked a lot better than an army shooting stuff randomly and hitting each other more than shooting at Shin.

"_That's good and all, but we need to get to the tower… quickly!"_ Shinryu urged, Shin already had it covered. Not for a second did he stop thinking about how his goal was to get to Luneth and… what he thought was Terra.

"Just wait okay?!" He continued emptying various cartridges he had grabbed from fallen enemies until the noise of the footsteps and screaming was much less pronounced. He deduced that in-between the explosions, the helicopters, himself and the confusion he would've cut about 90% of the enemies. "Here we go!" He jumped over the crates and made a run for it. He didn't notice it when he did, but throughout the battle, the pulsating sword on his back had become increasingly more restless. He heard one missile being launched and cursed how the sound made it obvious it was heading right at him. In a desperate move, he casted Blizzaja on the ground, hoping it would take the form he wanted. For once in his life, even without a sword, he managed to create an ice wall that absorbed the impact and explosion while blocking everything coming from his right until the tower. This made the helicopters have to circle around it for a clean shot at him. Soon after erecting the wall, Shin dropped his now bullet less weapon and slammed into a nearby soldier, using his own weapon against him to push him against the door to the inside of the tower. "Okay, now we just wait…" He heard another missile being shot "Right on schedule." He ran to the right, avoiding the missile which went on to destroy the locked entrance.

"You're useless Reno! Shoot the machine gun!" Shin cringed at the name calling, but he knew he had to get inside fast in order to capitalize on the chance. Like he should, he ran inside, but at a cost. "Damnit… not fast enough…" He cursed, grabbing his left leg's knee where a bullet had entered. "Well, can't say getting away unharmed was realistic." He mused, raising another of ice to block the entrance.

"_Well, what now? You're weaponless."_ Shinryu asked, helping Shin cure his leg with a Curaga. The bullet popped out and the bleeding stopped, but muscle reconstruction required too much energy for such an inexperienced guy so they had to let it go, the cons overweighed the pros.

"Wrong. Still have one." He answered, now up on his feet and heading towards the elevator. With the push of a button the double doors opened in front of him. The lift was not a small compartment, no, it was a giant hexagon that could house tens of people. Why was it needed Shin didn't knew. "Terra is on the twelfth floor…" He mumbled, closing his eyes and entering. All the calm he was trying to muster at that moment was shattered when the door closed prematurely and the elevator started working on its own apparently. "It was going to have been too easy…" Right after, a giant bipedal machine of Tenebranian technology landed on the other side of the massive platform that was the elevator. The lift shook and Shin even thought it'd give in, but no. Worse yet, at least a dozen cables descended on it, from the coming what seemed to be Elite Soldiers.

"Okay kid! Cease and desist! I always wanted to say this!" Shin never had heard that voice before, but he recognized it when he saw who was on the cockpit. Blonde, skimpy clothing, a very restless posture inside it… yeah it was her

"Rikku? Well, I should've guessed." Shin replied, contemplating his chances. He wasn't going to lie to himself, they were pretty slim. Still, there was no doubt in his mind that he had to keep going forward.

"Fine… guess I'll have to give and excuse to Tewah! ZEKE, let's go!" Was she talking to the robot? Most importantly Shin cringed at her reference of the woman but that didn't stop him from moving like the wind and appearing behind one of the soldiers, knocking him out instantly by applying pressure on his neck with a chop. He then turned to the rest of the soldiers and taunted them with one finger.

"Give me your best shot." Vanishing again, Rikku was the only one able to pick up his movement and motioned ZEKE to where Shin was going to stop.

"Dodge this!" Rikku exclaimed, showering both Shin and the Soldier he had just grabbed with machine gun rounds from the robot.

"Alright." Shin replied sarcastically, doing exactly what she said and vanishing. The soldier wasn't so fortunate. _"Are they really so under her spell that they reject their former kindness for her?"_The more the young man interacted with the environment, the angrier he became. Even if it was the end of him, he had to end all of this. He quickly disarmed another soldier and used his weapon to take out three more before noticing how ZEKE had vanished.

"I'll crush you flat!" Rikku exclaimed. Shin took the hint and dived forward, ZEKE coming crashing down with both its legs on the spot he was standing not even a second ago. The platform on the lift shook to the point he doubted it would hold, but it did, only now being leaning towards where Rikku had landed. "Time to wrap this up! DIE!" The robot shot three missiles in rapid succession, Shin running around the platform as fast as he could to dodge them. He managed to dodge two, but the third wasn't going to happen by just running, he had to use his wings to fly and avoid the explosion. This was just going to make him an easy target though.

"_Kid, what's the weakness of most man-made constructs?!"_ Shinryu asked rhetorically. The man tried to think as he was dodging an array of missiles, both from the robot and two of the men wielding rocket launchers.

"The joints!" He looked over to the robot and saw how some properly placed explosions could weaken one of the legs for him to capitalize on it. He then dodged one of the soldier's missiles. "How convenient." He mused, dive bombing at the man. He was reloading so when he noticed Shin, it was too late. He got punched against one of the rails on the elevator as the not-quite-dragon grabbed his weapon, dismissing his wings. The energy had to be all saved up. He quickly locked on to the right joint and fired the first shell, jumping to dodged one from the other rocket launcher user.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Rikku whined as the robot was left stunned for a few moments. "Just kidding!" She exclaimed before the returning to her array.

"Oh don't worry, it will…" Shin huffed, firing another shell at the exact same place. Unfortunately, he had none left, but that was easy to remedy. Knocking out yet another soldier with a spinning kick, Shin grabbed his pistol and began running up to the robot.

"You really want to die, don't you?!" Rikku joked, laughing hysterically as she "complied" by showering him with missiles. Shin ran as fast as he could and avoided most of the explosion and, just when one was going to hit him he jumped forward and slid in-between ZEKE's legs, shooting as he did. Just like that, the last backups were dead and Shin was able to run to the one with the rocket launched and grab it. But once he did… he noticed the lack of walls on the outside. They had skipped the twelfth floor and gone right to the twentieth, the roof.

"_This is bad!"_ Shin exclaimed in his mind. _"I'm completely exposed."_He could hear Rikku laughing it up on the back of his head.

"I've told everyone you are on the roof! Soon you will witness True HELL! You should've considered accepting ou- What the?!" While she was going on all that bravado, Shin had shot the joint a third time. Not surprisingly, it started to malfunction, even during Rikku's best tries to make it move, it only twitched and spewed sparks.

"Hey." She heard someone call. She looked up to see Shin break the glass on ZEKE's cockpit. "You dun goofed." He joked, punching the daylights out of her.

"Y-you're despicable…" She mumbled before losing conscience.

"Now, let's see what we can do for this baby." He got on the cockpit and started to push buttons. If he was going to learn how it worked, it would be the hard way. Still, as soon as he started to figure them out, he heard helicopters and… a jet engine. Deciding his fantasy of driving a giant robot could wait, he smashed the controls and decided to run out and send the elevator to the twelfth floor. However, as soon as he stepped out of the cockpit he felt his legs being grabbed and imprisoned, causing him to be pulled back into the cockpit and restrained by none other than the girl who he could swear was unconscious. Right after it, the helicopters had surrounded the top of the building, a newly arrived battle airship joining them. It was far too advanced for any civilization Shin had seen, he guessed it must've been the work of the Lunarians as it did resemble a smaller Lunar Whale.

"For Mother, I'll happily die!" She was obsessed, even in her voice. There was nothing "Rikku" about this person, at least nothing that Yuna or Tidus remembered. Still, she was strong. How could she be so strong was beyond Shin. Her hair began to be tainted silver and her eyes became like Sephiroth's. Her cells must've been sent into overdrive. But that was the least of his worries now. She was really serious about what she said, the main battle ship was charging its main canon right in front of them.

"_Can't get my wings out with her grabbing me from behind!"_ Shin shouted on his mind. _"I'll have to jump off the robot!"_

"_Even if you do, you won't be able to dodge a second time."_

"_Shut up, I will!" _Shin told Shinryu, taking both himself and Rikku off the line of fire for the massive laser. He landed, rolling on the floor for a fair amount of time before stopping, himself bellow Rikku, who refused to let go and now used her legs to hamper his.

"Fine, you just HAD to try and run, didn't you?! Let's see you escape for this!" Rikku's newfound power proved too much for Shin to break out off in a short while, at least not until the main canon was fire again.

"_There's no logical solution Shin. I'm sorry, but you've already used too much energy activating my form earlier, you cannot do it again. If you do, the result will be the same, you'll die instantly."_ Still, Shinryu got a different answer he was expecting.

"Shut up! This isn't about LOGIC!" The man's shout echoed even inside the airship and in Jenova's castle. Everyone in Valhalla felt the following pulse of energy. "Jenova… is raping every we were. That monster… did worse than kill our companions. These… abominations can't live! I'll save them… whatever saving they need… I, WE owe them at least that." Another pulse. It didn't come from Shin or Shinryu, which confused Jenova, whose crystal was shaking just from the sheer am0ount of power. "It doesn't matter what gets in my way, I'll plow through it. They all did before me, everyone I met. Now… it's my turn!"

"Serah, give the order!" Jenova ordered, the girl nodding and shouting into the intercom for the captain to shoot.

The massive ray of energy was shot again, now aiming at an immobilized target.

"C'mon! YOU STUPID SWORD!"

"_You have been found… worthy."_ Something whispered in his mind.

* * *

><p>"Please, give up." Terra asked, throwing Luneth against the wall on the console's opposite direction. The poor kid was very roughed up, blood ticking away from his chin after flowing from an unknown part of his helm, and that as he slid down he wall, he took note that something had cracked when he hit the wall, and it wasn't his armor. "I don't want to hurt you anymore…"<p>

"Same goes… for me…" Luneth replied as he slowly got himself up, his knees and legs crying for him to stop. "But I can't protect what you are now…" He cringed and summoned his short sword, charging his physical power with the power of his crystal and lunging at her, waving his hands. Terra sighed heavily and grabbed the sword with her bare hand, breaking it easily by closing it.

"You can't protect me because you are the one who needs protection. You always were." The truth would have stung normally, but in this situation it was made tenfold. Luneth gasped when Terra grabbed his shoulders and lifted him up. He couldn't do much more, he was completely exhausted. "Now, let me protect you again." She grabbed his hand and took it closer to her mouth. "Wait… what is that?!" Both she and Luneth had felt a gigantic pulse of energy. It didn't make any damage, but the sheer force of it was enough to stop them in their tracks. Inside her, a metaphorical eye opened.

"_He sure took his time…"_Tina groaned.

* * *

><p>"What the heck is that?!" Sora looked at the horizon, Sephiroth and he stopping the fight to try and find what had just awakened.<p>

* * *

><p>"Sooner than expected…" Lezard commentated.<p>

* * *

><p>The others were just as surprised, but none as surprised as Jenova, whose crystal exploded at the fourth pulse of energy. This one was far more pronounced, to the point the entire world shook.<p>

"The fireworks are right there." Rufus taunted, pointing at how the sixth facility had a pillar of pure white light towering from it. Jenova's reaction made it only sweeter. She didn't say anything, or even do much. She just slumped on her throne and glared daggers at the horizon. She was speechless.

* * *

><p>Rikku had been knocked away from Shin, now resting on the downward edge of the elevator. Shin on the other hand, was better than ever. The pillar of light recoiled into a one and half meters tall one, one that was erupting from the handle of the sword.<p>

"So this is why they call it the "Sword of Light"… very creative I see." Shin felt good, unbeatable, like he could take on the world. In fact, maybe he could. No, I joke, that would be Mary Suish. Or Gary Stuish in this case. Still, the commander of the ship did the worse decision of his live. The last one at that. He fired, as did all helicopters. "Well… let's go!" He said, grabbing the now drawn sword with both his hands and roaring in a way anyone listening heard a dragon instead. The blade grew to almost ridiculous lengths, enough that when Shin spun it around, he bisected every flying machine in sight, leaving a giant shockwave to take the rest of the city, panic taking over it.

* * *

><p>"<em>Now's my chance! She's distracted!"<em> Luneth kicked Terra's chin as she dropped her guard for only a second, making her drop him and made a run for the console. Terra though in chasing him, but she was stopped as she heard someone call her.

"TERRA!" The walls were smashed by a pillar of light and gave her less than a second to react.

"Scythe!" She called, blocking the Solais Claíomh at the last second.

"Do it Luneth." Shin ordered as the duo exchange a deep, heavy look into eachother's eyes.

"Done!"

* * *

><p>Bartz was just minding his business, and by that I mean annoying Squall in a way only he and his team knew how to when the sky suddenly cracked. Not the clouds, no, the sky literally cracked.<p>

"What's that?!" Rinoa gasped, to which Bartz replied:

"Showtime!"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"This is Bartz, and I'm going in!"_

_"_Please mother, don't make me do this!"__

_"I didn't want to meet like this... Cloud."_

* * *

><p><strong>Warning! Warning! A new challenger is approaching!<strong>

By popular demand, the sexiest thing to ever grace the color green, Rydia!

Rydia:

* * *

><p>Bio: The last survivor of Baron's massacre in Mist. She forgave Cecil for his part in it and traveled with him on his quest against the King. Circumstances had her eaten by the King of Summoning Spirits known as Eidolons and brought to the Feymarch, where she trained for ten years, which equaled two weeks on the human world. She rejoined Cecil and together with his group, she ended Zeromus' reign. Seventeen years later, she was cloned by a being trying to create the perfect being. During her quest to stop the reenacting of the past's mistakes, the formerly annoying Edge managed to grip her with a more mature attitude, not that she ever admitted it. They ended the Creator's plan and Rydia found one of her clones asking for help. She took her in and adopted her, sharing her with Edge in the most awkward family the world has ever known.<p>

* * *

><p>Fighting Style: The Last Summoner<p>

Rydia's bravery attacks are her Black Magic spells and weaker summons while her main Summons act as HP attacks. This lead Rydia to heavily rely on HP attacks as her Black Magic isn't the best. The payoff being she has arguably the best HP attacks in the cast, both fast and powerful, but she'll never reach high amounts of bravery. She is moderately slow on the ground, but her range is diverse enough to keep the opponents second guessing on taking advantage of it.

* * *

><p>Alternate Outfits:<p>

Alt 1: Goddess in Green: Rydia's original FFIV appearance, not much to be said.

Alt 2: Ninja Queen: Hopefully what Rydia will wear if Edge gets his way. The same dress his mother used to wear every day, with long flowing skirt and a regal collar over her royal cloak and torso. However, to meet with Rydia's demand, it's completely colored in different shades of green.

DLC Alt: Daughter of the Mist: Rydia's seven year old appearance. Let's ignore how that would drastically change her hit box and how her voice work would have to be completely redone. This had to be in.

* * *

><p>Intro Animations:<p>

Short: Rydia combs her flowing hair backwards and draws her whip, getting into battle stance.

Long: A large mist appears where the combatant usually stands, from it appearing Rydia, who then enacts her battle stance.

* * *

><p>Brave Attacks:<p>

Whip: Rydia quickly strikes with her, dealing nigh immediate low brave damage to enemies in a close to mid-range. Omnidirectional. Initates chase.

Quake: Rydia opens a fissure in the earth that damages anyone in the area opened. Links to Titan.

Thundaga: Rydia calls upon lightning from the heavens to strike where the opponent is right now. Large starting lag, cannot be blocked and has unlimited range.

Air:

Firaga: Rydia shoots a fireball in a diagonal line. Simple projectile, not much unique about it.

Meteor: Rydia rains down small meteors from where she is. Amount of meteors decreases the farther away the enemy is from Rydia.

Both Air and Ground:

Summon party!: A random summon spell with five different effects. Chocobo Kick, where a Chocobo runs or flies to the enemy and kicks it. Yellow if the enemy is on the ground, back if it's in midair. Goblin Punch, where a Goblin suddenly appears and applies random brave damage with his near instant attack at any range. Mindflayer, where the enemy is paralyzed, , in this state they can move, but at times the controls won't respond. Cockatrice, where the enemy is immediately turned to stone for a few seconds and finally Bomb. Where Rydia loses the bravery her opponent has, or all of her bravery down to zero if it had more, if the charge of the Bomb hits, but also breaks the opponent.

Whyt: Rydia summons Whyt, which will prance around her and sometimes mimic her bravery attacks. Whyt can't be repeatedly summoned and will never mimic two bravery attacks in a row.

Tornado: Rydia creates a whirling tornado bellow the opponent. If it is trapped inside it, it takes brave damage before being blown away into a chase. Links into Sylph.

* * *

><p>HP attacks:<p>

Ground:

Hellfire: Rydia summons Ifrit, who creates a large line of fire horizontally and then dashes, damaging anything in its path and causing horizontal Wall Rush. Surprisingly high vertical reach.

Zantetsuken: Rydia summons Odin, who after a few seconds of charging cleaves everything directly in front of him for HP damage. Massive range. 10% chance of inflicting Break.

Queen's Blessing: Rydia summons Asura. Both her and the summons must channel to get all the beneficts. In random order, Asura restores a large amount of bravery, increases Rydia's defenses or damages the enemies. The HP portion of the attack is very telegraphed and very unlikebly to be the first part of the attack. but has no range limitations. Any damage will stop the channel.

Air:

Judgement Bolt: Rydia summons Ramuh, who repeatedly calls columns of lightning above the opponent and nearby. Rydia can channel for increased duration.

Diamond Dust: Shiva conjures a hailstorm of ice in a cone in front of Rydia, dealing Brave Damage before HP damage on a last burst of ice. Horizontal Wall Rush, very vulnerable if a miss.

Tidal Wave: Rydia summons a pool of water around her. If it connects, Leviathan will be summoned into the now flooded area and eat the opponent. Dealing brave damage before crushing it with its jaws for HP damage. Fast, but bad ending lag.

Both Air and Ground:

Mega Flare: Rydia calls upon Bahamut, who crosses the heavens at her call. For a period of time, Bahamut will disable Rydia's capacity of doing her HP attacks and chains, but will also fire Mega Flare repeatedly at the enemy. These attacks are always precise but will be telegraphed by a burning shadow on the ground.

* * *

><p>HP Chains:<p>

Titan: Chains from Quake. Titan emerges from the fissure and grabs the opponent, slamming him into the crevice for brave damage and closing it for HP damage.

Slyph: Three fairies appear inside the tornado, taking a hold of the opponent and spinning even more for more brave damage and letting him to, sending him upwards for HP damage and vertical Wall Rush.

* * *

><p>Ex-Mode: Mist Dragon, I summon you!<p>

Rydia summons her mother in the form of a dragon of mist. During this, her body is marked by a white dragon tattoo on the exposed parts and green energy oozes from her.

Ethereal Mist: Any attack on Rydia which is not physical will miss. Press L+Square to derive the mist surrounding Rydia into a dragon which will fire a homing beam at the opponent. Once this is used, the shield will not return.

Whyt's Fantastical Display: Why is always active and always copies Rydia during her Ex-Mode.

Ex-Burst: Dance in the Mist

Rydia expands her Mist to fill the entire screen. The opponent will then be shrouded in it and the player must watch for shadows. Point in the direction you see the shadow coming to make it so the esper hits. If done five times correctly, all the mist will congregate on the Mist Dragon, which is now floating above the opponent, near Rydia, who is mount Bahamut. Then, Rydia, Bahamut and the Dragon charge Flare, Mega Flare and Mist Breath at the same time, blasting the opponent for brave damage and finishing with an explosion for HP damage. If not executed correctly the Dragon will just appear and blast the enemy for reduced damage.

* * *

><p><span>VS Quotes:<span>

VS Warrior of Light: You make Cecil look like a slacker!

VS Garland: Knock Knock, anybody home?

VS Firion: You have more weapons than I do summons…

VS Mateus: Zemus' vain cousin…

VS Onion Knight: You know, I should introduce you to Cu!

VS Cloud of Darkness: Not even I would dress so few.

VS Cecil: Cecil, please, forgive yourself.

VS Cecil (DLC Alt): Don't you dare be sad, I'm not!

VS Kain: I'm still willing to trust you, if you do yourself.

VS Kain (DLC Alt): I HATE YOU!

VS Golbez: I can understand your pain.

VS Bartz: You remind me a bit too much of Palom…

VS Gilgamesh: No touching!

VS Exdeath: Can't you aVOID your unnecessary speech?

VS Terra: You are the proof we can coexist!

VS Terra (Special Quotes): Can I… you know, summon you?

VS Kefka: And you are the counter-argument…

VS Cloud: Don't be like Telah!

VS Tifa: Doesn't the fire scare you?

VS Sephiroth: I thought you were like Golbez… but I was wrong.

VS Squall: Your relationship is… mine reversed, right?

VS Laguna: You're my type, but don't get hopeful.

VS Ultimecia: Time to disappear, old witch!

VS Zidane: Edge Junior…

VS Kuja: I'm used to hiding pain, I know when I see one.

VS Tidus: You were created? Like a Maenad?

VS Yuna: Your summons are so different… let's teach each other!

VS Jecht: Don't repress your feelings, I hurt one person a lot doing it.

VS Shantotto: Magic cannot defeat it's source!

VS Prishe: I like you, that view on the world especially!

VS Vaan: I can take your for a ride if you like.

VS Gabranth: Why judge when you can forgive?

VS Lightning: You don't have to change to protect a young one.

VS Chaos: You are misled.

VS Feral Chaos: Monsters… Don't worry, I'll save you!

VS Aqua: You know my pain, right?

VS Shin: So, are you a human, an Esper or what?!

VS Lezard: I hope Edge never gets this kind of obsession…

Shin VS Rydia: Just hold on a second, have to wipe the blood out of my nose.

Aqua VS Rydia: Just accept it, he won't stop anytime soon.

* * *

><p><span>Victory Quotes:<span>

Being young is no excuse! (When defeating an opponent of lower level.)

I'm used to uphill battles. (When defeating an opponent of greater level.)

Still… here. (When winning with low HP)

The Eidolons will never let me lose!

The Mist cannot be swatted away.

I'll spare you, live and forgive.

* * *

><p><span>Defeat Quotes:<span>

Edge, Cu… I'm sorry.

Edge… take care of her…

Cuore… tell Edge I…

When I was young, I did the same. (When defeated by an opponent of lower level)

I tried everyone… (When defeated by an opponent of higher level)

* * *

><p>Victory Pose:<p>

Rydia summons the Mist Dragon and caresses it, being caressed back.

Defeat pose:

Rydia falls to her knees and is engulfed by Mist, enacting her quote before vanishing.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note: <span>****First, the good part. Sixty Chapters and counting! Who thought we'd make this far, huh? Well, let's discuss how this will continue.

Okay, as you know, I have three fics. Now, simples question. Do I:

Continue with what I should be doing. AKA, weekly releases on this and the others less.

Rotate around, one week per story or;

Whatever the hell works?

The answer to what you want, opinions, criticism, whatever, anything write it in that rectangle, that and... Who should be the next one to get a profile?


	61. Toy, Daughter or…?

****Author's Note: *****Terminator Music plays* I'M back! DUH DUH DUH DUH!

Okay, being totally serious here, I'm really, really, REALLY sorry about the hiatus that wasn't even called. Writer's block, college and having to do a Halloween special hit me hard. I got the next chapter in my mind so writer's block is off the case so don't worry about another one of these!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Sixty-One**

****Toy, Daughter or…?****

* * *

><p>"What have you done Shin…?" Terra gasped in surprise as her scythe was slowly being pushed back by the Claíomh Solais.<p>

"Just realized what I have to do." Replying stoically, Shin withdrew the magic light, congregating it into a blade-like mass. It was shaped like a blade and it seemed to be one, but it was really just compressed light. The Sword of Light was just that: a handle that could control light and shape it like a sword.

"And just what is that?" Terra asked curiously, dismissing her scythe. She had a feeling Shin wasn't there to fight and, really, neither was she. She had failed on stopping the activation of the Time-Space bridge so, for all purposes, her mission was over, even if in failure. That meant she didn't have to fight her friends… yet.

"Some say you have to choose. You either save the ones that matter to you, dooming the world or you save the masses, dooming yourself. Well, I'm going for option C. Both. As idealistically childish as that sounds…" He sheathed his sword and passed by Terra's side, lowering his body to pick the injured Luneth. "I know my limits. Terra, you don't have to fight me, and I don't want to fight you. At least, for now that applies to both of us. However, when we meet again, I want you to tell me… just who you are. Terra Branford or Jenova's daughter. I think you know what will happen if you answer the second choice." He finished, walking away from the frozen young woman, who was still trying to decipher if she had really been the target of a death threat by someone she knew so well. She quickly realized it was true:

"We're just going to leave?!" Luneth complained. Shinryu looked back, no emotion on his left eye as it found its way to Terra's. It wasn't hate, it was just… sincere. If Terra crossed the line, then he had informed her he WOULD have to be her enemy and… kill her. It took time to sink in.

"Yes Luneth. Let's give her some time, the others will need us." He finished, jumping out of the window with his wings extending, flying away over the panicked city.

"He's right…" Terra told herself, looking at a shard of broken glass with her reflection on it. Her silver hair hurt her heart but at the same time filled it with joy. It was like she had two… Frustrated, she screamed, grabbing her hair and beginning to thug it out, throwing the two locks into the ground. "WHO AM I?!"

* * *

><p>"<em>My children, come quickly, we are in grave danger!"<em> The voice of her "mother" would always sooth her when her spirit was sunk in turmoil but yet, this time… it only made it worse. Still, she knew better than to say no to her mother.

"Now that is a face I was waiting to see." Rufus smirked from his chair. Jenova, gritting his teeth in pure anger paid no mind to him, instead surveying the damage. The entire ocean that signaled the end of Valhalla was, much like glass, shattering and the horizon with it.

"Claire! Return at once!" She bellowed, her voice escaping her normally enticing melodic tune into an ear-racking cry of a banshee. However, turning to the crystal she had set up to follow the appointed general for her army, she found it broken. "She… wouldn't DARE!" She hissed, turning to Serah. "You are to bring her to me before my patience for her runs out!" She ordered, the young woman not being able to do nothing but nodding in terror, dashing towards the exit. "As of now though… Firion, you are to lead the defense force. I will order it to amass at the edge of the city, move to said location!" She ordered the man beside her, who complied with a simple:

"Yes mother." Blindly following her orders as the puppet he was.

"Curse you Shinryu… if only I had information about you." She spat, remembering how Lezard had never let her get near his files for the short duration of their allegiance if you could call it as such.

* * *

><p>"Why are we not going in?" Bartz scuffed, impatiently beating his foot against the stone cold pavement beneath him. Merely a few hundred meters from the city, one could see various cracks into the tissue of reality, ones that were easy to assume as being gateways into the other realm. However, much to his disappointment, the entirety of the armed forces were put on standby. They were ready to go, just one word was needed.<p>

"How do you know it's not a trap?" Squall simply put. "Imagine they were aware of our little scheme. We would be walking right into an ambush." As much sense as that would make, Zidane still felt the need to question.

"Well, I get where you're coming from Squall, but how can you ambush a battle-ready army?" Zidane also made a somewhat decent point. Of course, not one that Squall hadn't thought off.

"And that's why that, if an hour we receive no warning from either the enemy or our allies, we're sending someone in to check." He responded. As if on cue…

"Sir! An unidentified flying object has left one of the openings! What do we do?" One of the few soldiers that still served under Squall and not Noctis asked. The battle for Esthar still showed its marks on their ranks… It was almost like this war was one of attrition, one could only hope they wouldn't break under the pressure. This caused Squall to sigh and hope that the flying object was not a weapon of mass destruction or something.

"Stay your ground, we'll go identify it." Squall replied, he didn't need to move though. Just after he said it, said shinning object crashed right in front of them. "Or he could just do that… I see you managed to pull it off." Squall before taking a good look at Shin. He was… in a rough shape. The wounds on his leg and chest weren't cared for nearly enough but that was the least. He was barely standing. Whatever he had done, it had drained up any and all energy he had in store. "What went wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing really went wrong. We should all still be alive… if this army stops sitting their asses down and goes inside." He replied, falling to one knee and letting go of Luneth. "And Rosa would be… a welcome sight." He was a bit annoyed if only because he felt he had spent three sleepless nights. But what made him frustrated was that he had just found out the sword was, in fact, no Deus Ex Machina. He had swung it three times and there he was, completely drained. True he had gone through that whole ordeal before and gotten beaten up pretty badly by Terra, but still, the sword consumed way too much power.

"_At this rate, you're going to need to use me…"_That, was a prospect that both the human and the dragon didn't like. Forcing the usage of powers from the other without them being assimilated was something they had never tried, not even when they pulled that stunt against Zodiark, that was all Shin had in supply.

"Does this mean…" Bartz asked expectantly, breaking up the tension.

"Yeah, we're going after I get fixed up." Shin replied as he saw Rosa rushing to the scene, delicately weaving through the crowd which was getting progressively more determined with each passing moment. It didn't take much to get him and Luneth back in shape, he even took a Max-Ether to replenish his missing energy. He would need some more if he was to draw the sword more, but he got some generic sword Cloud offered him to make up for it until he found someone he would need to use it again.

"Well, we should recap on this. I don't trust Bartz to remember half of it." Squall commentated, ignoring the hurt "HEY!" from his friend. "That and we need to fill Shin in." Noctis was busy ordering the bulk of the army and doing some speech Squall didn't care about, because his hatred for Noctis was infinite. Ironic, since their personalities were so similar they couldn't get along, ever.

"Very well. Firstly, Noctis will take our main force to clash with theirs." Ramza explained and, with little to no surprise, he saw how Bartz was completely unknowing of said strategy. "Secondly, a group will follow Shin and Luneth to find the ones that were left behind. Aqua, Zack, myself and my group and the Dalmascan trio should suffice." Bartz was disappointed Vaan would not make it to their first mission as the "Pride" but he promised that, much like his entry to the group, he would join in late to the mission after the rescue. Bartz felt more relieved. "Finally, the most important of all…" He turned to Bartz, who gulped. "I cannot stress how insecure I am on trusting this all to you, but Bartz, you are the only one who has the slightest sliver of chance of success." His vocabulary still confused Bartz, but he knew this was "serious business".

"You are taking the best of the best with you. Cloud, Squall, Zidane and… Orlandeu." All Bartz could think off was how they had just crossed over the line to "overkill" but he did follow the saying, "there's no kill like overkill" so it was alright. "As much as I respect Cecil… he's seen better days. Kain insisted on coming though, he calls it instinct." He was almost forty, you had to give him a break. Not that Edge wasn't forty-three, but while Edge trained to pass the time while putting any and all paperwork on the Seneschal, Cecil enjoyed peace a little too much.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry!" He exclaimed with a playful smile.

"On the contrary. I have every reason to worry. If you fail Bartz, we're all dead. Do I have to remind you we cannot win the battle?" Ramza asked in a more serious tone. "There is no way we can fight an army and walk out without a single bite or fluid getting in. We are, in essence, fighting living zombies as paradoxical as that is."

"Fine, fine geez… I was just trying to NOT be nervous before the battle, but thanks for stressing me out, possibly diminishing my performance and killing us all." Bartz replied in the only way he could, noting that Ramza was not amused even afterwards. "Learn to take a joke!" As a former medieval noble, Ramza wasn't into "fun" at least, not now. The glare he was sending Bartz was enough to prove his point. "I'll… be going to the airship then." He rapidly answered, skittering away before he received one of Ramza's patented, off-screen speeches about discipline in battle.

* * *

><p>"Soooo… what are we waiting for?" Bartz, now on the Lagunarok, asked his crewmates. The Lagunarok was by no means empty, now carrying anyone who needed specific drop points, AKA, anyone on the other two operations, but it was too quiet for the Mime.<p>

"We're waiting for the portal to get big enough for the army to fit in." Cloud spat dryly, spinning the darkened Holy Materia on his hand, as if he was waiting for something to pop out of the new empty sphere.

"Oooookay. Anyone want to do something OTHER than moping-slash-concentrating before the actual meat happens? This is killing me here!" He shouted at the end, the suspense and tension finally taking a toll on his cheerful mind. He hadn't done anything HE wanted on the last couple of days, Leena felt the need to "make up for lost time" AKA; drag him to go shopping, one of the many faults that modern worlds had if you asked him. In medieval worlds, they GAVE HER dresses or she ordered them, but women had that gene that made adoring other dresses oh so entrancing. Needless to say, men don't. And now here he was, about to be sent to his likely death with the final "pleasures" he had had were, in order: Shopping with his girlfriend, getting ONE kiss from said girlfriend, walking into his shared room with Vaan at the "wrong time"… god those two were taking it fast. That was an image he wasn't going to take off his mind as quickly as he wanted. Ergo, he was not that happy, but well, in all seriousness, he realized that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't the time to be happy. So, for once in his life, well, fourth time, there were those times with Exdeath… then there were those with Chaos, but he wasn't sure he was all that serious there and… Screw math, he was serious now!

* * *

><p>"After him showing resistance… you ordered the guards NOT to kill him?" Jenova asked lovingly, taking one hand to the kneeling Terra's face and softly touching her cheek… before gashing it severely with her nails. "Terra… do you not love me?" She as if she had not just gored the left side of the young woman's face.<p>

"I-I do!" Terra forced out of her lips, still in shock the person she loved with all her heart had done that to her. She knew she deserved it, but that didn't stop her stomach from wrenching and her heart to feel like it was being crushed slowly.

"If you do… why disobey my orders? Have I ever wronged you?" Rufus was disgusted at how Jenova of all… "people" if you may, could act hurt. Really, hearing her voice was enough to make him seethe on the inside. To think that this woman was this close to have the three planets and possibly, even extend her reach throughout time and space to entirety of existence just made the bile be tasted by his tongue. All of this was also his fault.

"N-never! You gave me a home. You gave me the chance to live!" And then there was Terra and the others. To see any of the people he former knew as strong, righteous people lick her boots like dogs. And these were people the Lifestream didn't even affect. He wondered if any of the people from his world would last more than a second in this cursed place.

"Then, if you love me and you know all my orders were made to keep you safe… why?" She asked yet again. Rufus wished he could DO something, but he would just be throwing his life, or worse, himself, away.

"Because… I love them too. My friends… they always stood out for me like you do mother! I can't pick a side!" She exclaimed, not even once raising her eyes to her "mother's". Rufus didn't know if he should be relieved she was the only one still retaining feelings from before the contagion, feelings that seemed to be as, if not more, important than her implanted ones for Jenova. Yet… he felt sorry for her. Ignorance is bliss after all. She would be so much happier if she could just hate what Jenova hated. "I'm trying to bring them to us! If you give me more time we can all…"

"Enough!" Jenova blared, losing her motherly tone and exchanging it for her crude, dark and heart wrenching one she always hid away. "When I ORDER you to do something, it IS for your own good, no matter how hard or cruel it may seem. Because of that… I expect NO dispute on my orders!" Again, Terra had no idea what to say, she was helpless. How would you react if your mother was scolding you? Jenova then grabbed the girl's chin, forcing Terra to look her in the eyes, a wide and dark grimace tearing her face apart. "Your eyes… they tell the story. You can't give up on anyone, let alone those most important to you." She spat, throwing her to the ground. "I tried to keep you as close to yourself as I could. But now I see… you have to be TAMED!" Suddenly, all of Terra's body tensed, the tissue of her muscles and skin then acting on their own will, twisting and cursing in a gruesome sight. "Like the beast you are!" Jenova shrieked, the revolting torture intensifying as Terra cried in agony.

"It hurts! Please mother! STOP!" Terra screamed, hugging herself and clenching her body forward as the spectacle of brutality continued. "Please…" She begged, tears swelling up on her as her insides crushed her. Jenova's expression didn't change, except when the malformations on Terra's body seemingly all concentrated on one spot in her back, the amalgamation created apparently ready to burst. "Please…"

"It will all be over soon… my angel." Jenova consoled, Rufus immediately understanding where this was going. Too late though, a single black feather fell onto its lap after the disgusting burst he heard.

* * *

><p>"They are going." Squall informed, laying down his phone. Anyone at the window could see how the giant army, well, small if you counted what they were up against, simultaneously cheered and charged the portal.<p>

"Just hope this camo works." Reks voiced, not sure he should trust all this "techy stuff" that Hope put on the ship, even if the ship was hundreds of years away from theirs.

"Don't worry, if it doesn't, you have the right man for the job!" Setzer gloated, somewhat appropriately but oh well, it's still gloating. With that in mind, the man in black pushed the assigned button for the Octacamo, the ship becoming one with the environment as the Lagunarok reflected the light with its specialized plates. It looked pretty neat from the inside, every time you looked out the window it felt like there was nothing outside. As soon as they entered, everyone who hadn't gone in already took in the sights, cringing at how massive Jenova's "army" was. You know when they said "Our arrows will block out the sun?" Well, these were more than enough for that. Not surprisingly, considering how massive the pool Jenova had to pick from was. The horizon still showed even more soldiers. The worst comes to worst and Bartz failed, well, it would be two countries versus the world. Not the best of chances.

"Now what?" Bartz asked as Setzer diminished the power towards the engines.

"Now… we wait for the confusion to settle. We only came in at the same time as the main force in case the portal closed on us." Squall explained, breaking any of Bartz's former seriousness until further notice.

"Awwwwww…" He whimpered.

* * *

><p>Kefka pranced down the halls of Jenova's castle. The security on it, due to the fact that they were fighting what could be the decisive battle for them, diminished just enough for him to incinerate a couple of… hundreds and get in relatively unscathed. He was just waltzing around, trying to A) find things to blow up or B) find Jenova. He had some personal matters to "discuss" with her before he handed her over to Xehanort.<p>

"I knew you'd come alone." A voice called from behind. Looking back, clearly amused at this person's approach, he found a small turquoise haired girl staring at him intensely, but with a sly smile that intrigued him.

"Oh! You got me!" He shouted in an over the top way, taking his right palm to his heart and his left to his forehead. "What's that whole smiley about though? I'm about to go murder your quote unquote mother! One of the two at least." He threw in there just to spite her.

"Kefka, I think I maybe have something you'd rather see…" Cuore offered, taking a step in his direction. "If you don't find it interesting, I'll personally get you in on Jenova's room." The clown, who had been uninterested till then perked up immediately.

"Proceed…" He whispered in a dark and sly tone.

* * *

><p>"I knew it." Rubicante, the Autarch of Flame cursed, arriving at the center of the whispers he had heard calling out for him. He needed to make contact with Garnet and beg her to summon him as he knew Rydia had tried to do it, but failed. And here he was, in front of the frozen tombs of his summoner and his rival. "Who would've…" He sensed the energy in the air, recognizing it instantly. "Now I understand… Inferno!" The Autarch commanded, the flames of hell itself making quick work of Cuore's freezing spell, melting it and the burning away all the mist. When he was finished, only the two perfectly preserved bodies remained. "Rise and fight once more!" He commanded, opening his cape as he unleashed his own life force onto them as he had done time and time again for fair duels. Moments later, their eyes slowly began to open. "Welcome back, my summoner." He greeted. "And you too, childish ninja." He quipped, trying to lighten the mood. He did get an:<p>

"Aw come on!" From Edge, but it didn't stop Rydia from asking.

"What happened while we were…?" She began, but stopped herself to not think of what had happened.

"Look outside." He advised. Rydia and Edge did so, discovering how, in the horizon, in what was a beach before its sea was stripped away by a giant rift, two armies were clashing, men, women, machine, even Espers were being summoned.

"So it worked out in the end then." Edge sighed.

"And I must say, it is strange, your daughter has not summoned once yet. Wouldn't that be the most logical course of action?" He questioned, much to Rydia's delight.

"Well, do we go back or…?" He looked at Rydia, her glare being more than enough to answer the upcoming question. "Didn't think so. Let's go find her!" He exclaimed with renewed confidence.

"Let me break my connection with Garnet and I will assist you when needed." He offered, being thanked as the duo left the station, empty due to the entirety of the force being deployed to the ongoing battle.

* * *

><p>Sephiroth and Sora had moved to the outskirts in the heat of battle were at a standstill, yet, the battle was over for them. As soon as the armies clashed the noise and magic liberated was enough to break up the fight, especially for Sephiroth, who seemed confused.<p>

"Our followers have been deployed… without me commanding them? Why?" He questioned himself, and, as if Sora didn't exist anymore, he began walking in the direction of said army.

"We're not done yet!" Sora exclaimed, rushing towards the man but only hitting a storm of both white and black feathers. "Or we are… well, got to help Cinque and find Kairi and the others!" He urged himself, deciding he had better things to do than chase that maniac around as best as he could.

* * *

><p>"Damn, the city is being patrolled! We need a distraction, anything to get in there!" Squall cursed as he acknowledged that the streets were not left to dust. They knew they did not require their entire force on the front lines and each second counted for them, no one knew just how long their side could last, hours, minutes even, one could never know for certain. They needed to get in and they needed to do it now. He was going to take up the phone to ask Noctis to do SOMETHING that caught their attention, but they forgot one very important loose end. Very loose at that.<p>

"You might want to look at that first…" Aya pointed out, to which he complied.

"That… might do it."

* * *

><p>"Oh yeah! GET SOME!" Yeah. Who better to draw any and all attention than the king of wrecking himself, Jecht? Hum… that gives me an idea. Imagine it… "Wreck-It Jecht". What? Too soon?<p>

"I had partially forgotten what it was to be in a battle with you." Auron told Jecht, dodging the falling corpses Jecht had thrown about while sweeping in a spinning motion, ending at least ten of the nigh infinite army.

"Really?!" Jecht asked, surprise tainting his face while he took a giant robot, ripped his legs out and used them as throwing weapons. Taking in the sight, Auron sighed and admitted:

"Unfortunately… no." Before swiping his sword upwards, cutting a behemoth in half. "These behemoths are different from ours. They are almost… machines." Referring at the bionic ones.

"And I care... why?" Hell, he even took one of the mentioned Behemoths and opened him in half. Let's just say… it was a living being on the inside. "This is getting a bit too boring though. I mean, shit, they can't even defend themselves against my punches, imagine if I used my sword!" It was the truth though, not once had Jecht swung the blade. Suddenly… he stopped, grinning with a mixture of happiness and boastfulness, turning to his back. "But maybe NOW we can get some kind of challenge. Well, if this doesn't turn into a flood of tears that is." He taunted as his unstoppable fate approached. "How ya doin' boy?" He asked the arriving duo. "See ya brought the girl. What, expecting her to cover up for ya while you cry?"

"I hate you… so much." Tidus spat when Jecht stuck his sword on the ground, stepping on the handle, like he did when he won.

"So, we back to that huh? Kid, this is the second time you get brainwashed into thinking I'm Satan or something. I'll be honest with you, it's getting pretty repetitive." He spat, swiping Auron's gourd, taking a massive gulp before returning it to him. "Yet, I really doubt you lose to these guys over here, so put as much of a fight as last time, please!" He finished commentating, pulling out his sword, heaving it over his shoulder. "Now that I think of it… last time we fought, you actually beat me. But then you were wild, untamed and had a reason to fight for. Now? You are a pet which is looking for a biscuit by doing tricks! Please, just don't get destroyed before I warm up!" He finished, taunting Tidus with his head, who spat and jumped into the fray. "Let's go cryba-"

"I'll not even open your eyes to mother! You'll just let her die as well!" Tidus roared as his foot had planted itself deep into Jecht's jaw, who, much to his surprise and Yuna's despair, just smiled, knocking him away with a powerful backhand.

"You gonna have to do better than that kid, still, I must admit, it stung a bit." He taunted, opening and closing his jaw. "Now it's… MY TURN!" Jecht bellowed, dashing with such force his feet crushed the ground beneath him.

"Tidus!" Yuna shouted, trying to race to intercept her lover's father. Instead, he found herself eyes to eye with her former Guardian.

"Yuna, you know how it goes." He told her as he pointed his katana at him. "I won't kill you, but if I have to hurt you so you can be saved, that's a sin I can live with." He cringed as Yuna's normally benevolent nature then did a 180, her eyes closing slightly and projecting her intent to kill into his one functioning eye.

"Don't think I'll have the same kind of mercy, motherless cur!" She spat in a way so vile it even caught Auron off guard. Immediately, she took out her two guns and sprayed him with bullets, the first one grazing him while he was distracted but all the other ones failing to connect miserably.

"You've been on that side for too long Yuna. I don't think I'm even fighting High Summoner Braska's daughter." He replied as he looked at what he had to force himself to believe it was Yuna. Those eyes… so dark and as deep as the abyss. The last time he had seen such eyes was when he looked deep into Seymour's. Yet, he knew his duty. Without even one word to spare, he dashed towards her, who jumped back to avoid close combat.

"That sure got a lot of attention, but I don't think the guards will stay on the outskirts for long, leaving it to Tidus and Yuna is what they'll do I bet." Cloud said, getting up from his seat inside the bridge of the Lagunarok.

"Now or never, huh? Everyone, get ready." Squall said in monotone. "Setzer, fly us in."

"I'm already doing that but I doubt I can land and then have time to take off again." The pilot said, to which Squall answered:

"Just fly low." He told him as we ran to the hatches.

"Alright, we're reaching optimal altitude, opening the hatches… now." Setzer said through intercom.

"Cloud!" Now this wasn't what the spiky haired man expected.

"Tifa, what are you doing here?" Cloud snarled as he saw the woman run up the halls, right eye still bandaged from the last battle.

"I'm here to help! As always!" She exclaimed with all the fervor she always carried on her voice. Something everyone there had to agree was that one of her biggest traits was persistence in chasing, for good or the bad. Anyway, she had picked just the best possible moment to appear and well, it was probably planned. The Lagunarok couldn't just stop there while they had a semi-couple's fight and Cloud knew it.

"We don't have time for this. I can't stop you, just jump." He sighed, recognizing defeat. That said, the group all jumped off the ship, falling just about ten meters. As the previous group had noted though, the ground was moist and soft so a fall from ten meters high did indeed open holes in it, from which Mako oozed.

"What the…" Bartz gasped as he was one of the ones who had, apart from their stay in Dissidia and that weird Core battlefield, never seen the liquid.

"Disgusting…" Cloud spat, cupping his hands around the now gooey mater and raising it to his face. "To corrupt life itself… We have to end this." He spat, crushing his own palm in a fit of rage. Mako was usually bright green, but this one had lost its shine, its feel, now it was nothing more than green mud and he knew, left untouched, it would only get worse.

"Okay, let's us proceed as planned." Ramza told everyone, who nodded and split into two groups.

* * *

><p>"Well, that girl sure told me something tasty!" Kefka squealed as his target passed on bellow the building where he was at, just leaving the town. He gleefully danced in place before noting that he was losing his chance to jump in. Smacking his head for the mistake, he took the jump. "Aloha… kitty!" He jollily greeted as Terra jumped back in instinct and summoned her Scythe but if she was startled, her face showed none of it.<p>

"Huh? You're not all like: "Kefka! What are you doing?!" or anything like…" Kefka ranted as his eyes inspected the turned Terra. He had already spied on her so he wasn't surprised to see her changes except when his eyes drifted to the top of her right shoulder. "Oh no she didn't!" He exclaimed, not as jollily as a phrase like that was to be pronounced. It slowly got darker and darker. The reason? As he fell, prompting the defensive stance from Terra, he triggered a transformation in her appearance. The change in question? A large, dark wing. I kid you not. This wing was much like, if not identical to Sephiroth's and that just burned Kefka from the inside out. Why you ask? Well, let's just see, shall we? "I'm going to take that wing a SHOVE IT DOWN HER THROAT!" He roared, stomping the ground in fury.

Terra just looked on, seemingly impassive to the tantrum her supposed arch nemesis was throwing.

"And just look at you! No freaking reaction! I KILLED YOUR PARENTS! Okay, not me, but I'm part of what did… Okay I got one! I TRIED TO RAPE YOU!" Her face was just as impassive. "What that doesn't strike a nerve? It usually does… hum. I also killed Leo, drained your father for years before essentially having him commit suicide, wiped out one of the two races you belong too…" He continued, faking joy and trying his best to keep his clown tone on, but the way Terra was just assessing him with a blank look on her face was just too much for him to take. "What have they done to you…" He sneered darkly, for once earning a reaction for her.

"Kefka, are you here to harm mother?" She asked with her unchanging expressions, violet eyes as blank as newborn's.

"And you don't even give a crap about me, do you? Okay, let me just check. WHO are you?" He asked in disbelief.

"Terra… Branford." She hesitated between her names.

"WHAT are you?" Kefka asked, getting the answer he expected.

"Mother's daughter. That's what she told me." Her eyes were so blank Kefka felt the need to kill something.

"SHE DID IT! THAT WHORE!" Kefka screeched, burning his pent up frustration by blowing up a nearby house, the family which was hiding inside burning to ashes instantly. Now THIS got Terra's attention.

"What are you doing to my family?!" She bellowed, creating a spear of ice that flew at the clown at such speed he had no chance to dodge. As the sick sound of ice shredding flesh filled the air, so did laughter.

"OH! It was easier than I thought! I might still get some excitement from this!" Kefka exclaimed in ecstasy, the spear in his chest melting and leaving no visible wound. "C'mon girl! Let's dance, just like the old days!" He screamed, happily firing random bolts of lightning at the area around Terra. "Dance! Dance!" He cackled, the air doing the same. Terra managed to weave through the lightning easily, chanting to create lightning of her own. Four small lines homed in on the clown from every direction. "Now you see me, now you don't!" He once again exclaimed, vanishing into thin air.

"I'm in no mood for games!" Terra roared, firing an uncharged Meltdown at Kefka's exact location after the teleport. This time, it hit him right on, catapulting him backwards against a nearby building. With a frown on her face, she continued into the house, which strangely, felt familiar to her.

"Okay, that's just sooo not you!" She heard Kefka whine from god knows where.

"Where are you?!" She bellowed in a voice you'd never hear from her.

"Oh, I don't know. Ask them!" For a second, Terra wondered what he meant, but then, she turned.

"Mama…" The crying ten-year old called.

"Anna…" Terra whispered, instinctively trying to hide her wing. Her mind didn't register why, nor could she comprehend why she had done it, but she felt… ashamed of it. Then, she looked around. This was where her orphans lived… and she thrashed it. "YOU PLANNED ALL OF THIS! DIDN'T YOU?!"

"Maaaaaybe! But you still didn't ask them what happened." The sadistic voice replied, taunting her to do its bidding. And she had to.

"Anna… what happened?" She asked him, kneeling and leaning her head on her chest.

"N-no one got hurt that much… j-just some scratches b-but… he has Leo! Mama, go save my little brother!" The little girl whimpered, Terra tensing up immediately as she heard Leo's name.

"Don't worry… I will." She told her, even if her body and mind somehow told her not to do it. "Stay here and take care of your brothers, okay?" She asked of the girl, receiving a weak, stuttering "yes" with a nod in return. She caressed the girl's brown locks before standing up and leaving the house.

"Took you long enough!" Kefka exclaimed, the crying baby in his left arm. "Oh yes! That's what I want!" He cried. Looking into Terra's eyes, he saw only the deepest abyss, burning in hellfire in brimstone. "You're almost there! HATE ME! Don't be angry at me! Despise me! Make the prospect of killing me everything!" He screamed, all around him his magic flickering madly, destroying nearby buildings and even guards that had stayed behind and came to interfere. "Luckily for me, I know just HOW to do that!" He finished, taking a dagger from his clown gown.

"Don't you dare!" Terra roared, unmoving. She couldn't move, if she did, it would only provoke murder.

"What will you do if I do?" Kefka questioned, stunning her. "You realized it didn't you? If I kill him, you'll fight me like you never did… but what do I win if I don't?" She looked lost, Kefka taking the chance to complete his statement. "Okay, let's do it like this. I let this sucker go, you fight me… to the death." All of the apparent joy and happiness was extinguish on the last words and then, silence. One could only hear the wail from the baby.

"I…" Terra began. She looked back and saw the entirety of the orphanage staring back at her with pleading eyes. She couldn't abandon them. "I'll do…"

"_You will do no such thing!"_ A voice in her head screeched, it was just like nails raising a chalkboard. Terra fell to her knees.

"What? I didn't hear you!" Kefka exclaimed, pressing the dagger onto the baby's neck.

"_My daughter, we are under attack! They have infiltrated the palace! The royal guard is already heading towards it, but that will leave the entrance to _the_ city with little defenses and as such, I need you to hold the gates. You are NOT to come near my palace."_ Jenova ordered, disregarding Terra's child, doing her best to get her away from Kefka and anyone she knew that may have infiltrated the city.

"_But he'll kill Leo!__ He'll kill them all! Please mother, don't make me do this!__"_ She pleaded, before feeling as if a blade had been plunged into her mind.

"_Do you care more for __whom__? Those rats__…__ or your mother?!"_Jenova spat, devoid of any of her kindness, doing the mental equivalent of twisting the blade.

"You…" Terra whispered, standing up and eyeing Kefka with blank eyes. "My mother needs me. I cannot stay." And she turned, leaving them to die.

"I can't believe you…" Kefka snarled, appearing to block her path. "You don't believe I'll kill him?!" He asked.

"I do… It's just a necessary evil." She told him, turning to the orphans, who were beginning her not to go. "Sorry… Mother calls." She simply told them, ignoring any and all pleas.

"Don't go Mama!" She heard Anna beg from behind her, grasping at her hand.

"I have too…" She told her, levitating her and laying her with the rest. "Goodbye."

"No!" Kefka screamed. "NO! **NO**! **NONONONONONONO!**" Like a baby throwing a tantrum, he again let his magic go out of control, crashing randomly on nearby houses, no doubt killing tens. "She ruined you!" Kefka shouted, pointing at the woman in front of him. "Where is the girl I tormented? Where is the girl who, no matter how much I tried to make her despise me, she would always try to empathize, "save me" in the end? Where is the girl who so foolishly put the other's well-being in front of hers?!" He screamed, Terra not changing her now blank look at him. "I had so much fun! It was such an entertaining challenge! To make you hate me! To make you seethe at my sight! But now… it's all gone!"

"What are you going on about?" Terra asked, now intrigued, as was her mother that she felt on the inside.

"I'll spell it out for you then. I had fun doing just two things. One, destroying stuff; and two; doing our little dance. I make your life miserable, you manage to foil all of my plans. It was fun, our exchanges…" Terra had only heard this tone once from the jester. In his final moments in Dissidia. Melancholic… sad… defeated. "At first, you were a toy, then… you were more. A rival maybe? I don't know, you were… a person. The only thing I considered a person. I must be a masochist too. I mean, no matter what I did, you always looked down on me when you defeated me. Not with hatred, but pity. Every. Single. Time. Not ONCE did you come at me with malice, never. You were little Miss Perfect in that regard and I just wanted to break that. Break you. You see, even if I failed to destroy everything, if you killed me, or even looked at me out of hate, then really, I had won. I had taken Miss Perfect and made a monster out of her…" He let out a somber, dark laugh.

"Because let's face it, you were one bad day away from where I am now. In a way, I WOULD have destroyed everything, or at least caused it." He finished, taking a look at Terra, chuckling at how she had not moved a muscle on her face. "Still nothing? Yeah, that's why I said "were". Now you're just a bee in the hive. A strong bee that could make one hell of a sting, but really, you're just that… a tool." He saw Terra's eye twitch slightly, as if some part of her was just crying for her to do something, but the whispers in her head ordered her to stay still. I don't know. With one last sigh, he looked at Leo and snarled at her. "I thought you better than this… You can have your damned baby. I don't need him anymore. See ya, it was fun while it lasted." He spat in disgust, throwing Leo against her. Terra quickly encased him in a sphere of energy, making him float into her cradle.

"Are you just going to leave?" Terra asked the clown as a portal to the Rift appeared in front of him.

"I've lost all interest in this. Go do Sephy stuff doggie." He dismissed, slumping into the portal.

"_It's just Kefka, don't let him get to you… don't…"_ Terra told herself, doing her best to hold back his words.

"_Something the matter, my daughter?"_ Jenova questioned deep into her mind.

"_Nothing mother…"_She reassured, pressing any and all doubts on the back of her mind. She could deal with them later. She just hoped they didn't come back at the worst possible moment. To distract herself, she tried to hush Leo back to sleep. "Don't worry Leo… Granma's here…" She whispered on his ear. For a second, it seemed to work, but right afterwards, much to her confusion, the child began to cry again, this time more intensely than ever. Try as she might, she cuddled him, cradled him, whispered him to stop, he just kept crying harder and harder. "Why… why! It's me, your granny! Terra! Don't you remember me Leo?!" She cried, the baby going as far as to bite her finger when she tried to touch his face.

"I'll take care of the baby… Terra." She couldn't believe her ears. Dwayne had just called her Terra. Yet, before she could voice her shock, she did remember… she was going to leave them to die.

"What was I going to do…?" She whispered as Dwayne took the baby away from her.

"_My will."_ Jenova stated with a voice of iron. _"And you will do so. Wasted too much time here you have, go to the gates before they are overwhelmed, their strategy, while nigh suicidal, is proving to be extremely hard to deal with."_ There was something in her voice that impeded Terra from saying no. Her very being now would never say no to Jenova. She had become… hers.

"Yes Mother." She replied, flapping her dark wing and soaring into the edge of the town, not being capable of facing her children anymore.

* * *

><p>During this little happening:<p>

"Something tells me the big boss is hiding here." Bartz commentated, observing the massive palace on the city's center. He was of course met with a "no shit" look from everybody in his group but Zidane. "Just saying….Question is… how do we get in? The gate is clo…"

"**DIVINE RUINATION!**" You probably can tell what happened to the gate. There was none anymore. "They already know we're here from the people inside the houses, being subtle stopped being an option long ago." Orlandeu told them, sheathing the Excalibur. "Let us make haste." Urging them to go forward, Bartz remembered to inform the others of their progress and he did:

"This is Bartz… and I'm going in!" He exclaimed from the intercom. "I always wanted to say that."

"I regret this decision immediately." Ramza answered from the other side of the line.

"Don't be a spoil sport Ramzy! How's the search turning out to be?" Bartz asked.

"We found Sora and split for each reactor. Nothing more except the fact that Rydia and Edge are in fact, not where they should. This can be both good or bad." He finished, crossing his arms. "I heard the explosion though, you should expect reinforcements coming…"

"Now…" Bartz cringed, seeing every street leading up to them filled by a sea of soldiers.

"What do we do?" Zidane asked, knowing that should they assault the castle, they would get mauled from behind, but if they stayed and fight, they'd be losing time, the most precious resource.

"You keep on running!" Kain exclaimed, suddenly stopping and doing a one eighty turn. Bartz and Zidane stopping and looking back. "Don't look back! Run! I'll hold them off until help arrives!" He blared, clearly ordering them and not asking them to go.

"But…" Bartz began.

"He planned this from the beginning! Let's go Bartz, you'll do nothing if you stay here!" Squall told the young man, who reluctantly nodded and ran towards Squall, who destroyed the ceiling to block the entrance as they came in.

"Be safe big guy!" He shouted at Kain at the last second.

"Stupid boy. No one is safe, but I'll try." Kain mused, summoning his spear. "Who wants to go first…" He threatened. The plaza that led to the entrance had been surrounded quickly. There was no escape now.

"The greatest of mages accepts your challenge!" He knew that voice and, even knowing that this might happen, he loathed the possibility. But there he was, brash as always, Palom with his girlfriend Leonora. It was disturbing how he was exactly the same, personality and all. Now his sister, that one was not present. Weird, but Kain dismissed it, he had far more problems to care about, the last thing he needed was one more on the troop that slowly approached.

* * *

><p>"Firion! What is the meaning of this?" Sephiroth rarely called anyone by name so Firion did turn immediately. Sephiroth landed on top of the hill from where Firion was overseeing the battle. As to be expected, the battle was going well, too well for Jenova. You could barely distinguish the circle of the remaining army in the middle of the sea of Jenova's "children". They WERE heading deeper and deeper into Valhalla though, something Sephiroth would normally question, but his mind was too drowned on his own thoughts.<p>

"What do you mean?" Firion asked in his normal personality.

"How come you are leading the army? Wasn't I the one to be in command?" Questioned did the winged man, eyes sharpening as the grin in the dreamer's face did the same.

"Yes. You… were." The Liegeman conceded, his tone turning into one reminiscent of the man in front of him. "Disobeying direct orders from mother, questioning her actions, hatred that stretches from your own emotions and our mother's… Sephiroth, you are nothing more than a loose cannon now. How could mother trust you? I'll tell you a secret even… Lightning was to command, you were never even considerate, you inconsiderate bastard." There were many things Firion was, but an idiot was not one of them, he knew to draw his blade as soon as he delivered that line, even then, barely blocking the katana.

"How dare you…?" Sephiroth spat, barely controlling his urge to kill everyone in sight. Jenova would be disgusted at that.

"Time to face the facts. When you were her only son, her only chance, she loved you, but now… your faults just overweigh your pros." Sephiroth's right eye was twitching, he was sweating, his teeth were cracking at the pressure, yet, Firion chose to ignore all of this. "Everything you accomplished you did so because of Mother. You are what she needed you to be, your strength is her doing, your intelligence also. Me. Tidus. Even Terra have merits of our own. You… are just one more bee in the hive. Go join your brothers in the battlefield and let us lead, like you always did." Firion spat. At first, Sephiroth lost all its emotion, the sword losing all of her power and hitting the ground. Not even Sephiroth knew what was going on in his own mind. He became like a statue, endlessly looking onto the horizon.

"Sir!" Tseng called to Firion, who, wrongly, turned his back on Sephiroth. "They must be pressing onto the city. I'd wager they will try to finish this in a blitzkrieg." Tseng informed, already deducing the only viable strategy.

"You are right…"

"Then that settles it, let's gather all the troops and direct them to the gates." Firion told Tseng.

"But that is an easy fix…" As swift as the light itself, Firion felt a gash open on his back, so deep and so painful it was that he fainted immediately, so much blood being lost he would die well before waking up. Sephiroth then waved the sword to clean it off the blood and looked at Tseng with eyes cackling with the deepest, most incomprehensible madness. "I shall be the only one yet again!"

* * *

><p>"You know, I kinda expected this castle to have a better security. Jenova has the war planning of a five-year-old." Bartz joked. It was true, the broken halls of the castle were complete devoid of any life… or were they?<p>

"I feel insulted!" They recognized the voice easily, just not Orlandeu, whose blade now rested on Cuore's neck. "I may or may not have pretended to be a messenger." She simply quipped, the whole situation now making more sense, if not for the fact that she was… "By the way your eyes are moving, I deduce you still think I have been infected. Well, may I remember you that I am, technically, not human? My DNA is perfect, I cannot get ill, hence, I simply let them BELIEVE I was on their side… as painful as that may have been." She visibly winced, not proud of what she had done to gain Jenova's trust.

"Well, gee thanks! You wouldn't know where the head honcho is, would you?" Bartz asked, Cuore smiling.

"Take an educated guess." And she signaled the group to follow her. Yet, Cloud couldn't shake the bad feeling he was having. Like there was something far worse than Jenova just around that corner at the end of the hallway. His leg flared up, the Holly Materia apparently "feeling" the same as it shone for the first time since… Sephiroth corrupted it. And, as always that bad feeling did prove itself to be justified.

"I'm sorry… but I can't let you do that." And it turned the corner."I didn't want to meet you like this… Cloud."

"… Aerith?"

* * *

><p>"Almost there…" Noctis reassured himself, the gates of the city closer and closer. <em>"If we get in the city, we can seal it off and hold on until Jenova is killed, the airships won't attack anything NEAR Jenova." <em>It had been an arduous push, from where over half of their army either turned or died, but they never stopped or looked back in the three hours that had passed. They kept cutting down anything on their way.

"Noctis! They caught on, there's a blockade!" Ignis told him, gasping for air in the middle of all the crowd.

"Then we push through!" Noctis replied, asking himself why he had come back to say this. Turns out, the think red liquid that fell from the sky, right in his hair was why. "Is this blood?" He asked himself, looking up to see a crimson wave explode from the vanguard of his army.

"The blockade isn't just soldiers Noctis." Not that the prince hadn't realized that already. With a snarl he departed to the front of the troops, calling off any of the "normal soldiers" from going as he ran. When he did arrive at the frontlines, he cursed his luck. Guarding the gates were hundreds, if not thousands of soldiers, yet, just ONE person was blocking his from even approaching.

"Would you please surrender? Why not join us? I find no joy in bloodshed." Terra asked the fear stricken normal people in the army, who had stopped going at her long ago. Yet, even with her caring tone and expression, she still cleaved open anyone who didn't agree to join, one by one, such was the contrast of attitude and action. "Mother doesn't want it either!"

"So… what do we do?" Ignis asked. Noctis scouted the situation, trying to reach into the back of his mind for a possible solution, but offers presented themselves before he could decide what to do.

"She's our responsibility." The "treasure hunter" told them as he and Celes marched through the crowd and entered the makeshift arena made by the circling armies.

"Hello Terra." Celes greeted, surprised to see how quickly Terra had adopted an expression far colder than she had ever put on.

"_They will prey on your emotions my daughter. Do not worry, I'll shut them off for you…"_

"I can already tell that it's not worth talking this over…" Celes said with a mournful expression and tone, drawing her Save the Queen.

"It isn't." Terra deadpanned. "Firaja!" This was far more than a mere fireball. What called upon was a sea of flames from hell itself, one that threatened to engulf not only the woman in front of her, but anyone in her general direction.

"Even above the third level? No matter… Runic!" Celes chanted as she poised her blade, absorbing the raging inferno into it. This however, as always, left her defenseless for a few moments and the only thing that saved her from losing her head was Locke stepping in to block Terra's energy-made scythe.

"I don't remember you being… this strong!" Locke exclaimed, quickly being swept away, along with Celes.

"It's like… she isn't even looking at us." Celes said, getting back to her feet.

"And what have they done to her…?" Locke spat how badly they had changed her body and mind, the now winged Terra slowly making her way towards them. Yet, there was one tiny little in the darkness. Even though her face and movements were still completely mechanic and emotionless, there were rare, small tears running down her right cheek. "She's still there somewhere…"

"_Kill them."_ Jenova ordered Terra, obviously surprised how she could still be expressing some sort of emotion with her "controlling" her.

"_What?!"_Terra didn't want to believe her mind.

"_Kill them now!"_Jenova roared the definitive order, channeling her will into the girl. The young woman had no chance but to comply, no matter how much, deep inside, her heart ached.

"Terra, do you really want to do this? Do you want to fight us?" Celes questioned, trying to make it seem like it wouldn't be a one-sided slaughter at this point. They stopped being at her level a long time ago.

"Fight you…? No." Terra answered, truthfully on both sides. Neither did she, nor did Jenova. The small hope this brewed in their hearts was quickly extinguished when Terra continued in monotone. "I want to kill you." Before Celes knew, Terra was directly in front of her, brandishing the Apocalypse into her throat and, in yet another split second twist, her sword collided with a massive blaze of light, the anguished cries of Jenova's "children" filling the skies. Terra soon realized she was being overpowered, her body being pushed back without even slowing the light as it annihilated anything Jenova related. "Teleport!" She chanted, teleporting to the other side of the light, which was no more than half a meter wide, leaving it to complete its purpose and wipe out the gate to the city AND any and all direct guardians to it.

Entranced by the display, nobody moved as the one responsible for this, pillar of light now heaved over his shoulder in the shape of a two hander, approached.

"The answer is?" Shin asked, as coldly as Terra had been.

"Daughter." Terra deadpanned, emotions unreadable. After a long, tired, sad and pronounced sigh, Shin closed his eyes and opened them.

"I hoped it didn't come to this. Terra Branford, I challenge you! Do you accept?!" Terra blinked at his choice of words. Challenging someone in a war? What sense did that make?

"_What are you waiting for? Kill him. Kill their morale. He's the main threat which is__ not mere moments away from erupting into my room__… the foolish lambs."_ Jenova enticed.

"Yes." Terra replied with no emotion. On that precise moment, her right wrist flickered with golden light in the form of a chain that would cover her entire right arm, which then extended through the air into her front. Confused, she looked at the man and saw his right arm the same way, both the chains connecting to a rock on his right hand.

"Got you."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"We'll meet again... in Hell."_

_"Little Mime, who are you to believe you can lay a hand on me."_

_"You knew… you knew you couldn't do it!"_

* * *

><p><strong>Warning! Warning! A new challenger is approaching!<strong>

You all KNEW this one was coming.

Zack:

Bio: What can be said about him you don't know already? A little country boy who dreamt of becoming a hero. This childish dream would not die with age as he enlisted in SOLDIER in order to become 1st Class. At first in it for adoration, Zack eventually met his goal but matured both before and after becoming a 1st as he got caught in a series of events that ended in his untimely death. His sacrifice though, spurred the crusade that saved the planet. Now revered as a hero of SOLDIER, he jumped off the abyss of death, ready to, as he would say, "kick some more ass".

* * *

><p>Fighting Style: Heat of the Moment.<p>

Zack's DMW is permanently spinning on the top of the screen. Contrary to Crisis Core, the DMW will stop every ten seconds, granting effects based on the character that appears. It will always stop in a possible combination. However though, Zack has some of the lowest overall stats and damage if not affected by an effect that increases them so you must pay close attention to your DMW.

* * *

><p>Alternate Costumes:<p>

Alt 1: SOLDIER 2nd Class: Zack's outfit at the start of CC. Also changes his sword into the standard claymore.

Alt 2: Beach Hero: Zack's vacation outfit, including the deadly, overpowered, parasol weapon!

DLC Alt: Champion of the Coliseum: Zack's Kingdom Hearts appearance, not much to say here.

* * *

><p>Intro Animations:<p>

Short: Zack comes onto the screen, smiles and unsheathes his blade, adapting battle position.

Long: Zack comes onto the screen, unsheathes his blade, spinning it while grinning and adopts battle position.

* * *

><p>Brave Attacks:<p>

* * *

><p>Ground:<p>

Quick Combo: A quick one-two-three slash like he so many times used in CC. Quick execution, can combo without hitting, initiates chase.

Fire Spin: Zack spins around, creating a vortex of flame which sucks the enemies in, dealing damage before throwing them away.

Slot Blade: Zack does a quick jump into the air, crashing on the opponent. If the attack hits, it can be followed up two more times. If all of it is executed, Zack gains an additional bonus from his DMW. Causes Downward Wall Rush, breaks guard but doesn't go through it.

Shockwave: Zack slides his sword along the ground, creating a strictly grounded homing white shockwave to follow his opponent. Quick start, very good tracking, HORRENDOUS vertical range. Links to "Hero's Coming".

* * *

><p>Air:<p>

Quick Slash: Much like Cloud, Zack swipes twice in front of him, but unique to him, Zack punches the opponent away and can initiate chase. Quick start, causes chase.

Going Down!: Zack quickly lunges forward, slashing the opponent downwards. Causes Downward Wall Rush. Links to "Hero's Coming".

* * *

><p>Both Ground and Air:<p>

Thunder: Zack shoots lightning in a line in front of him. Fast, stuns the target for a combo if close enough.

Thundara: Zack charges for a moment before firing a stream of unblockable lightning in front of him. Slow startup, goes through guard to do damage, initiates chase.

Thundaga: Zack charges for a good amount of time before unleashing various lightning bolts in a cone in front of him, going through any defense and causing Horizontal Wall Rush. Gigantic lag both at the start and at the end.

* * *

><p>HP Attacks:<p>

Ground:

Chain Slash: Zack relentlessly slashes in front of him, moving closer to the opponent with each slice if he didn't hit him. Quick start and good speed but giant investment if you miss.

Air Strike: Zack calls on his cellphone for a massive air raid. The bombs will be telegraphed and will keep falling while square is pressed, but keep in mind Zack is highly vulnerable during it.

Octaslash: Zack readies his sword before lunging at the opponent with a sweeping strike. If it hits, Zack will then perform his eight hit combo on the opponent dealing brave damage before finishing with HP damage. Mid-high startup, good tracking and range, horizontal Wall Rush.

* * *

><p>Air:<p>

Meteor Shots: Zack spins his blade in midair then swings it, letting loose a rain of meteors upon the opponent in a diagonal faction.

Apocalypse: Zack slowly creates a glyph of energy on the ground, detonating it shortly after for both brave damage and HP damage. Slow start up, huge range.

* * *

><p>Both Ground and Air:<p>

Rush Assault: Zack swiftly dashes forward with his hands in a try to punch the opponent. If it does hit, Zack proceeds to do a massive physical combo on him, finishing with an energy rush though him. Very fast start up but horrible tracking and mediocre range.

* * *

><p>HP Chains:<p>

Hero's Coming: Chains from both Shockwave and Going down! They have slightly different animations but remain mostly the same. Zack jumps above the opponent, or in the case of going down, is already upon him, then shoots downward, crashing into him and leading him to the ground, causing brave damage before hitting the ground, exploding for HP damage and Downward Wall Rush.

* * *

><p>DMW Bonuses:<p>

Aerith: "Healing Wave": HP and Bravery slowly regen.

Cissnei: "Lucky Stars": All attacks crit.

Sephiroth: "Perfect Aim": All of Zack's attack have massively increased tracking.

Tseng: "Help from Above": Zack is covered with machine gun fire which staggers and causes brave damage if he's near you.

Angeal: "Heavy Memories": Zack's blows are all unblockable.

Cloud: "Showing how it's done": Zack's attacks now hit for substantially more when they wall rush an opponent.

Genesis: "First to Attack": All of Zack's starting and ending lag is greatly diminished.

Aqua: "Hero I'll be!": All of Zack's attack now create shockwaves that effectively increase their range.

* * *

><p>Ex-Mode: Heavenly Digital Mind Wave<p>

Nothing much changes about Zack during this mode, except for streams of Mako and white feathers levitating around him.

D-D-Double Time!: Zack's DMW spins twice as fast while the effects still last for ten seconds each, giving him two effects at the same time. He can't have two of the same effects coincide.

Costly Punch: Press L+Square to have Zack instantly punch opponent in front of him, spending Ex-meter. This attack causes a bigger amount of brave damage before causing HP damage the more Ex-meter Zack has but also spends more depending on how much he has. If used at Max power, Zack will instead yell "Falcon Punch!", the fist being covered in flame.

Ex-Burst: Hero's Pride:

Zack gather's energy on his sword and causes an eruption of energy upwards. He then proceeds to rain down slashes on the opponent whole a giant DMW spins beneath him. Press X to stop at the first portrait. You must then time the DMW to stop at the exact same person you did on the first go. If you fail, Zack will kick the opponent, ending the Ex-Burst prematurely. If you do input it correctly, multiplies in five, all five thrusting the person from each direction before they all converge on top of the opponent, where he uses a powered up Hero's Coming, creating a massive blast. Zack delivers a smile at the camera after the end, breaking the fourth wall with a "Good one bro!" if you are successful.

* * *

><p>VS Quotes:<p>

VS Warrior of Light: Angeal Super Hyper Turbo Remix Championship Edition.

VS Garland: Oh I'll give you a fight tin man!

VS Firion: My dream is sooo better than yours!

VS Mateus: Men like you are why heroes are needed!

VS Onion Knight: Gee, you're even younger than I was!

VS Cloud of Darkness: Not gonna lie. Whatever you are, you're hot.

VS Cecil: I've heard of two-face, but this is getting ridiculous.

VS Rydia: Pity you were taken.

VS Kain: You can't always get the girl.

VS Golbez: You remind me of my teacher.

VS Bartz: Can ya mimic THESE moves?

VS Gilgamesh: I'll bet ya the Buster Sword!

VS Exdeath: VOID is the… hum… they used all my puns!

VS Terra: How can you say no to this sexy beast?

VS Kefka: I honestly can't understand you.

VS Cloud: Will the student surpass the master?

VS Tifa: No… fair… can't… take my eyes… of them…

VS Tifa (Alt 2): You wouldn't want to put one on too, would you?

VS Sephiroth: I still have you on my hit list to be the best!

VS Sephiroth (Alt 1): A Second beast THE first… gonna be one hell of a show!

VS Squall: Overconfidence is your weakness… You know how to answer!

VS Laguna: Now this is a dad I'd get along with!

VS Ultimecia: The time for puns is over.

VS Zidane: Your smoothness rivals mine!

VS Kuja: Genesis with a tail?

VS Tidus: You got the girl on-screen? Daaaamn!

VS Yuna: My Bahamut blows yours out of the water!

VS Jecht: Now this is some manly fighting!

VS Shantotto: Don't you ever run out of rhymes?

VS Prishe: Spunky! I like that!

VS Vaan: When you get to be one, give me a ride!

VS Gabranth: Judging isn't as simple as you think.

VS Lightning: Elfé, is that you?

VS Chaos: The hero beats the devil!

VS Feral Chaos: One final showdown… let's make it memorable!

VS Aqua: I win, I get to decide our next date!

VS Aqua (DLC Alt): Well, I became a hero, pay up!

VS Aqua (Both with beach alts): We're sexy and we know it!

VS Shin: Pupil number two, step right up!

VS Lezard: You take relationships waaaaaaaaaaay to seriously dude!

Shin VS Zack: I'll pay you back for that monstrous training schedule!

Aqua VS Zack: If I win, you leave me alone for more than five seconds, okay?!

Aqua VS Zack (Both with beach alts): I can't believe you got me into this…

Rydia VS Zack: You're still less annoying than Edge.

* * *

><p>Victory Quotes:<p>

The odds! They mean nothing! (When defeating someone of higher level.)

Come back whenever you want! (When defeating someone of lower level.)

Sheesh, talk about home stretch! (When defeating someone with low HP.)

A hero can't lose.

I do this for the ones who can't.

That's the Power of SOLDIER!

* * *

><p>Defeat Quotes:<p>

The odds are there for some reason I see… (When losing to someone of higher level.)

Well, so that's how Genesis felt… (When losing to someone of lower level.)

Well that was just luck! (When losing to someone with low HP.)

This isn't gonna stop me!

I'll be back!

Good match! Let's do it again sometime!

* * *

><p>Victory Pose:<p>

Zack spins his sword in midair before carving it on the ground in front of him, laying his hand on the handle and putting thumbs up, enacting the victory quote.

Defeat Pose:

Zack falls on his back, adoption the same position than when he died, and he closes his eye, enacting the defeat quote afterwards.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****I doubt I this was enough to quench your thirst for chapters, hell, people even reviewed to get my ass moving so well, I hope I did you guys justice with this, non-actiony, mostly psychological chapter. Yes, even darker I know, but it had to be done. Also, I'm a sadistic prick, you know that. And, to remedy the situation of the lack of updates, which I'll do my best NOT to happen, remember that good Ol' Herald does have two and a half more fics going. *Wink* *Wink*.

As always, reviews make this go faster AND any critiques or favorite parts are appreciated. The big box is there for something and that is the box you're looking for *Jedi Mindtrick*.


	62. Wilderness of Sadness: Shinryu VS Terra

****Author's Note:****I can honestly say I like how this chapter turned out… however it does turn out. It's straight to the point at least. You won't be getting the Dissidia section this chapter though, you'll get two next one to compensate.

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><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Sixty-Two**

****Wilderness of Sadness: Shinryu VS Terra****

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><p>"<em>What has he done?! Terra, question him!"<em>Jenova ordered, knowing Terra would no longer do anything unless asked to do so. Not that she did not enjoy it, much the opposite really.

"What have you done?" Terra spat in the same words as her mother. It hurt everyone watching how she was degenerating at a visible speed, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as the one that had let her be this way.

"_Not going to go there now."_Shin told himself, denying any more restricting thoughts. Pressing the stone in his hand before showing yet again, he explained: "The Lia Fáil. Ring a bell?" It did indeed stir some memories onto Terra's mind, of course, heavily cut and spliced by Jenova.

"We do." She answered simply. The simple pronoun change in her speech didn't go unnoticed.

"_We… So it has gone that far already…"_ Shinryu reflected from the inside.

"_It doesn't change anything. What we are here to do… has to be done."_ Shin then spoke: "But you do not know what it does, do you?" Terra began to feel frustration wind up inside of her. Of course, it was not hers, but it was just like it was.

"Mother is growing impatient! Out with it!" She spat eyes filled with true malice. Not even the brutality of a chained esper, no, they were as dark as the deepest abyss, a true testament of evil.

"As you know, this stone was used to settle disputes over the throne in times immemorial. You also were told that the looser was to be locked away and serve as an obstacle to anyone who would try and defy the king." Shin took another look at the stone, Terra's blackened eyes made his stomach convulse. Still, he couldn't show any weakness, quickly returning her eye-contact. "You knew that… but you didn't know how it works. And you played right into it." You could tell, even if you were oblivious to her thoughts as we are, that Terra was about to send logic to the hell Valhalla had become and charge, but Jenova wanted to know in what she had gone and put her favorite puppet in. "Once the proprietor of the stone challenges someone, if that person accepts, he or she will be marked with these golden chains." He showed his arm, Terra looking at hers. "Now, the marked are no longer in the plane of the living. Yes, they can see us and yes, the terrain isn't something we can ignore, but no living being can touch us. The winner will return to our plane while the looser… shall be incarcerated on the stone for eternity."

Jenova groaned inwardly at the piece of information. She would've never guessed they had kept such an ace on their sleeves. She did not want to risk losing a servant such as Terra and, as such, she believed it was time to do what she did best. Manipulating emotions.

"H-how could you? Don't I mean anything to you?!" Terra wailed in a perfect replica of despair. Like marionette, she would do, feel, say anything her mother wanted. Jenova had refrained from complete and utter control as a puppet would cause rifts even between her and her "children". It was inherently wrong on the instincts of humans and, as such, she had tried her best to not cause herself unneeded strife. But this travesty had gone on long enough. If she needed to break one person to save her reign, then she would. And she did. Unfortunately, not the despairing voice nor the tears from her puppet seemed trick the young man in front of her. If anything, they had made him even more livid.

"Jenova… when I'm done saving Terra from this pitiful excuse for a life you have concocted from her… you can run. You can hide. You can beg. But I am going to make you go through hell one thousand times more harsh, more cruel than what my cycles were." Shin began, his voice laced with the most foul venom. His entire body was tensing, both of his hands threatening to crush the relics being held by them. Fury isn't something that could describe what he was feeling. Not one of his friends and companions could recognize him, this manner of speech just wasn't him. "You will beg for me to kill you, but I won't give you that satisfaction… you didn't give Terra that. No, you will be sentenced to a fate far worse. Until reckoning comes you will fight for my amusement and I will enjoy every second you waste either it'd be fighting or when you finally accept how useless your efforts are, repeatedly dying for my amusement. And believe me, I won't feel a single ounce of regret if I am made to kill the one person that has kept me alive up until now." By this time, his hair had already flared as crimson as his sights were, energy tainting the clothes in silver while his eyes burst golden. His speech had seemingly fused with Shinryu's, as there were not two voices, just that bordered both. "Let's not stand on ceremony! I have a duty to fulfill!" And with that, he lunged, faster than Terra had expected, she had barely seen, much less faced Shin's assimilated form. With that She could not react in time as the blade of light burned her torso, throwing her a good kilometer away, passing right through any spectator like she was but a ghost.

"W-what was that?!" Celes' asked, her mouth gapping open. Even the children of Jenova were visibly flabbergasted, they who would normally show no emotion. "That's far more than what he possessed not even a week ago…" Having been one of the ones which could sense magic the best, she knew this was nowhere near what he was showing when he stopped Zodiark. Hell, Terra was supposedly stronger than him… just what had he done?

"_Are you certain that you__ can take this…?__Even with us together… y__ou have limits.__" _Shinryu questioned from inside Shin's mind.

"_We can't play it safe anymore." _Shin simply replied, opening his wings and flying in the direction he had catapulted the young woman.

"_Girl, explain to me how can he be so powerful. You have told me nothing of this."_Jenova spat angrily.

"_He shouldn't be so strong…"_ Terra admitted. _"But, he feels different from a few hours ago… His aura is not his alone. It also doesn't feel like Shinryu's…"_ Terra replied, closing her eyes to try to FEEL the magic surrounding him. It was like watching a maelstrom, not for its power, but how there was a mixture of magical energy inside of the person which was near arrival. Then, her eyes jolted open. She turned back her head and looked into the temporal Rift's direction. _"One of the energies came from the outside of Valhalla… it can't be!"_ Her thoughts were interrupted when a bestial cry echoed through the skies. She summoned her scythe, but it was barely a match for the blade that came crashing into her moments later. "You… you're using the Cauldron aren't you?" She asked, barely holding up to the combined power of the three.

"Yes. Thunder Trident!" Shin replied, charging his blade with lightning. Terra forced a translocation with her magic, barely avoiding the three lines of destruction that erupted from where she once was. "The Cauldron of Dragda."

"How can your body take this? You can't just artificially skyrocket your potential like this and leave unharmed." Shin frowned at the sudden show of care. If anything, Jenova would want him to do just that. But, he kept quiet, even if he knew the truth. "You can't be…" Terra gasped, covering her gaping lips with her right palm.

"_What is it child__?"_ Jenova told her, worried for the fraction of a second Terra had swiped her emotions out of her control. Even more so, she had heard nothing of what had transpired. Still, she didn't believe a couple of words could make much difference hence she only urged Terra to fight back.

"Nothing mother…" She replied, preparing for battle.

"_Take the preemptive strike. Leaving ourselves open did not bode well for us." _Terra nodded at the order, her hand blazing red before scraping the floor to create the small geyser of flames that her Fire spell had become, moving at an incredible speed towards the young man, so fast it was, it seemed to have let no room for reaction as it exploded, lighting up the night's sky. _"Very good my child…__ What is it?" _At first, Jenova believed praise was in order, but following Terra's gaze she saw an unharmed Shinryu several feet behind their backs. _"How could he?"_ She questioned, a line of red appearing from bellow. _"Child!" _She cried, too late.

"Blazing Dragon." He whispered, the fissured erupting into a sea of flames, flooding the area and taking Terra into it, hoping to drown her in flame. Shin then coughed violently, starting to wonder just how long his body could contain power far above himself. Still, he knew he wouldn't be able to stand up to Terra without as many boosts to his strength as he could get.

"Darkness of gravity!" He heard the girl cast, jumping back out of instinct, forgetting just how powerful the gravitational field of the Graviga spell. Of course, this meant that, since he was now airborne and with no solid grip on the hand, he was now being pulled with an amazing force towards the surprisingly big gravity sphere. Thinking fast, he extended the light on the Claíomh and swung it at Terra, however, as she had already brought her hands down, she managed to not only dodge the swing, but Shin still felt his body brutally being pulled apart as he approached the gravitational force. On a last attempt to escape, Shin sheathed the blade and cupped his hands together, sweat no longer dripping down his face as it was absorbed by the sphere.

"Aura Canon!" He shouted out loudly, combining the backdraft from the technique with his own wings to gain distance from the sphere, it started to work yet Terra gestured the ball to fall diagonally which would be enough to crush him. "Damnit… TRUE Aura Canon!" He shouted as he redirected the beam to the ground, now several times more powerful, shooting himself upwards, the globe barely missing his right arm. However though, as soon as he escaped, he found himself with his sword still sheeted and his opponent above him, swiping at his neck with her scythe. Perceiving just how unlikely it was to dodge the blow, he instead took the scythe right on his right shoulder without any try of dodging.

"What…?" Terra gasped, seeing Shin's left hand suddenly reach out for her head, hooking it with a powerful grip. Terra's entire head began to sweat drastically as the hand heated up.

"Heat…" He hesitated as he locked eyes with her, but, biting his tongue and with a growl to urge himself to do it, Shin still put all of his power on his hand, chanting: "END!" The explosion of flames that followed catapulted him backwards, but not so strongly that he could not land safely on the ground below.

By this point, Jenova severely doubted they could even last enough for Shin's body to shut down due to power overload. As such, she tried a different approach. Loosening her grip on Terra's emotions just for a mere second, she instead softly whispered in her mind:

"That man wants you dead my child. You have done nothing but offer him chances to join us. Do you not hate him? Do you not despise how he shunned you?" Now, she knew these questions would do nothing to the Terra we all know and love, but after having her psyche ravaged and broken this far, there was an emotion welling up inside her. Something that she never TRULLY felt before. She knew not what it was, but had a very good guess at what it was.

"_Is this how it feels to… hate someone?"_She questioned herself, even if she had no idea WHY she hated him. Her very being just obeyed every command from her mother. "I…" She began to answer.

"_You don't Sunshine. SHE does!"_ A voice from long ago cried in her mind, seemingly going unnoticed.

"_Who… are you?"_ Terra asked the voice inside her. This question spurred the attention of Jenova the moment it was asked, she knew what was happening.

"_Don't dare listen to her my child!"_ Jenova roared, completely shutting off Terra's mind with all of her control over it.

"_Don't give up so easily… __my little Terra…"_ Tina whispered before being locked out. There was doubt on Terra's mind now. She had done her job.

"_Who was she…? She felt so… familiar."_ Terra wondered, for once doubting her mother. That other presence was so much warmer than Jenova's cold, authoritarian presence. And was the person who was walking in her direction right now trying to hurt her or help her?

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><p><strong>Inside Jenova's Castle:<strong>

"Everyone… go!" Tifa ordered everyone as she heard the voice, taking the preemptive strike and tackling the Ancient before she could block their way, breaking the door into the nearby destroyed ballroom. As soon as the both of them stopped rolling, she turned and fired a Blizzara round against the top of the entryway, destroying the foundations of the marble construction, causing a rockslide that began to cover it. Cloud immediately tried to follow them, a firm hand grasping his right shoulder. In a blaze of fury Cloud whipped his arm in a circle, his emerald eyes finding his way into Orlandeu's hazel ones.

"She knew Cloud. You would not be capable of fighting this battle. Trust her and finish this." The formerly elderly man told Cloud. How he wanted it to not be true. Yet, deep inside, he knew he would not be able to hurt Aerith of all people. Instead of becoming depressed though, he put all those emotions to good use, this time becoming livid.

"Let's kill her…" He whispered in a dangerously low tone.

"I'll lead the way!" Bartz exclaimed, almost forgetting how they had to follow Cuore to the throne room.

"Tifa… I suppose it's better this way." Aerith whispered, the light of the moon entering through one of the cracks to show Tifa how she too had been contaminated.

"Yes. Well, this will sound very selfish, but I'm going to finally accomplish one of my fantasies today." Tifa replied with a sardonic laughter, pulling her right glove in place. "I've been wanting to beat you up for what you did to Cloud for as long as I remember it… as wrong as that sounds."

"Good… then stop me!" Aerith told the raven haired-woman, brandishing her staff.

"My pleasure!" Tifa yelled, charging.

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><p><strong>Back at the castle gates:<strong>

"Just how many righteous souls has that witch corrupted?!" Kain scuffed, twirling in midair as he reaped the lives of two more faceless soldiers, finding a wall to land on. He surveyed the surroundings, trying to find any targets of relevance, more specifically the mages of Myssidia. No such luck… until it was too late. Before he could find Palom or Leonora, the marble exploded at the flick of a finger by the prodigal mage, not even Kain could react so quickly to the changing terrain, the dragoon finding himself helpless in his own element, the air.

"And so, the genius proves his valor once again! Let's go Leo!" The brat of a mage yelled, the blonde woman nodding as they joined their powers together once more.

"Particle Beam!" They chanted, combining fire and ice into a single blast of concentrated energy aimed at the dragoon, who sighed.

"So this how it ends?" He questioned fate. Such a weak way to go…

"Not if I can help it!" Kain perked up at that voice. She… shouldn't be on his side. "Reflect!" You know how this song and dance goes. The beam was shot back by the barrier that was created around Kain, dispersing the duo which had fired it. Kain then let himself fall on the roof from which the voice had come. Sure enough, it was her. "First that babysitting every time you crashed down the mountain and now this. At times I wonder who is the elder here."

"Sis? What are you doing?!" Palom shouted, seeing as Porom was now standing besides Kain.

"I followed you to see if there was a cure. I cut myself to make it seem I was." Porom explained with a twinge of guilt on her voice. Just a smidge though, not like Palom hadn't done the same to her time and time again… and this was for a good cause.

"I take there is none." Kain asked, to which Porom nodded.

"Our best shot is to defeat Jenova… but that is not why we are here for, is it?" She asked Kain, who for curled his lips into a small smile.

"You catch on fast kid. Now, shall we gain them time?" Kain teased, poising his lance at the entirety of the small army in front of him

"Only if you stop calling me a kid. I'm a woman now." Porom hissed, clearly irritated by Kain's naming of her.

"Very well… child." Kain joked, basically looping around Porom's statement with such grace she could not help but growl in defeat.

"That's it! No Protect for you!" Porom teased, still weaving the spells a White Mage should.

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><p><strong>Now we go to reactor three:<strong>

"Lezard, why am I to guard such an insignificant brat?" Vayne questioned the man as he held the sleeping figure of Kairi.

"Orders from above. I'll return once I deal with Jenova… _and once they deal with you…_" The last bit was unintelligible for anyone but Lezard, who chuckled and left. "Poor would-be god… one does not simply leave shark-filled waters while tainted in pure blood." Just as he vanished, the door to where Vayne was cut down, half of the forward team, the one with Vaan and Sora leading, jumped in. Now, Solidor wasn't in the best position to deal with this. He had caused the death of the most important people to three of the ones in there, killed one of them to be exact and was now holding the unconscious body of a loved one from the other on his arms.

"_That rotten warlock set me up!" _Concluded the despot, wondering just how far Lezard had seen into his treachery. Then… he felt a small hand caressing his check. Looking down, he saw how the girl was moving without opening her eyes, as if pulled by strings, whispering:

"No one plots against Lezard…" Before falling inanimate once again, the spell having ended.

"Vayne! Let her go and we'll make this quick!" He heard Vaan shout. Vayne chuckled at the irony. To think that he, of all people, would've been so easily deceived and betrayed… To think that he, of all people, would've been so easily deceived and betrayed… He truly wondered if any part of his plan to bolster his forces by joining with Jenova ever went unnoticed by the man. He truly hoped at least one part of it had not.

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><p><strong>Inside Jenova's Castle, the dungeons to be precise:<strong>

Illua desperately flipped through the pages of the Grimmoire, sweat pouring down her desperate expression. She had witnessed what Lezard had done mere moments before… she was not one to risk it all and stay. She finally found a portal that would seem to take her to safety… it was one to Hell. Smiling at how lucky she had gotten, she instantly conjured the spell that would take her to where no living being could go. She trembled in anticipation as the swirling darkness shaped itself into a translucent portal. Thinking herself to be safer, she closed the book and ran into it… colliding with an object that felt very much like a person. Now with fear settling in, she opened the eyes she closed on reflex to see herself… reflected onto Lezard's lenses.

"I do have to admit… the plan you conceived was simple, but highly effective." Lezard commended as Illua fell on her back, desperately crawling backwards, eyes filled with terror. Her calm façade completely shattered as one of the two men she could absolutely not face. "For a child that is. Using your Grimmoire to gain Jenova's favor and amass an army that was taken by areas Valhalla had no dominion over… it would be a good plan in theory, even more so if you combined Lightning's Etroian powers to create a passage that could lead the dead back to your clutches. All of this creating an unstoppable, unending army." He chuckled. "Yet, it was so predictable. Any drama would have the betrayer be the one who was given power by the leaders. Yet, you still tried your luck. Why?" He asked? Illua was trembling while Lezard picked her up by the collar. "It's because… power is all you are, right?" He questioned, her eyes opening in shock. "When you fall short, you realize who you are, an insecure woman who stepped on others to cover her own flaws." He then threw her against the wall, knocking the air out of her lungs. "What if I told you… this was planned from the beginning? You were given the book for MY purposes."

"What? How could you predict so ahead?" The Nightshade's legs trembled like branches. Even the calm, collected and merciless assassin knew what kind of monster was hidden behind that composure, and it scared her to no end.

"You and Vayne are what you are. Power-hungering beasts. Give you the slightest chance at it, you will do so. Same as Jenova. Give her the possibility of her own world and she'll follow it like a horse follows a carrot." He explained, threading ever closer to the woman. "The Occuria too… This may seem a coincidence, but there is nothing in this so-called struggle that I have not planned." Illua poised her katana in the man's direction, but her body would not move, he hadn't even uttered a spell, yet, she was paralyzed. Slowly, he took his lips to her ear. "Let me tell you a small secret… the black king is far from being that senile old man… I am the only one apt for that role. And as you know… the king moves…" Illua felt blood reach her mouth, a cold sensation filling her stomach. "One square at a time." He finished, pulling out the Gungnir out of the woman, swiping the blood out of it as the woman bled to death. "We'll meet again… in Hell." He finished, burning the Grimmoire and throwing the remains against Illua's broken body. He had hit her spinal cord, she could not even move. With a maddening cackle, he disappeared, leaving his former ally to die a slow death.

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><p>On the outside, the battle had resumed, Noctis knew that they had to take advantage of the shock Shin had caused to their advantage. And they did. With a massive hole in the city walls, courtesy of the Claíomh, it was easy to charge to the inside. As such, much to his content, they were now inside the city, making it so only a manageable number of soldiers came through the gate, this way, they would only lose to the fatigue, not because they got swarmed by billions of people. Afraid to use weapons of mass destruction on the city, only footsoldiers and grounded machines attacked them, things Noctis' army easily dispatched, their morals heightened now that they'd reached their objective. They were by no means, safe, but the time they could buy here before dying was much greater. They just had to trust on the advanced parties, something it was easy to do after spending a week fighting alongside Orlandeu. It was all going according to plan, better even, the switching of the front battalion every few minutes was resulting in little to no casualties, it didn't take away the fatigue aspect of the battle, but it did shift the balance if ever so slightly to their side. Yet, something out of anyone's control came to be. Suddenly, the entirety of BOTH frontlines exploded in a torrent of blood. Noctis gasped while Stella took her hand to her mouth, gore splattering all over the ground.<p>

"What happened?!" Noctis shouted, trying to get information.

"Heretics…" He heard, a rain of white feathers befalling the area. "Thieves…" Sephiroth now stood, his eyes shifting between both armies. "My entrails despise you both… those who would take Mother away from me…" He monologued, his own soldiers confused at why he was addressing them. "Every single one of you…" he continued, drawing the Masamune. "**I'll kill… every last pig that tries to soil my Mother!**"

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><p>"Thor's Hammer!" Terra couldn't help but think… just why she was fighting. Why was she dodging the mallet of the gods which came down on her, the fissure it created engulfing some of the Jenovian troops that watched them, the two ghosts that battled on their midst, affecting only the terrain. Jenova now realized just how disastrous this battle could be. If they continued to fight above her army, the destruction they would wroth would weaken it even more. Like losing Terra was not a big enough risk. Yet, she was stumped. Terra barely dodged the three streaks of lightning when Jenova realized what the only chance she had was…<p>

"Yet, that is a gamble… She was not seen as fit and much less fit she is now that one slip of my control and her other self-returns…" While Jenova discussed with herself what she should do, Terra dodged yet another forward slash from Shin, landing on the side of a hill, swigging her arm to create a tempest of holy orbs. Unlike last time, Shin dodged every single one, dashing towards her, even running vertically upwards. Terra parried with her scythe, calling down four lightning bolts with her free hand, the bolts all finding their mark. Shin groaned, not being able to defend as Terra hit his throat with the back of her scythe. She then took the energy and molded it into something… bigger.

"Riot… TOMAHAWK!" True to its name, Terra had created a five meter long tomahawk out of pure energy and wasted no time driving it in Shin's direction.

"What the…" Shin gasped, only now realizing just how far her control over of her power was now. Still, he managed to roll out of the way as the ground he was in crumbled beneath the mighty weapon and responded by extending his own sword and swigging it at Terra.

"Scythe!" She yelled, shrinking the weapon so that she could have more maneuverability, blocking the blow and sending the sword backwards. Not stopping there, she threw a massive icicle that seemed more akin to a glacier on top of the young man, forcing him to use his weapon on the defensive and cut it open. From within came Terra, not expecting this, he didn't raise his arm quickly enough to avoid a kick to the side of the head, followed by sweeping slash from the scythe aimed at his torso. Fortunately for Shin, Shinryu's presence took over him for a fraction of a second, using his body to jump back and avoid the slash.

"_Stay focused, we have to finish this quickly!"_ Shinryu urged, Shin acknowledging how his muscles were already aching beyond belief as proof they would not last much longer nodded and diverted the fireball Terra shot at him with his sword. He then ran to her as she did to him, clashing swords and exchanging fierce blows with each other, much like dancing, they swung and blocked. Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right. Sparks flew as energy collided, unwilling to forfeit to the other blade. Eventually, Shin started winning, pushing Terra back against the hill. As she became stuck between a sword and a hard place, Shin started wailing at her, the blows so strong that even blocking the rock behind her cracked and broke, to the point where she was slowly being pushed INTO the hill. Knowing he had to capitalize on this, Shin swung his sword above his head in a sweeping arc, catching the scythe as Terra tried to block, knocking out of her hands.

"Protect!" Terra yelled shielding herself from the coming onslaught.

"Dragon Swarm!" Shin shouted, hitting with the sword on the ground and having it bounce all the way to his left hand, repeating the maneuver four times, breaking the shield. Now, his insides coiled. She was… defenseless, a mess, looking at him with those confused eyes, as if she had not… COULD NOT decide if she wanted to do what she was going trying to do or not. This hurt him even more than when she was completely controlled. He didn't see Jenova, he saw Terra… but that couldn't stop him, Jenova would play with any of her friends hearts to get to her goal… Terra would never have wanted that. He was determined to make it so it never again she would be a puppet… no matter the cost. "Divine Dragon's…" Burning in flames he cut her twice, the shrill cries of pain and how the soft flesh burned against the blazing blade hurting him as much as it the physical pain hurt the young woman. Still, he pressed one, throwing her upwards with a crescent swipe, making her break through at least ten meters of rock before shooting to the sky, the dragonborn followed her and once again he swept, the cry of pain being even weaker this time. And that made it all the more painful… Even more so when he saw her eyes suddenly glassing as he prepared his final blow. "Flames!" With a final blazing thrust, both of them crashed into the elevation on the ground, the impact and the explosion that followed it so great that Terra was blasted away, flying like a ragdoll. Shin couldn't see her anymore but he knew what he had done…

"She survived this…" Shinryu told him, he refused to believe so.

"She couldn't… no one could… I…" To his relief or despair, he knew not what, towering above him was now a ten meters tall tomahawk, the handle being grabbed by a beaten, bruised and cut Terra.

"She was right… you do hate me! If you didn't why would you… WHY WOULD YOU CAUSE ME THIS PAIN?!" She hollered, her voice breaking on the last two words as she grabbed onto her chest. She wasn't referring to the wounds. "Why do you make my heart ache?! Why is it that every time I hit you, it's like I did it to myself?! Why is my heart trying to crush itself?! Is this what you feel when you hate someone? Is this hate?! Ju-just what is this?" She cried, sorrow fueling the descent of the gigantic bladed axe.

"_This is painful to even look at…"_ Shinryu said, feeling nothing but regret.

"_I know… I'll end it now."_ Shin assured, raising his blade not to block but to violently stab the ground. A circle of light enveloped him. "Guardian Field!" He cried as the tomahawk touched his hair. The energy Terra had formed into a weapon dissipated before the light the glyph emitted, but Shin was not done there. With a roar he slammed his right fist on the ground: "Tsunami!" With that, Terra could only gasp as her feeble body was thrust into the black sky, bones breaking at the pressure of the water. "And now…" Shin positioned his sword vertically in front of himself, a glyph of light much larger than the Guardian Field surrounding him and Terra. "I'm so sorry…" From it, light exploded in several tiny rays, piercing into the woman's skin, the sick splatter of blood being all he heard. With a sorrowful last breath, he jumped above Terra and his sword flared up in an immeasurable length, reaching its full power.

"Child, what are you doing?!" Jenova spat.

"It's… over mother." Terra said, tired. She had accepted it.

"Dragon's Crest!" And with that, the faithful fall into oblivion, every part of the strike was as painful for one as for the other, the crash of course, was the hardest thing Shin had to witness. From that horrible cry, to the sound of her bones cracking and even worse, to see her eyes close as it ended. "Forgive me… Terra."

"Child. CHILD! Do not DARE to abandon me!" Jenova cried against Terra's vanishing spirit. "You are more than this!"

"But mother… you told me never to become… _that._" Terra replied, to which Jenova meditated. If she did not push Terra across the line, she would die… but if she did… In her vanity, she assured herself that whatever she decided, it could be manageable, what mattered now was to crush that impudent insect.

"_Terra… awaken."_

Shin slowly stood back up, sheeting his sword. He looked upon Terra's seemingly peaceful face and smiled. He knew that she would be in a better place once it all ended. There was just something that stroke him as odd.

"Shinryu, why are the chains still on?" He questioned, looking at his right arm. Suddenly, cold sweat ran down the back of his neck, forcing him to look at the fallen girl out of reflex. Her eyes were open… and red.

* * *

><p><strong>On the throne room:<strong>

"Now… to channel Terra's immense power without letting that pesky interloper interfere…" Jenova told herself, concentrating all of her power on keeping Tina out. This was a defining moment, she needed to be completely concentrated on keeping Tina out… and yet, she could not.

"It's closed!" She heard a jovial voice exclaim from the outside of the room. She became infuriated.

"Stand aside!" Cloud roared, tearing he entrance down. "Jenova!" And so, on the one moment she could not have. Still, she had to act like she goddess she thought she was. Slowly and gracefully standing up from her throne, she walked into the crowd, asking.

"What have we here? Are you those so called rebels? Are you here to negotiate your surrender? Do not fret, we are… more than welcoming." She told them, not even sparing them so much as an eye-contact. Then, something that deeply irritated her came. Laughter.

"You're funny!" Bartz exclaimed. "No Jenny! We're here to… how do I say it? Make you kick the bucket."

"Little Mime, who are you to believe you can lay a hand on me?" She questioned, her voice nearly cracking with fury.

"The guy who wields this!" In an explosion of blue flames, a spear materialized on his hand, striking fear on Jenova's mind. She had seen it before… "Nobody who uses this loses, well, at least they advertise it that way! The Spear of Lugh!"

At that moment, Jenova lost her concentration…

* * *

><p>"<em>Terra! Wake up!<em>_ It's not too late!__"_Tina shouted, Jenova's conscience fading for just a second.

"What? Who are you?" Terra asked. It was at this time that Jenova forced her way back in… but she.

"_I am you! Your __'__mother__'__is using you… how can you not feel it?__"_ Tina asked Terra, who denied it with all her devotion.

"_No! She cared for me, loved me… she made everyone accept me!"_ She shot back in the defense of the rattlesnake that had found her way into her mind.

"_You made that yourself!"_ Tina roared, doing the mental equivalent of a slap. _"Maybe you don't remember it but YES you were an outcast. YES, you are different. But… you just were yourself around others and slowly, very slowly I know, you went from the demon everyone fears to that adorable girl which had somehow saved them all.__ Remember Terra!"_

"_D-Did I really do all of that? But I… can only remember sadness before mother came…"_ At this time, for the first time, she truly doubted her mother.

"_What do you remember before mother came. Other than sadness."_ She knew she had hit a nerve. Terra remembered nothing of her past, Jenova had to delete all of it to keep her in check and that would be the easiest way to do so without having her go insane. Speaking of the devil…

"_Terra, my daughter__,__ I am un__der attack! Finish this quickly and come to my aid!"_ Jenova ordered, not knowing just how strained her relationship with Terra was becoming.

"_Mother… can you tell me how my life was before you came into it?" _She asked the woman she had trusted with her life for so long now.

"_What is this now child? I am in need of assistance, we can leave your cravings for when this is finished!" _Jenova exclaimed, trying to see if she could gain some much needed time.

"_You are afraid." _Tina accused. _"Afraid of what will happen to you if Terra loses this.__ Or worse, if she forfeits."_ I do say though, if Tina actually had a body right now, I believe the catfight of the century would ensue. Alas, it was nothing more than a mental battle between the two, the poor Terra stuck in the middle, not knowing who to listen to.

"_Terra, who do you trust more? Your mother__…__ or some voice that appeared out of nowhere precisely on our time of crisis?"_Jenova questioned, pointing out how otherwise shady Tina's advices could be.

"_Please… just tell me."_ Terra insisted, much to Tina's delight and Jenova's fury. "If they are so awful… It will be my punishment to live with them." She swore. Jenova, cornered did what a snake would. It lashed out.

"_Very well! Take your damned memories back! ALL OF THE SUFFERING!"_ In one of the lowest moves one could ever think of administering, Jenova only a part of Terra's memories… every single moment she was controlled. In a flash, she witnessed how she slaughtered millions, felt every invasive and tortuous test they conducted on her, suffered every torture Kefka called "diversions", Leo's death flashed on her mind and she saw herself beat her allies on Dissidia. And all she remembered beyond that was that that man in front of her… Shinryu, the one responsible for her relieving all those moments. "And now… I give you ALL of your power back!" The strain, the confusion and the profound pain she felt only lead to one thing… lunacy.

"_Damnit Jenova! You'll kill us all!"_ Tina cursed as she was forced out of Terra's broken psyche. _"I hope you survive this kid…"_

Shin didn't see what hit him. He knew what hit him, as four gashes were now stamped on his right cheek, causing quite a bit of pain to our hero. But that was quickly taken over by nothing less than fear when Terra's Esper figure emerged from the light that had blinded him a few moments ago.

"_I had hoped we could avoid this."_ Shinryu said. "_If her human form was already a formidable form… I have no idea how are we to combat her esper form."_

"Well, she isn't going to pet us, that's for sure." Shin replied, drawing his weapon. Just the simple act of drawing it already made it seem like his entire body was going to burst… he had a bad feeling about fighting a second round with his body already past its limit.

"I… Hate… YOU! **SHINRYU!**" Terra, whatever was left of her at that moment, boomed, shooting a twister of flames towards Shin. He knew Jenova still had SOME kind of control over the girl… her blackened wing still hang above her right shoulder, as if taunting him by disgracing the pure girl.

"Frigid Blast!" Shin roared, the cold winds nullifying the fire twister. "Why Terra? What did I do?!" He questioned, extending the sword and arcing it sideways, forcing Terra airborne. He knew better than to insist though, she was baring fangs at him, last time she had that expression, eyes and red aura she had gone berserk. Cursing Jenova, he again swept at the girl, who dodged at the last second by flying around the blade in circles. Once she was near, a primal roar escaped her fangs as she swept at his torso. Shin was completely defenseless, the recoil of the blade being too much for him to jump back. Yet… it missed.

"_Don't just stand there! Do something!"_ He heard a voice come from his pocket. Still confused, he decided to put it on his back and punch Terra away, returning his sword back to its normal state. He then reached for his pocket and took a look at the softly lighted crystal.

"Tina?" He asked.

"_Yes numbnut. Keep your thanks, it's not like I just saved you or anything." _She said sarcastically.

"How?" Shin asked.

"_I'm still inside and she's using my form. I'll try and interfere with her. If I manage to do it, I'll warn you, so take advantage of it!"_ Shin smiled, a light on the end of the tunnel had presented itself.

"Okay, let's do this." Shin shouted, carving his sword on the ground, a thin line of ice shooting across the ground, finding its way into Terra's leg. She slowly began to freeze and Shin took that as a cue to enlarge his sword to a massive reach and making it crash down on his friend. He did NOT expect Terra to GRAB it! "What the?!" He gasped as her hands closed, breaking the stream of light and reverting the blade to its sword-like form.

"_Her Esper was not fooling us when she told us she would evolve substantially when she recuperated."_ Shinryu pointed out. Shin was more worried on how Terra had summoned not one but TWO of the ten meter long tomahawks, one in each hand.

"Riot… Double Tomahawk…" She began, her voice rasp and beast-like as she joined them together by the shaft and began spinning. "BOOMERANG!" Shin couldn't even see it moving, nor did he expect her to THROW IT.

"_RIGHT!" _ If it weren't for Tina, he would have been split in half by the almost unseen energy blade. It went on to cut the top of a nearby mountain, killing thousands of her own soldiers. _"Go for her."_

"_But beware of the returning weapon!"_Great, now he had two ethereal voices in his mind… He was not one to complain though, as he did just that, he rushed towards the now unarmed girl and sliced her torso diagonally. Now displaying her full ferocity, she ignored the wound and lashed back, catching his left eye, denying vision from it.

"Shit…" Shin cursed, forgetting what was to come.

"_JUMP!"_And he did, the tomahawk barely missing him while hitting Terra head-on. She cried in pain, being thrown against a mountain by it. _"Okay, do it!__ Finish her!__"_

"_What?"_ Shin asked back, not sure if Tina had just asked him to… kill herself.

"_Don't worry about killing her, I doubt you can, but take this chance to put her in coma!"_ He wasn't sure if she knew just how strong he was right now, hell, even he didn't, but once again, he trusted her. Putting all of his power on his blade, he heaved her back and roared:

"The earth screams! SAVAGE ROAR!" Swinging his blade downwards, the battle coming to a halt as everyone watched in awe at the earth tore open, exploding in a cataclysm of light. The mountain Terra had crashed in now nothing but a mere memory, Shin took that moment of brief respite to wonder if anyone could survive that. "That… did it, didn't it?" He asked no one in particular. He expected Tina to be silent, that impact must've shut down the body… or worse. With a deep sigh, he lowered his blade and looked at his hand, hoping for the chain to break. It didn't.

"_From your left!"_ Tina may have warned him, but his guard was down and his left eye destroyed, he took the savage foot-claw to the kidney, stunning him while his sword flew from his hand. Terra, burned and crushed as she may had been, then started to wail on it as a cornered tiger did to his opponent, relentlessly separating flesh from bone. Shin knew he had to stop this, but she wouldn't let up. Soon, it would be too late. _"The next claw… I'll divert it even if it's the last thing I DO!"_ Tina shouted in his mind, and, as if a miracle was it, Terra's left claw missed his right eye by inches, even the now near-thoughtless banshee gasping in surprise. _"__She can't take any more hits! __Do it! FINISH THIS!"_ Tina shouted, knowing this was their last chance.

"If I can just reach her head…" Shin told himself.

"You can! WE can!" Shinryu roared by Shin's mouth.

"Yeah!" He agreed, pulling his right hand back, the fingers and palm burning with his determination. In a flash his hand reached her head. "Heat…" His world stopped. He wanted to curse, he wanted to finish it, but no… the muscles in his arm had just gave in to the pressure, tearing open right at that precise moment. Not just them too. His leg, torso, everything. He could feel the blood leaving his veins and, in right arm's case, even spurting out, caring not for his skin. But that momentary eternity of pure agony was nothing compared to what he felt next. An impact on the left side of his chest… he dared not look down, but he forced himself to. Blood sailing through her skin, Terra's claw had found its way into his heart. At that moment, all the pain stopped, his nervous system shutting itself from it. In what he knew himself to be the last time he would do so, he looked into her eyes as they slowly turned back to normal, realization dawning to her. "Terra…"

"**SHIN!**" All three of the onlookers cried as he fell, Terra grabbing a hold of him as he fell.

"_That is… sufficient."_ Jenova mocked Terra as she caught him. She knew Terra would not stay under her control for long, she had just regulated the memories that showed first. And what better way to punish than having her first vision of freedom being the death of the very person that was willing to give up everything to save her? She swiftly shut all her connections with Terra to concentrate in the battle at hand, leaving her to wallow in despair.

"Shin! What happened to you?!" Terra asked desperately, unaware of anything that had happened. She shook him a few times before noticing the gaping wound on his chest. "No!" She cried, letting him fall to the ground and covering her mouth with her hands. Hands that she then saw covered in blood. "NO!" She cried, the memories of recent happenings all flashing in her mind. "**NOOOOOO!**" Her despair rang through the night's sky, tears wallowing in her eyes and falling liked flowing rivers. "You can't… wake up!" She pleaded, fruitlessly trying to cast healing magic on him. Her esper form melted away as she found her body completely exhausted. "Don't… don't do this to me! Don't die on me!" She cried, stuffing her head on his chest, crying her heart out. Then, for one moment that seemed like an eternity, she felt his chest rise. Was God toying with her misery or…

"So… you're back." Shin said in-between deep breaths.

"Y-you're alive!" She had never been so happy… she should have known to keep her hopes up…

"Not for much longer…"He answered, crushing her world just as it began to rebuild itself. "I think… the only thing keeping me alive is whatever the Cauldron had poured into me before I broke down…" He explained, turning to Terra's blood tainted face with a smile. "But I'm glad it gave me this spare time."

"W-why?" Terra asked him, his hand reaching out to her cheek.

"Wouldn't want to die without knowing if I managed to bring you back… I had a promise to keep, didn't I? I know you still have… only month left but… you'll figure it out on your own…" His speech was becoming increasingly harder and he felt tired… oh so tired. Darkness was taking over whatever was left of his remaining vision.

"How can you say that?! You knew… you knew you couldn't do it! I did this to you! I killed you..." She exclaimed, touching his hand softly, whimpering.

"You did not! That… bitch did." He did not let himself frown for long. Every moment mattered. "But even if you did… there is no way I could hate you. Much the contrary." With what was left of his tattered body, he still managed to pull her into a deep, if brief, kiss. For once, he agreed with the fairy tales. There were moments that could last forever. Now completely drained, his head pulled back and hit the floor, the corners of his vision becoming ever nearer. "As you can tell by now… I love you Terra." There, at least he had said it. He had left many things undone, but this wasn't one of them. A whirlwind of emotions tore through Terra's face, but it all ended in sadness, for she could feel his life slowly whisking away.

"Me too…" She replied, forcing the tears to stop and whipping the blood from his one functional eye. If he was going to die, the least she could do was give him the best sendoff she could offer. "I love you too…"

"_Heh, so the lizard was right…"_ He mused.

"Shin…" Shinryu had no words. He himself was going to fade, but he was ready for it. He just wished Shin did not have to go down with it.

"Don't worry Terra… I won't leave you. I'll just… stay right here." He said, touching the place of her chest where her heart was. "Just… for the both us… save them all…" He could see barely anything but her face… it was enough. "Now… give me a smile." He asked. A hard request, but Terra nodded, whipping her tears and returning a bittersweet smile. "As beautiful as ever… princess." He finished, taking a deep breath… his last one.

It hit her like a truck. He was dead. She had done it. She had killed him. He had died saving her. Like Mother had… like her father had… like Leo had.

"It's all my fault… please forgive me…" She cried silently… "Everyone that I love… why… why does this happen to them?!" She asked the heavens, silent heavens, even they did not hold the answer. "Why does everyone I love die in front of my eyes… WHY!" She cried, the chains on her arm breaking, Shin disappearing into the nothingness… leaving only the stone. And she cried. And cried.

Everyone had felt it. That sickening feeling on their hearts. Someone they cared about had vanished. One life that had touched tens and saved thousands, even bilions if his sacrifive bore fruit, ephemeral as it was, had been extinguished. Only one question remained. The one question the girl uttered.

*Cue: "Why" from FF: Crisis Core*

"Why…"

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****: I… just did this, yes. What can I say? Nothing really. I just felt it had to be done. What better way to propel this story than the biggest shocker of them all? I won't even hint at how next chapter will go... let's just hope they will be able to pull through, like they always do. Farewell Shin, we barely knew thee…

So... how did you feel about what I just did? Leave your rage, sadness, or anything you felt on the that rectangle. Just know this will feed on the story, I won't prematurely end it and this is not a sign of the end either. See you next time...


	63. Hateful Regicide

****Author's Note:****This is the penultimate chapter to this arc! Sorry if I didn't include the profile, but this chapter was late so I pushed it as soon as I completed it. Dig in and prepare for…

Oh, and to the anonymous reviewers...

For the first one I say: Shin's fate will be explained right now.

For the second one I say: Read on and hope. Hope is the last one to die.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Sixty-Three**

****Hateful Regicide****

* * *

><p>"<em>The winner will return to our plane while the loser… shall be incarcerated on the stone for eternity."<em>

Terra's closed and swollen eyes shot open at her realization. Hastily whipping her tears from her eyes, she savaged the ground to find the Lia Fáil, taking the small stone into her hands as she reflected on the words she remembered from Shin: _"__Neku__ told us that… if a person challenges the one with the Lia Fáil, they must get through the man he took down before. Does that mean that if someone challenges me, gets lost in the stone and loses to Shin, he will…"_

"I know that look. I'm sorry to say Terra, it just doesn't work that way." Said girl quickly shot her gaze from the stone to the right, finding the source of the voice to be the same person which had given her hope. Neku was a total mess, ripped clothing, no speakers and various small wounds, but it was to be expected in a war of this magnitude. Still, she cared not for how his well-being after what he said. No, she demanded answers.

"Then HOW does it work? How do I get him out of here?! He can't be dead… he can't…" She was about to recede into her ocean of sadness when someone forcibly yanked her from it.

"_Get a grip Sunshine. This is a war. Last thing we need is you crying a river while the others get slaughtered! At least pay attention to what that guy has to day!"_One would have never guessed Tina would be the one teaching Terra's lessons, but there she was. Terra, of course, saw the truth in the statement turned to Neku, who, seeing as he had gained her attention, sighed as he explained.

"He isn't dead Terra. He's… worse." He did his best not to look at her face. He knew how heartbreaking it would be for her. "Tell me Terra. Why didn't you find anyone inside the Lia Fáil?" She had no answer to it. Or at least, none she wanted to accept. "Terra, being imprisoned in the Lia Fáil is worse than death. It is not like you are locked inside until you prove your worth. No, that would mean that if a man was defeated and then defeated the challenger, he could come back to life and challenge the "king" again. This in an endless cycle. What truly happens if a man is defeated is this. He is locked in the Lia Fáil and, if another challenger falls by his hands, BOTH are locked inside. If the ones locked inside the stone are defeated… their spirits are set free into the Otherworld. I'm a Reaper, I know this." Explained the seeming teen.

"S-so… the only thing I c-can do is…" This was worse than Neku thought it would be. He even wondered if he should let Terra fight in this war after listening to her voice breaking twice in a sentence. It felt as if she had nothing left to give, like a wax less candle that had burned for its last time. Still, he, no, they needed her.

"You can do what he trusted you would do. I very much doubt there is much else to be done for Shin, but we can at least put his spirit to rest afterwards." He told her what he had to. It was hard even for Neku to send someone to battle just after losing a loved one, but if she didn't, the chances of more of it happening were just too great. Not that he did not rust the team that was sent to deal with Jenova, but she bordered godhood now, he wasn't about to take her lightly.

"Put his spirit to rest…" Terra repeated. She chuckled darkly as the irony of the situation hit her. "Somehow, dying in a month's time sounds much more bearable now…" It was morbid, yes, yet, it was her honest feelings about it. She carefully slipped the stone into her pouch at the side of her skirt while she slowly stood back up. "Neku… do you need help?" She asked, to which Neku shook his head. "Well then… good luck. Do not die." Neku caught a glance of something other than sadness in her eyes, but the contact was too brief for him to realize how it was. How he wished he did. Even worse, something he noticed far too late, was how the clock ticking away in his palm was rapidly decreasing with no signs of slowing down.

* * *

><p>Hope finally let himself fall back into his chair, the exhaustion and lack of progress finally taking over him. "It just can't be done." He said, turning the chair back.<p>

"Do not give up now Hope. There are still many paths to be explored in front of us!" Cid told the young scientist, receiving nothing but a cynical look in return.

"We won't get anywhere from mere speculation Cid. No matter what we do, we cannot be absolutely sure of how the virus IS without having a non-static sample right in our faces." He replied in frustration, hitting the table with his head and covering it with his hands, ruffling his hair. "Genesis' cells just can't be trusted, he's not under her control so they must not be the same. If only we had one of the new infected…" As if to answer to his plea, the door was slammed opened. He wasn't sure how to react to the ones that came in. "L-Light? Damn, they got Noel and Snow too!" Hope cursed, thinking of the worst possible situation as he readied his boomerang and began to think what spell he could use to get them out of this situation. Fortunately, he soon knew that he did not require them.

"We aren't being used Hope, look into our eyes." Lightning told the young man, who, after a more detailed glance saw nothing of the now characteristic jagged eye line that every "son" possessed. Hope sighed of relief, not letting go of the boomerang however. "Not letting your guard down? I taught you as much." The woman mused, observing the room. "So, how's the cure going?" She finally asked, Hope explaining what they needed. "I reckoned you needed something like that. Just promise me you won't kill the sample." She stated forcefully.

"I just need the blood, nothing else, we can test the effects in vitro." Hope explained, apparently taking a very heavy weight from her shoulders. Her expression softened and she turned back, telling Snow that:

"You can bring her in." The blonde man nodded and left the room for a second, returning with a silver-haired known face.

"That's… Serah?!" Hope exclaimed just as Snow laid down his converted fiancé on the bed.

"Yes. She should suffice, right?" The now vessel to a goddess asked, the young scientist nodding in return.

"Don't worry, Snow, Light. I'll take good care of her." He answered, somewhat making Noel feel left out, even more so when he couldn't just say "Exactly".

* * *

><p>Now, you may see this as a turning point, the happenings written until now changing the tide of the war. While, they certainly shook the tide, one must not forget how small this battle is when compared to the true front. Now, let us rejoin the ruins of Esthar, now abandoned by all as safety from Jenova is found only in numbers… except for a "few" men.<p>

"The woman's sealing spell is indeed completely out of what I thought possible for someone who had little to no preparation before casting it." Mateus remarked as he admired the prison of Omega. "Our luck is also most foul. We lost Ultimecia on the precise battle where the time shell was created."

"But more importantly… can you truly free it?" Garland scuffed in disbelief, only one of the four responsible for being there turning to respond.

"Why would we be here if it weren't so? I'm quite acquainted with time and its mechanics. The spell may be extremely powerful, but it is still one spell with no person maintaining it. Normally, this would be problematic as it would take too much time, but considering how the so-called Warriors of Cosmos or what you prefer to call them are so… "invested" in Lezard's little scientific experiment, that is hardly the case." The elder bald man explained, Garland crossing his arms and scuffing at the response. However, it was not he that questioned him.

"Are we to believe you orchestrated all of the happenings that lead to this opportunity on such short notice?" Exdeath, the… tree asked. His answer was only a large, knowing smile.

* * *

><p>"I don't know if I should count this as a blessing or as a curse." Cecil told Noctis as they fought the never-ending slew of "sons".<p>

"I don't know either. I do not know the man, but I know madness when I see it." Noctis answered, dispatching ten of the troops with a spinning sweep in the process. He looked on as Sephiroth destroyed anything in his sword's range. Both armies. This effectively had caused a war on two fronts as both armies had to destroy Sephiroth, who wanted them both dead, but also the Jenovian army had the mental obligation to destroy them. "But I'd rather not have this battle turn into an all-out brawl. We'll definitely lose if it does." Considering how they WERE outmatched about a million to one, this wasn't a guess, this was a statement.

"Very well, I'll see what I can do." Cecil offered, cutting through three more and setting his eyes on Sephiroth. "I shall draw him out and hold him as long as I am able to. We are already buying time and for that, I may be able to do just that."

"It's not your problem Cecil." Cecil recognized that voice, even as he flew over him and most of the soldiers, landing right dab in the zone Sephiroth had cleared out with his katana. "He's SOLDIER problem." You can probably guess who stood in Sephiroth's way now.

"Fair… The second biggest pleasure I am going to get today." All of his attention had shut off from the armies, he now only saw Zack. Never had he hated him, he looked at him just like an inferior being. However, there was a message to be sent. What better way to face Cloud than with the head of his beloved mentor on his hand? What better way to prove himself to his mother than to do what none of her children had done so far? He only needed to assassinate Zack, Cloud and Terra. Not only slaying her mother's biggest foe as he was slaying his former protégée.

"Well, I can say I'm going to actually enjoy this little rematch of ours. Spare Cloud the trouble since, you know… " Suddenly, Zack's normally jolly and merry tone vanished when he said: "What you did to Aerith is beyond any forgiveness I would give a friend of Angeal. You are a monster now, I can see it in your eyes. Not a momma's boy, just a wild animal. One with no pride." With an unusually dark expression, he reached for his back and pulled out the Buster Sword. Yes, the Buster Sword. Sephiroth chuckled, the tone he employed next resorting to nothing but trying to ridicule Zack's stand.

"You would use a blade broken by my mere fingers to oppose me? I had forgotten just how childish you were." Sephiroth mocked, receiving a counter-chuckle from the same man.

"This sword? This sword only breaks when the wielder breaks. In this moment, I cannot do it. There's too much on the line now. Far more than even Cloud back in Esthar. One slip here and it's the end. The weight of the SOLDIER pride embed in the sword is more than enough to cleave through anything you throw at me!" He exclaimed, readying his stance. Quickly his face reverted to Zack-standards. "Let's go Sephy, you beat the student, how about a taste of the maestro?! C'mon, do it quick, I still want to catch how your mom gets torched, which should happen soon by the way!" Taunted Zack, quickly being on the receiving end to a slash to the neck, which he parried quite easily. "Wow, you're cutting down on the speeches. What, afraid I won't sit through them as Cloud did?" He mocked yet again, pushing Sephiroth backwards and jumping in the opposite direction. Needless to say, Sephiroth wordlessly followed him. No words had been found to describe his rage at the moment.

"Diverting him from us…? Just don't die trying." Noctis said to no one in particular before beginning to bark orders to get the situation back into his control.

* * *

><p>Jenova was a schemer. A powerful schemer with a plethora of different powers and nigh boundless energy from where to pull, but she was NOT a fighter. No kind of memories or power can bring the awareness that years of fighting give you. As such, Jenova lacked any instinct for battle and struggled to keep a group of four away from her. She had no real weapon by her side and, as such, resorted mostly to keeping them at bay with powerful magic spells. Still, while four-tier spells are frightening for most, out heroes had seen far worse than a strong mage. As such, Jenova knew she would be backed into a corner even if Bartz did not hold what he was holding.<p>

"You seem to be looking an awful lot to my hand. Unless you're an admirer of antiques, I'd say you're afraid of what this can do, are you not?" Asked the man with the runed lance, the Spear of Lugh. Jenova cringed, vanishing from Orlandeu's sight only to appear on top of her throne, still eying the mime. "Well, it's not like the power is something complicated that needs a setting. The reason why the ones who used this lance went on to win every war is and were all righteous, is because, if a non-righteous person even so much as touches this spear, he will burn down on the spot, leaving absolutely nothing behind, not even a cell or soul. In other words, this thingy right here is one of the few things that will actually get the job done with you!" The mime then did what he did best, mimicking. "Gungnir!" He shouted, charging the spear with the same energy Kain would put in it and using it like a Javelin, a very scary Javelin which would burn your very soul. Needless to say, Jenova did her best to evade the projectile by appearing now on one of the many pillars her throne room had been decorated with. Besides the pillars, the crystals and the throne complete with the stairs that led to it, there was nothing more in the room, too much free space for our heroes, who were actively trying to box in the woman.

"_I cannot fight that mime myself for a single scratch may spell my doom. I need…"_ Her inner dialogue was interrupted by the sound of a blade slicing the air above her. She looked up and all her thoughts of running towards her subjects vanished. "A puppet…" She twisted her body in ways that made everyone doubt she even had a spine, slithering around Cloud's run of the mill sword and planting a firm kiss on his lips. Cloud gasped and pulled away, whipping his mouth.

"That bitch…" He cursed as he saw just what the new smiling Jenova had done. Blood. She had bitten his tongue. Couple that with how a kiss leaves saliva on your mouth and now you realize just what this meant. Suddenly, his legs stopped responding and he feel to his knees. That was far from the worst though. He felt like a needle had been shoved into his brain, his memories starting to crack like they did when he fell into that catatonic state twice. It was a tragically familiar feeling.

"Cloud!" Bartz screamed, running to the man and grabbing his right shoulder. "Snap out of it man!" Pleaded the mime, only to be met with glee from the corruptor that stood a few meters from him.

"I apologize little mime, but I do believe Cloud is now learning the error of his ways. There is nothing that you can do to prevent him from seeing who he really is. "She whispered evilly. Yet, she too was greeted with a chuckle. This one coming from someone to whom laughter was like a foreign concept. Cloud laughed his heart out, a laughter that bordered the insane but then, it came to a halt just as suddenly as it began. "What is it my child?" She asked, to which Cloud smiled darkly, pushing Bartz's hand off his shoulder.

"It's just that… after all this time…" He began, gaining strength back on his legs, standing up. "After having everything I loved taken away from me at one time or another…" His cape showed a huge bulge growing out his right shoulder, something that delighted Jenova to no end while despairing the heroes. "The one responsible for it is… right in front of me!" He shouted, his eyes now glowing with Mako energy as a shining beacon of light seemed to be etched into his chest. A small sphere of light.

"What is…" Jenova began, Squall making it clear.

"The Protomateria." He explained. Jenova's already pale skin turned white. The very same Materia Vincent housed in his body.

"Gaia's third unique Materia…" Cloud spoke, the bulge on his back now exploding to reveal a bat-like wing, much unlike what Jenova usually caused. This is because the power flowing through Cloud's body had far since burned any trace of her being as soon as the Protomateria was activated. "The power of Chaos!" Cloud exclaimed, referring to his black wing. He then extended his hand forward, in a flash of light appearing the one blade that was forged from the Lifestream itself. The transparent crystalline blade known as his Ultima Weapon. "And Omega Weapon!" He finished, tiny bits of Mako leaving the ground around me, the black corruption vanishing from the. "Now, Jenova… Prepare yourself, this is… Gaia's retribution!" And he rushed at her, determined to cut evil by the root.

* * *

><p>Finally, one must not forget how Vayne had been supposedly set up by Lezard. I say supposedly because the clash wasn't turning out as one would expect.<p>

"Foolishness! You come to me as mere humans armed with toys?! I have become Ivalice's god!" I'll be perfectly honest with you. As a narrator, I'm getting quite annoyed at all these people desiring godhood. They even did so in their respective stories. Very original they are. But I digress, we all know how my previous outgoing ended. What was happening was how, having the Occuria locked inside him, Vayne was leagues ahead of anyone in the room. What could a thief, a queen, a soldier whose wings had been sealed and a rushed Keyblade Master hope to do against someone who had the powers of the beings that guided a world? Not much. They were getting manhandled. Especially Sora, he had fought Sephiroth before coming here and that obviously tired him out. Vayne was in his ripped Novus-like form and for that, there was no grace or complexity on how he was defeating them, he was just beating them up with both his fists and the blades surrounding him.

"Shut up! Eat this, Ragnarok!" With the last of his strength, Sora showered the former Emperor with a fail of lasers.

"Annoying!" Was all Vayne replied, cruising through the energy rays like they weren't even there ending it by ramming into Sora. He was instantly knocked out as soon as the back of his head hit the wall but it didn't end there. Vayne heard the cackling of fire approach him swiftly and instinctively grabbed the flaking Pyroclasm-holding hand of Vaan. When he realized just who he had grabbed, he smiled. "Oh… how I've waited to repay you." Vayne spat at the man which had stricken him down years go. Yes, he knew that Ashe had been instrumental in creating the situation and Vaan was nothing more than a glorified soldier, yet, he had killed him, he held on to that grudge especially hard.

"Vaan!" Reks shouted, only to let his guard down, a Sephira taking the chance to carve itself on his leg. He fell to the ground and yelled in pain when his shoulder was nailed to the ground by another one. Ashe tried to run up and help but she was nailed to the wall by three Sephiras. Thankfully, they had only caught the sides of her blouse and one of her coattails. Still, she was having a hard time releasing herself from them, time that she didn't have.

"Now… where were we?!" Vayne asked darkly, grabbing both of Vaan's arms and using his body to crush Vaan against the wall. He looked down on him.

"I think we were just arriving at the part where I kick your but!" Vaan shouted back in empty words, trying to headbut Vayne, doing more harm than good. Stone felt like rubber compared to Vayne Novus' forehead.

"Please, indulge me. I'd have expected that reaction from the child who blindly hated me and knew nothing about the perils of life. You are more than that now, are you not? Surely you understand just how doomed you are so please, show at least a glimpse of your despair. Perhaps I'll even let you live, should you grovel at my feet." He told Vaan, who faked politeness.

"Oh… if you put it that way, I guess I've been disrespectful to you. Where are my manners?!" And he then proceeded to spit right into Vayne's face. "You've got something on your face "your majesty"." Vayne's shocked look turned into a grimace from the deepest abyss. With all of his fury, he mercilessly twisted Vaan's right arm until the sicking crack of the bone was heard, throwing Vaan into the ground by the same arm.

"You sicken me! I'll enjoy this, rat!" He spat, one Sephira finding its way into his hand. "But I you won't take me for a fool! I'll make it quick, the pleasure of torturing you will come after the battle is over. It will last for eternity!" He announced, ready to execute the pirate in front of his brother and lover. However, even before his arm began to descend, a violet strand of energy tore through the wall and took Vayne's right hand so quickly blood did not poor out until seconds later. Vayne took his stub to his chest and hollered in pain, being unable to react to the body which had emerged to the gaping hole on the wall, soon finding himself on the ground, a small body lodged on top of him.

"I won't let anyone I hold dear…" Terra began, pure fury staining her violet eyes while she pulled her transforming hand back. "Ever die again!" She screamed, blood splashing on the wall nearby as she swooped her claw across Vayne's shocked face. And she did it again. And again and again.

"Vaan, are you well?" Ashe asked the sky pirate, more rhetorically than anything else, she had seen his right arm get brutally broken. Vaan slowly nodded as she helped him sit up. He was shocked. Terra was still wailing on Vayne. No magic, no weapons. The ground was being painted red by the rain of crimson erupting from the man's upper part. Never did he expect Terra to do something so brutal. "Vaan, wait, I have to heal your arm!" Ashe urged, to which Vaan replied:

"I have to go heal something much more important!" He replied, disregarding his arm and walking to the other side of the room as fast as he could.

"Why do people like you exist?! Why is it that you can only think on taking what isn't yours?!" Terra shouted to the silent Emperor bellow her as she gave no quarter, fire and lightning now starting to surge every time she swung. "It's because of people like you that I… I can never be happy! I try! I TRY! But you and your kind always take everything from me! I hate you! I HATE ALL OF YOU!" She shrieked, tears flowing from her eyes. Suddenly, her right hand, covered in blood was grabbed.

"That's enough Terra! He's… dead." Vaan told her, cringing at the sight in front of him. I will refrain to infer just in what condition Vayne's upper body was, as even now everyone in that room trembles when they remember it, but let us just say, no man, not even Larsa, could see Vayne Solidor in that carcass. He turned his sights to what he thought to be a step up from what he saw but it was just as bad. "Terra, what did you just do?!" He asked the woman whose expression was both grief stricken and red with anger.

"I've killed before." She replied in a hollow tone.

"But not like this!" Vaan shot back. "You told me… you did it always to protect others, never for yourself."

"I protected you! I did it for you and everyone that cares about you!" She shot back, anger now growing in her voice rapidly, her mind fluctuating between emotions as wave came and went.

"You didn't! You killed him because you had to lash out on someone! You killed him because you felt hatred towards him! Look into my eyes Terra!" He shouted, giving her the most intense and honest look he had ever given anyone. "It's not worth it!"

"Not worth it… YOU DID THE SAME!" She lashed out, throwing Vaan backwards with a surge of her still unstable power. It was the first time she had used it in months without it being contaminated by Jenova cells, which were, by now, burned away by her Esper blood. For that, she gasped as she saw Vaan hit the wall with his broken arm, cringing and cursing. She was about to rush up to him when Ashe just slapped her right across the face.

"Get a hold of yourself!" She exclaimed, Terra could only look at her with an apologetic tone.

"I'm so sorry… I'll heal Vaan." She proposed.

"You're right… I did the same." Vaan said, letting out an uncharacteristic dark chuckle. "Not once…" He remembered Vayne and how he wanted to kill Gabranth and him, succeeding in one case and causing the death of the others. "But twice." He remembered Zodiark. "And look where it got me. Killing Vayne did nothing to bring Reks back. I was confused, not knowing what to do after my "revenge". The skies were my escape. I crossed them looking for a meaning in life. I didn't get one. Dreams of a kid, being a sky pirate. Adulthood hits you hard." Terra wouldn't speak, nor would anyone there. This was the first time anyone there saw this side of Vaan. He kept it well hidden. Maybe a bit too well hidden. He still continued, he wanted to give Terra a message. "You know, we're kinda similar in that regard. When everyone thought we were fine and dandy, we got someone hitting on us for it. Difference is, you just shunned him away even being a king while I tried my hand at this dating stuff. When it didn't work, well… I was out of ideas. Well, until I realized I could make some use of my life and actually protect someone I cared about, all barriers aside. You know how it went. I used my hatred like you did. You know what happened." He omitted the scenes in Giruvegan just to make HER understand, he didn't want to be telling a story, he needed to pass her the message.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Vaan asked after a prolonged moment of silence. The silence that came afterwards, along with how all color was removed from her cheeks was enough of an answer to him, but Terra still answered.

"It was me… I ki-" Vaan covered her mouth and gestured her to shush. She did.

*Cue: Terra's theme*

"Look, Terra. What I'm trying to say is… hatred is human." He began. "You're human, but you're also… something more. We all are to a degree and that is why we cannot fall into the same temptations a normal human can fall. Especially you." He touched her shoulder.

"Why. Why all of us? And why me?" She asked. The conversation with Vaan took some of the pain away from her and maybe, just maybe, it could help her deal with this turmoil that came with emotions swirling deep inside her in ways that made her feel she would lose control at any moment. God forbid if she ever thought about what had just happened a few minutes ago. What she had done.

"This line is tired, but it's true. With great power comes great responsibility." He said, chuckling a bit at the line. It was corny, but he meant every word of it. "Imagine a normal human. He kills the one he hates in revenge. Now, some are more prone to madness than others. Some think "why stop here"? And begin to repeat the process. Hate someone, kill someone. However, these are normal humans, the most they can do is kill some people and then they get arrested. A tragedy, yes, but the world goes on. Now, we? Look at what I did." He showed his tattoo. "I almost destroyed our realm by giving in to the hatred. Terra, I don't think you are weaker than Zodiark. Shinryu was strong enough to subdue him. You are in no way the strongest one in existence, but you are still a very real danger to the world if you go insane." He explained, Terra taking her hand to her heart as he said so, not because she was offended, but because he was right.

"I know… but…"

"It's hard for you to control emotions. I know. You… are not supposed to belong in this world. You do, but still, it's harder for you. I can't say I know how it is like to be you." He tried to console. "But we need you Terra. We need everyone. You once told me you wanted me to kill you. I never want you to say something like that again. You have people depending on you Terra, people that care about you. Friends… even family." Terra took his eyes away from his at that.

"No… they hate me now. I abandoned them." What she had done to her orphans was unforgivable. She knew it.

"They don't hate you Terra. They know you." Vaan assured, and who better to make his point ring true than…

"She made us say that Momma." A little girl told her, running up to her and jumping into her arms.

"Anna? But... how?" She asked, only to see how the rest of the family had followed her. "How…?"

"We cannot help but love Jenova. But you. You're the person who we call Momma for so long. YOU are our mother. What we saw in the ruins of our house was not, but you… Terra Branford. Our only family, our savior, our mother." And then, Vaan moved away as somehow, they all managed to give their fair share of love to their mother.

"It's almost a miracle. How love can triumph over all." Ashe felt unexpectedly romantic after all of that.

"To be fair, this is only possible probably because Jenova is fighting for her life. Maybe the strongest willed people or the ones with the stronger bonds will start to combat her influence." Reks deduced.

"Oh shut up." Ashe dismissed, preferring her version of it.

"Momma, please, don't be sad. We'll be there for you, like you were for us." Anna asked Terra, who could only smile in return.

"I'll try… but first." Terra began, sighing deeply closing her eyes and reopening them with renewed vigor. "I have a promise to keep. Stay here everyone, Mama is going to take that mean woman out of your heads." She told the children, who, with one final hug separated from her.

"Go help Cloud and the others. We'll gain you some time with Noctis." Vaan told her. She looked back at him.

"Vaan, I forgot how much of a friend you were to me. Thank you… just thank you." She whispered. Vaan smiled and gave her thumbs up. "Take care of them." She asked of him, taking to the air.

"Will do!" He shouted as she vanished into the horizon, heading for the tower. He soon felt an arm lock around his shoulder from the left.

"I feel jealous." Ashe teased. "You never shared such a moment with me."

"That's just a lie and you…" He began, but he was just playing into the game. "I can see you're not gonna wield on this so… fine, how can I "make it up" for you?" He didn't expect the answer, even the strange mischievous grin Ashe shot couldn't foreshadow what she said when she took her lips to his left ear.

"I want one…" Vaan froze and looked into her eyes. They were looking at what he thought she was looking. The kids. He tried to look at Reks for help but what could he get other than a shrug?

"_What have I done…?__ What did I get myself into?!"_ He screamed inside his mind. Apparently "too fast" was a foreign concept for the Queen. "I… I don't really have a say in this, do I?" Ashe's look again answered for her. "Well, have it your way."

"Thought so." Vaan cursed his brother for making the cracking sound of a whip, mostly because of how accurate it was to his current condition.

* * *

><p>Zack dodged one of Sephiroth's Iai attacks, one that he knew by heart after training so much beneath him. It invoked a weird sense of nostalgia on him, one that faded instantly once he got to the memories at the Mako Reactor. However, even now, Sephiroth seemed… weaker. Zack had certainly reached a whole different level in terms of strength, but was that the best a man which had beaten Cloud with little more than a wave could do? One look into Sephiroth's eyes spelled the answer. They were maddened. Every blow he gave was clunky and full of unnecessary movements. In a style where technique was everything, this didn't bode well.<p>

"Why… why isn't Cloud here?!" He said, his form as decayed as his mind. Zack chuckled. "Doesn't he want revenge? He always does. I humiliated him, took what he considered most precious… where is he?!"

"Moved on. He moved on Sephiroth. You're the one obsessed with him. Why? Why are you so determined to defeat Cloud?" Zack questioned, Sephiroth lashing out in a slash he easily blocked. "It's because of Jenova, right? She just got so many toys she forgot her first one right?"

"I AM NOT A TOY!" Sephiroth roared, catapulting Zack backwards, the SOLDIER landing on a nearby pillar.

"Sure thing bro, but let me tell you something cool. You won't need to worry about her much longer. You see, Cloud's taking care of her right about… now." The light of the Protomateria exploded from the tower that very moment.

"Mother!" Sephiroth cried, a black blur stopping right in front of the silver haired "angel".

"Sorry, but I'm still here bro." Yet, this would've gone much smoother if a piercing roar hadn't filled the air right after, Bahamut SIN erupting from the tower in all of its demonic glory. "Well, these are not the best stakes, huh?"

* * *

><p>Terra was flying above the battle, thanking the heavens not to find all that many corpses when she saw Bahamut SIN erupt from the castle's throne room and fall into the ballroom. Without a second thought, she sped there.<p>

"_Sunshine, are you going to let me back in? I mean, you locked me away in your little tantrum there."_ This made Terra feel really guilty. She did nothing but apologize to her with her feelings, but that seemed to do the trick. _"I know it's hard on you Terra, but we're going to go through this together. For now though, let's help that mime."_ She grinned and both woman agreed on that. Bahamut suddenly found nothing beneath the paw, whereas it thought to be almost ready to squash Bartz.

"Thanks Ter." Bartz thanked while Terra put him down. "Where's…" He didn't even need to finish the question. "Damnit!" He shouted, summoning the spear out of anger, throwing it in such a way it pierced Bahamut, the beast burning from within with the Holy Fire of Lugh. The group thought it was done, but it was really far from it. From beneath the ashes, Mako Lifestream began to poor out, contorting into the black shapes of the dragon, as if it had been reborn.

"It seems to be made entirely off pure Mako. We can't finish it off so quickly. Branford, go meet with Cloud, you two must cut the power by the source, finish Jenova! We'll give you time and space to do so!" Orlandeu ordered, sparing no time to run at the beast. Terra took his advice to hear. She had a score to settle with Jenova.

* * *

><p>On the throne room, Jenova seemed to be equally matched with Cloud. They both had their "comfort zones" as Cloud was an all-in brawler and Jenova relied on magic, fueled by the Lifestream itself. They both could fly and they showcased it in the swift and acrobatic they manifested. As Jenova commanded three streams of Lifestream to encircle Cloud, he flew upwards, forcing the streams to follow him and, when they converged, took them all out with a single Meteor rain. However, he had been blinded to Jenova's true intentions. One that came from above. Feeling the intense heat on top of him, he looked up to see a Meteor slowly descending on the castle. It would not destroy the planet, but it would be implausible for even Cloud to survive it, it had to be as big as football field. To make it worse…<p>

"This is the end for you and for the last pathetic resistance the Stream will ever birth! Gravija!" The increase in gravity was not on Cloud, but on the meteor. This resulted in it falling at immeasurable speeds.

"I'll have to try and… block it!" Cloud shouted, putting his all into the Ultima Weapon, a shockwave of power erupting from the clashing forces. Cloud tried to hold on, but Jenova poured all of her power into the gravity spell, making the meteor increasingly heavier as Cloud descended, he would eventually get flattened. However, out of nowhere, the meteor was pierced from the side, exploding seconds later. Cloud landed on the opposite side to Jenova and tried to find the culprit. She fell right in the middle of the throne room, no longer in human form, energy taking visible form on the electricity that surrounded her body.

"Thank goodness I was in time. Are you alright Cloud?" Never did Terra take her eyes off Jenova.

"Good enough. Glad you could make it." Cloud replied, stationing himself beside her.

"Jenova…" Terra hissed, the woman seeming unaffected.

"So, the bitch threatens to bite her owner. I must say, I did not quite expect you to be able to accept how you are a cold-blooded murderer so fast. Maybe I had no need to make you a monster." Terra expected such taunting and, as such, answered not. She merely took Shin's sword, the Claíomh Solais and effortlessly removed it from the sheath, such was her will to triumph. This made even Jenova grimace.

"I did not accept it. I may never be able to forgive myself. But I am not someone who breaks promises, much less a loved one's dying wish. Even if it is the last thing I do Jenova, I will save everyone in this planet. I will take you down!" The blade grew out of its sheath to one that mimicked the length of the Ultima Weapon. She had more blades at her disposal, but only the Solais was a better fit for the battle than her claws. Jenova did not stand on ceremony, with the dark currents of the Lifestream she enveloped herself in a protective sheet. Then, two dragon-like heads shot from it in a stream of Mako, heading for our heroes. Terra quickly gathered the power of both wing and ice to cast:

"Spellfusion: Absolute!" The chilling winds of the north turning the dragon heads into naught more than bridges above the now crumbling ground. They two ran over them, Cloud still being far more comfortable on the ground than on the air, and crashed through the stream of now frozen Lifestream. There was no one in sight. It was only the flux of energy that clued both as to where Jenova was. Directly above them. The stream had frozen into an upwards tunnel and that had only played in Jenova's favor as even more Lifestream flowed around her hand.

"Have a taste of your loved one's power! Holy!" She chanted, the power on her hand cascading down the tunnel. Terra could not allow the same attack that had claimed Vincent to reap them both. In a gamble, she teleported Cloud to the outside of the frozen tunnel, as the entrance they had made had long since been plugged.

"_Cloud, I trust you! I'll hold it off as long as I can, reach her!"_ She screamed in his mind, the SOLDIER realizing just how tunnel-vision Jenova was in destroying whatever was below her. He began running up the walls as Terra saw the Lifestream's might coming crashing down on her. "Father… Tina… lend me your strength!" She pleaded, the memories of Tina taking over just enough for her to remember the spell she and her father had developed.

"_I'll give you all you want Terra!"_ Tina offered, their voices and powers becoming one.

"Chaos… Wave!" All of her being was put into the swirling torrent of energy that came out of hands. It was untamed, uncontrollable, free. Just like her. It clashed with the White Materia's power in a blast that obliterated the top of the castle, leaving only the grounds and the light of the two energies clashing. She didn't know if she could win such a clash, most likely no, but she knew she did not need to do it. For seconds later, Cloud had reached Jenova, which was too concentrated to realize it.

"Jenova! This is for the fallen!" Cloud roared, bringing the full might of his feelings, his memories and all of his emotions of the woman. The element of surprise and for that, her right wing and arm were claimed. Blinded with rage and at the same time despairing, the parasite showed her true colors. Cloud felt her right arm gripping him on the back of the neck.

"I'll have you!" She shrieked much like a banshee, singing her teeth into his neck. He could feel her essence being transferred into him. _"You cannot resist me!"_She sneered, her very being dueling with Cloud's, his memories meeting hers, his thoughts fusing with hers.

"Once… I could not." He said, his eyes flaring up with Mako again. "And Aerith died for it! I won't let something like that happen ever again!" And with a booming shout, he pulled her away, throwing her away from him. The being, confused at how a mere human had just resisted direct contact with her cells, was not ready for the tiger-like bolt of lightning that suddenly course by her side, exploding into the Half-Esper girl, legendary treasure in hand.

"With this… I fulfill my promise!" She exclaimed as she plunged the Claíomh Solais into her heart with such force they fell back into the castle. "Vanish, you ghost of the past!" She screamed as they crashed into her own throne, Jenova, the false Ancient, now laying staked on her own ruling location. "I… did it Shin…" She whispered while she returned to her human form, clutching to the Lia Fáil. Soon after, Cloud landed beside her, wounds healing from the Protomateria. Both soon noticed how Jenova still drew breath. Terra was wondering what to do with her, but Cloud already knew.

"I'll go get Bartz. The Spear of Lugh will make it so her very essence burns, leaving no trace of her existence. No other punishment is acceptable." He told Terra, trusting her to watch over Jenova as he dived into the air to find the mime. It was then that a shrill cry filled the air.

"You would leave me alive Terra? Truly? After all I did to you?" She questioned, trying to spark Terra's hatred.

"My promise was to save everyone. I have done it, I don't need to kill you myself, I bear no such emotions inside me." She told Jenova, who continued to laugh.

"What if I told you that… for being afraid to lose yourself… you broke it?" She asked ominously.

"You're not making any sense!" Terra shot back.

"I have control over... every cell of mine in their bodies… they need them to live. They are not like you, a magical being… Any traitor can easily be… terminated." Terra's eyes widened as she realized what she meant. Instantly transforming, she ran to her to bring down the finishing blow. She could not. "Like so." In a flash, she felt it. Billions of life terminated, their essences rushing to the Lifestream. Every innocent man, woman and child on the three planets. Her friends taken by Jenova. Firion who she knew. Tidus and Yuna vanished as they fought Jecht and Auron. Then it came to the worst. She felt the life signals she treasured the most fade away. Jenova had just murdered her children.

Rage. Sadness. Grief. Disgust. Anger. Pain…

**Hatred.**

Jenova's head fell to the ground, cleaved from its neck in a fit of rage by Terra. She still smiled.

"And so comes… our Reunion…" In a second, she had ordered her cells to die. She had committed genocide.

Terra fell to her knees.

"How… how did I let it come to this?! Anna… Kathrin… Duane… Leo. I failed you. I failed you all!" She shouted, tears falling down her cheeks like rivers.

"_You… couldn't have known Terra. It's not…"_

"It IS! I should've just… killed her! I don't care what could have happened to me after! Uncountable lives have been sniffed away just because I was afraid of myself!" She lashed out, her power vanishing as she stripped herself from her esper form. She… didn't feel like she had anything to live for now. "I even… broke my promise… I'm so sorry…"

* * *

><p>No time for self-loathing. The earth trembled as the entire battlefield heard the incorporeal voice, one that explained it all.<p>

"_All of my children have returned to the Lifestream! And I have too!"_ It could not be…

"Jenova?!" Cloud shouted, not believing his ears.

"Yes my dearest! And now, you shall see what I have become!" The castle started to shake, the entire foundations of the city with it. It began to crumble around Terra, whose will was divided. She felt she was at fault. That she had to have done something sooner. Despite Tina's urges to move, she stayed the same. But today was not the day she would die, or not that moment at least, for when the floor beneath her crumbled, Bahamut's scales caressed her back.

"Terra, are you alright?!" Rydia asked of her. She barely nodded.

* * *

><p>In a few minutes, Bahamut now flew over Noctis' entire army, now a few hundred meters away from the city. It had all crumbled, even the ground where it stood on falling into the gigantic pit it created. As they looked at the emerald crater, the tremors began again, this time much more severe, the voice accompanying them.<p>

"The Lifestream. The will of the planet. The will of every living being. It has all become one with me!" Jenova announced, the crater releasing a geyser of pure mako. A few minutes then passed again in silence, the atmosphere so dark and thick one could grasp at her.

Six Black Wings. That was what emerged from the geyser first. The torrent began to power down, slowly revealing a colossus whose shadow loomed over all of the remaining soldiers. A colossus whose height exceeded even Bahamut's flying height. "**** **Finally! I have become the ****P****lanet!**** I have become Valhalla!"******The voice was no longer incorporeal, it all came from the giant abomination tower above them, even if the voice was just like Jenova's still, no changes, nothing. Suddenly, tens, if not hundreds of cat-like emerald eyes opened from all over the colossus. All of them fixated on one person.

"**I thank you**** for making this possible****… Terra Branford.**"

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****This is possibly the worst possible scenario I could imagine. I doubt you even thought it would get THIS out of hand, huh? Well, tune in NEXT WEEK! A week and a half tops as we finally enter the arc's final battle. I won't spoil anything with lines from the next chapter, but you do deserve the title.

**********J-E-N-O-V-A.**G-A-I-A************

Now, you are welcome to review. Because you know you want next chapter to come sooner!


	64. J-E-N-O-V-AG-A-I-A

****Author's Note:****The VERY delayed ending to my personal favorite part of the story so far. Apologies and all are on the post-chapter note… for now, please, enjoy yourselves!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Sixty-Four**

****Part 5's Finale: J-E-N-O-V-A.G-A-I-A****

* * *

><p>"This is not good…" Lightning snarled as she peered out the window. Even from afar and from the other side of the dimensional chasm it was easy to spot the hulking monstrosity Jenova had become. The Valkyrie was now divided in-between rushing towards the realm that had been left to her and staying by her sister's side.<p>

"Light, you know you're not doing anything standing around here, don't you?" Snow told her, a glare instantly meeting his eyes. "Hey! I just mean that we're safe in here and they're… not. You'd be of more help fighting there than sitting here!" Lightning sighed and looked back unto the distant battlefield and again to her sister, which was on the operating table linked to multiple tubes.

"Light, don't worry, I'm almost done deciphering the genetic code, she'll be alright once you come back. Now, go get the satisfaction of finishing her off!" Hope exclaimed, being the last thing Lightning needed to move on.

"I'll go, but if something happens to her…" She half-heartedly threatened, to which Hope and Snow shot a knowing look. "Good." She finished, jumping off the window and into a freshly summoned Odin's back. As she descended the building however, she saw a sight she did not expect to her right. And that cracked a smile even on her.

Smiles however, were the last thing on the minds of our heroes.

* * *

><p>"<strong>What is the matter? Is my presence so awe-inspiring you are without words? Cannot say I blame you…<strong>" Jenova, or whatever it was taunted. Bellow the giant's waist was nothing but a hulking mass of flesh, pulsing as it tried to join into a more organized shape and failing to do so. The upper part was much like Jenova's body, only tripped of any clothing and the almost half of it was covered in those unsettling, dark pupil-less cat-like eyes, their eyelids seemingly independent from each other as some were left to stare downwards at the miniscule humans beneath them while the others wildly spun with almost no purpose. Six black wings, each of them capable of shadowing the former city of Valhalla sprung from her back, even though they appeared to have no function.

"What did you DO Jenova?!" Cloud shouted from the distance, somehow being perfectly heard by the abomination.

"**Is it not obvious? I and my children have become one! Every single human under my influence and worship, their souls, memories, their very existence is now a part of me! And I couldn't have done it without you…**" Again, all her eyes laid on Terra. "**Not only did you murder one of your most important assets but you crippled yourself in the process by overanalyzing yourself**** and what you were asked to do****.****"** Some would say Jenova was walking on a very thin line as Terra seemed to crunch her teeth together and clinch her hands in growing rage.** You feared your very nature so much you did not kill me when you should yet, when I clearly desired release from my human ****coil, ****you did so without regrets****, only pure rage that you tried to avoid by not killing me in the first place****. Is it not laughable? That even when you are not forced into performing tasks for your masters… you are still very much a pawn?**"

"Shut up…" Terra whispered, whipping Rydia's concerned hand from her shoulder. The small vibration however, reached the giant, who could not but ignore the advice.

"**Oh, does it hurt? Does it hurt to look at your hands and see the blood of every person you ever loved… slowly dripping away between your own claws?**" Jenova knew how to catalyze a reaction. Even if it was by simply telling the ugly truth. In some way or another, Terra was the main reason for the death of both Shinryu's spawn and her own family. Either way, Terra's mind was, understandably, on a fragile state, and it did not take anything more than this to make it snap.

"SHUT UP!" She ordered, throwing caution to the wind and barreling towards the monster while leaving the rest of the non-flying cast behind, read, all of it.

"**You humans, complete or not****,**** are so easy to control…**" Jenova mocked, the black feathers on her wings suddenly shooting from them as if they were bullets. Terra easily steered in-between the assault, leaving only doubts in her mind as to why Jenova had even attempted such an ill-focused, half-hearted attack. The answer came when the bigger-than-man feathers hit the ground near the remains of the army. "**Rise… children.**" The plumes then proceeded to rot away, leaving away creatures in fetal positions.

"W-what are those things?" Luneth gasped as they stood. As deformed as the waist of Jenova, they were beyond description, just hulking masses of budging muscles that barely resembled a humanoid shape, they were nothing else than abominations to nature.

"How can we fight those things?" One of the soldiers asked in panic. They were easily twice as big as a normal human and most of their appendages seemed to be built only for senseless carnage. The troops were heavily demoralized by it, obviously.

"With the steel of our blade and the devotion we carried to this battlefield!" The Warrior of Light told them, summoning his cracked blade, his helmet long gone. "We have been facing insurmountable odds up until now… how is this different? If it puts your hearts at ease, I will lead the charge! Those who are not hypocrites come with me! For the Light!" The man shouted, drawing his blade and charging singlehandedly against the army of creatures.

"_You can't get a more cliché'd speech… but it did the trick."_ Squall told himself while he heaved his Revolver on his shoulder. Without any further order, the grunts had followed Hikari, and soon, he did too.

* * *

><p>"I thrust everything is going as planned." Lezard began, making his way to the reunion of former Chaos Warriors and their new affiliates.<p>

"You sure took your time Lezard." Pointed out Kefka. Lezard was surprised at how the maddened clown didn't abbreviate his name into a playful nickname. Turns out Palazzo's normal grin had faded away after he visited Valhalla.

"Just… cleaning up." Lezard replied, whipping out any remnants of blood in his cloak with a bit of magic.

"Has the Grimmoire been disposed of?" Xehanort questioned, Lezard shrugged.

"I would not be back if not so. Now tell me, how is the progress on Omega? I don't have to remind you we are cut off from the rest of our forces now." He told Xehanort. Moments later, a crack was heard, like glass was breaking. He just smiled. "I see…"

* * *

><p>"<strong>You are tru<strong>**ly too easy to influence child.**" Jenova mocked as Terra stopped a few meters away from her head.

"I'm not going to ask you why you are doing this Jenova. I am not going to ask you to stop it. I don't believe it's necessary. I'll just ask you this… how could you? They, the people you infected, they loved you. No matter how sick and artificial it was, they really did. I know this. I did too once. How did you have the heart to kill them for power?" She asked. For the life of her she couldn't realize how a mother would kill her children. She wa… had been a mother and that just made it that much more confusing.

"_There's no reasoning with that thing Sunshine. I don't like how you just jumped in alone, but reasoning is out of the question."_ Tina told her, to which Terra replied.

"_I know but… I want to know the answer." _It was curiosity, nothing more. One that Jenova put to rest.

"**My** **c****hildren are**** the tiles I walk on for immortality. When my body dies, I can simply take another one's. My children are the arms that grant me power. Be it in number or by being a part of me, they make me strong. I love them for that. They are my most beloved and trusted… tools.**" She replied emotionlessly, as a teacher spoon feeding dumb student knowledge. Terra didn't cringe. No, she smiled, which confused Jenova heavily.

"I won't have any regrets… or doubts when I destroy you. There is nothing redeemable about you. You aren't a lost soul like Kefka, Sephiroth, even Garland is one. You? Pure. Evil." She told Jenova, who smiled back.

"**Spare me the speeches girl. ****What are you now but an ant for me to crush? I'l****l make this swift if only for your collaboration. Afraid I can't promise you the same for your companions though. My children are quite… restless.**" Terra turned back instantly as she realized how irresponsible she had been, seeing how from the feathers monsters had sprout.

"No!" She exclaimed, beginning to fly back just to be blocked off by two amalgamations of flesh that bolted from Jenova, eyes staring from it into her own.

"**Why don't you**** stay? You used to love my company!**" Terra groaned and blasted the tentacle with a fireball, only to have it replaced by two more. She then summoned the same weapons he used when she fought Jenova. "**What, aren't you about to use the sword? Can your power be… drained?**** Or is it something else?**" Terra didn't answer, she just hoped they would be fine as she turned back and flew into the colossus.

* * *

><p>Things weren't going too good for our heroes. You see, while the numbers were equal, you must understand that an average soldier could not take a spawn of Jenova. The fight was quickly becoming nothing more than a mass tactical retreat, with the true heroes on the forefront, guarding the retreating soldiers. This caused them to become sorely overwhelmed.<p>

"Noctis! We have to head back!" Ignis shouted, clutching his wounded arm from the distance.

"I won't abandon her! We can't abandon Terra. If we run now the situation will only get worse!" Replied the prince as he twirled around a group of tentacles, severing them from the body before performing an arcing crescent sweep that ended the life of one of the abominations.

"He's right! It's now or never! Do or die!" Cloud exclaimed, using his new, totally balanced by the way, form to fly over the grounded monsters and fight the Bahamut SINs on the air. Bahamut itself was already overwhelmed by a group of three.

"You know Cloud, not to ruin your hopes, but this is quickly turning into the second option!" Exclaimed Bartz, who swept in a circle to burn away all his enemies with Lugh, if only they did not return moments later, Mako pouring from the ground and turning solid in mere seconds. If Bartz was pessimistic about some odds, they had to be really bad.

"Unfortunately, he is right. These beasts just return the moment we slay them. If we had only to halt their advance, I'd consider it manageable, but considering how badly Terra seems to be doing against Jenova, I'd reckon we would need to help her as well if we are to end this invasion." Kain explained, jumping so high that when he crashed the ground did so with him like a month ago, taking the monsters to the Lifestream. Redundant, but it bought time.

"If only we had an actual army… but they were far too fatigued after the fight they'd already gone through." Ashe lamented, but as we know, these words were magical. The entirety of the frontline suddenly erupted in flames, the sound of canons filling the air. And it did not stop!

"What in the devil…?" Cecil asked himself before taking his eyes into the skies. "Airships?!"

*Cue: Theme of the Empire. FFXII*

"That's the… Archadian Air Fleet!" Vaan proclaimed, flabbergasted. "But… how?!"

"Do not underestimate Archades' resources! Once we knew how to outfit your own ship for space, it was a trivial matter to outfit our own! We may have only successfully managed to do so with little more than a dozen, but we shall stand with you!" Larsa blared from a speaker inside Archadian Flagship, the Odin. Just then, hordes of chocobos rushed past our heroes, two particular ones stopping by Vaan's side.

"We'll hold them here for you. End this!" Basch almost ordered Vaan and the others before charging into battle.

"Well, far be it from me to say no! Let's go Pride!" Bartz cheerfully exclaimed, all pessimism suddenly vanishing from his voice. Leave it to him to turn even the smallest sliver of hope into what looked like an entire sunshine.

Needless to say, while the army did their best to open their pathway into Jenova, the heroes quickly charged. Some more easily than others, especially people like Cloud, the SINs were now more likely to be preoccupied with the airships. However, as they ran, more and more monsters cropped up to bar their path. They couldn't keep going like this.

"We're going to be overwhelmed even IF we manage to blitz through them!" Vaan pointed out as they ran.

"Then we have no choice…" Kain acknowledged. Once he stopped, everyone did the same. "The ones with crystals must open a path! We shall cover you!"

"But…" Zidane tried to counter.

"**NO BUTS!**" The familiar voice filled the environment, inspiring both trust and distrust. Either way, a thunderstorm cleared the way to the giant in the horizon, followed by a storm of petals that heralded the second Lady of Fantasy.

"What are you doing here?" Noctis snarled, his sword more tensed towards her than the monsters.

"Kain." Lightning simply called. If there was someone who understood what she was, it was Kain. He had experience in it. They exchanged a prolonged stare before any words came out of the Dragoon's mouth.

"She's here to help. I know a traitor when I see one. She isn't one anymore." He spoke the truth. He saw nothing evil in Lightning, and who was to question Kain in the matters of betrayal and allegiances? No one. "Now go. The way is clear."

The group of crystal bearers nodded, bolting into Jenova's direction.

"Sorry… but this is personal." Zack told everyone before running in as well.

"How do you put up with that guy?" Terra asked his companion.

"I'm still working on that." Was all Aqua could answer before the monsters tried to avenge their fallen comrades, ones that would no doubt return any moment now.

* * *

><p>"<em>This is way out of our league…"<em>Said Tina to Terra, the latter of which used her scythe to cleave half of one of Jenova's tentacles. Said tentacle gave birth to two more while Terra's weapon flickered. Terra was heaving, the repetition of near death situations finally taking a toll on her body, human or not.

"I can't even use Shin's sword." She lamented, knowing how the blade would sooner suck her very life than it would destroy Jenova.

"**Forfeiting? I expected better!**" Jenova blared, sending her vile extensions all at once, Terra's reflexes too dulled to defend herself from an attack on all fronts. Soon she found herself entangled in the pulsing, slimy flesh of the eldritch abomination, being taken into the middle of the only part of Jenova that still resembled human, her face. Her torso, while human-like, was filled with eyes, same for her gigantic arms. And they all seemed to converge on her. Watching her. Judging her. All those people that died because of her. They were the ones punishing her. "**Don'****t worry girl. You're a mother, are you not? You'll be with your children soon.**" Jenova taunted, now opening her jaw to reveal an all but human mouth. One could hear the wails of the dead coming from the gaping maw. If Terra had to compare it to something, it would be Ouroboros. The interior of Jenova was indeed the bodies of her "children".

"_No…__ Don't throw me in there!"_ It wasn't weakness of Terra. No sane human would stare into something far worse than hell, and, threatened by it, not feel afraid. In despair, she tried to reach for her formerly other self for comfort, but found the exact opposite.

"_I'm scared too Sunshine…"_ In a thousand years Tina had seen nothing like it. Nothing like the cavern of horrors that they now slowly entered. Terra closed her eyes and clutched to the Lia Fáil, hoping for a miracle.

"I…I can't do this by myself. I'm sorry…" She apologized as the maw started to close.

"None of us do!" Suddenly, she felt her restraints come undone, a strong arm taking ahold of her. She looked up hopefully, but it was only Cloud. We all know who she expected it to be. Still, she felt grateful. Even more so when the SOLDIER flew out of Jenova's mouth as Vaan and Luneth fell right in front of it.

"Why don't you take a more spicy course?!" Vaan exclaimed, him and Luneth hurling four shouldering spheres of fire into her mouth.

"Here's the seasoning!" Edge completed, Bahamut finishing it off by firing its most powerful attack, the ensuing explosions blowing Jenova's head clean off.

"That was a blast!" Luneth shouted, falling into Bahamut while Cloud landed with Terra.

"Here." Cloud gestured, giving Terra a half-drank bottle of Elixir. "This should hold you up for a while."

"Thank you…" Terra whispered back, taking the bottle and fiddling with it. This prompted Cloud to pat her on the back for attention.

"Don't worry. This will be finished before you ran out of strength. We'll finish it… together." He assured, nudging his head on the opposite direction of Terra. The girl looked back to see Lightning, Hikari, Cecil, even if he did not have his crystal, Bartz, Zack, Squall, Zidane, Jecht, Prishe with Vaan, Luneth and the Eblan family landing nearby. All her doubts vanished in the middle of their comforting and reassuring smiles. She took one last glance on the Lia Fáil and turned to Cloud, nodding.

"I know we will!" She exclaimed, taking the bottle down in one go.

"**INSOLENT ****PESTS!**" They turned their heads back to Jenova to see her head had regenerated past her mouth, even if she didn't even have eyes yet, it seemed good enough for her to talk.

"Well, any brilliant ideas on how to handle this situation?" Squall asked, quickly predicting the first answer and answering for them. "Outside of "clobber her until she stops moving, then some more." The then eager Bartz then simply scratched the back of his head, shrugging. Squall felt like he SHOULD feel desperate, but instead he asked himself if he really expected anything else. The answer was no.

"If we have no concrete plan, we'll fight like we always did! Charge!" Warrior shouted, again letting his notion of being the commander shine. However, due to the lack of other ideas, everyone did so.

* * *

><p><span>Meanwhile, back in the laboratory:<span>

"YES!" Hope exclaimed, almost falling off the chair in excitement, bolting towards Cid's location, stopping only to collect a freshly prepared fluid that was dripping from a machine into a test tube. The scientist was glaring at a single small slate, tarnished with a single drop of Serah's blood, now mostly black as the fluids coming from Geostigma were, when he arrived, to which he looked back to Hope and asked:

"Have you…?" Asked Cid before he saw Hope already dipping a minuscule amount of liquid on the tainted blood. The clear green liquid seemed to vanish into the middle of the blood, as if you had never dropped anything in it. Hope then jumped into the microscope, thanking God they had the tech to visualize DNA strands easily by that time. "How is it?"

"It's…" Hope paused, letting out a deep sigh, turning to Cid. "WORKING!" He exclaimed, running to the outside of the room. "Snow! We got the antidote!" He shouted, the big burly Snow and Noel gasping before running into the building to see just what had happened.

* * *

><p>If only things could go so well in the battlefield…<p>

"Take… THIS!" Bartz shouted, cleaving one arm right off Jenova with his spear. "Why doesn't this work?!" He shouted in frustration as he landed, turning to see how, even though he had clearly cut off her arm and it was now vanishing into the Lifestream, Jenova was already in the process of making a new one. _"Shouldn't the flames consume every single part of her? Wait a minute…" _He looked closer and saw how tens of flaming bodies fell from Jenova's arms, turning into ashes before even reaching the ground. _"She's detaching what the spear touches…"_Hitting the ground with his fist, Bartz cringed in frustration before noticing how the arm he had just cut off had sprouted Sons of Jenova. "This party is getting crazy… Let's dance!" Shouted the Mime, making quick work of two monsters with a spinning swipe and jumping to the middle of two more.

* * *

><p><span>Meanwhile, on Jenova's back:<span>

"This looked like a better idea on paper!" Luneth complained, grabbing onto one of the many strange and increasingly less human extensions of the body.

"Just keep holding R1!" Zack replied, cutting off two tentacles that came after them with his Buster Sword.

"This isn't the time or the place to reference Shadow of the Colossus Zack!" Even Zidane knew that. Truth be told, they planned on sneaking behind Jenova and climb from its back to launch a surprise attack on her wings. They didn't account for the back having EYES.

"Don't worry, just watch your stamina gauge, look for the shiny spots and we'll be alright!" Wander, I mean Zack shouted. We all know he was just trying to lift the morale, but we have to wonder just HOW he could keep his head so fresh.

* * *

><p>The reason they were having a free pass on her back was for how strained Jenova was on the front. Her tentacles and magic spells barely managed to touch the two flying targets, one of which was also bombarding her with spells. Furthermore, Lighting and Hikari were quite literally running along her body, causing damage galore with their swords. Still, even then, the heroes felt like whatever they did was… futile.<p>

"Nothing we do leaves a mark…" Groaned Cloud who had noticed how the number of tentacles and monstrous spawns had increased instead of decreasing, Squall now finding it hard to fight the several Bahamuts Jenova had created, even when aided by the real Bahamut and its riders.

"Don't give up now Cloud!" Terra exclaimed, pushing onwards in her Esper form to sever multiple tentacles with well-placed Riot blades, finishing the assault by cleave Jenova's head off her shoulders yet again with her renewed scythe. She still didn't use the Claíomh, mostly because she was still nowhere close to full power.

"Wasn't going to anyway…" Cloud mumbled. Of course, no one expected Jenova to die with a simple decapitation.

"**I do not understand your zeal… you know that as long as the Lifestream supports me I will always come regenerate. While you are… ephemeral.**" What they also didn't expect though, was the body to move immediately after its head was cut off. No one saw how bellow Cloud a group of tentacles rocketed upwards, unbeknownst for the SOLDIER.

"CLOUD!" Terra shouted from the depths of her lungs. She knew Cloud couldn't react to it, the only reason she could was because of how her senses were greatly above even the other's enhanced ones, he was going to get caught and with him, the Protomateria. She had no time to think and let her heart decide.

"_Sunshine what are you…"_She was too late.

"Teleport!" Terra chanted, reappearing right next to Cloud to push him off. Before he or anyone else could even understand what had happened, she felt the iron grip of Jenova once more.

"**One… down.**" Jenova mocked. Terra began to feel the air whoosh pass her face at supersonic speeds. She heard desperate cries then the cracking of the earth, after a few moments of blindness… She felt cold. And wet. The tentacles had pulled her underground, right into…

"_Is this the Lifestream?"_ Tina questioned as Terra looked around as she sunk. The tentacles slowly unwrapped, vanishing into the blackened waves of the sea of life. _"Sunshine? You're free! Get out of here! This crap is tainted!"_ Her body wasn't her own. Terra tried to move, to no avail. It was like her body refused to move. _"Wait… oh no! Sunshine, move, now!" _Terra could feel it. The tainted Lifestream entered into every pore of her body.

"No… not again…" Terra mouthed, feeling that horrible feeling creeping up on her very being.

"**Terra! Wake up!**" Terra's body suddenly let out a spasm, full control being given back to its owner as her pouch began to burn. That voice was familiar, but nothing like Terra had ever heard. This power though… she almost recognized it. She reached for her pouch and pulled out the burning Lia Fáil from it. In a flash of white light that encased Terra, a spectral apparition of a man appeared. She now recognized the energy and why it was so familiar.

"That's you isn't it? Shinryu…" She had felt his hand on many battles in her life, be it for the good or the bad, but what she wasn't expecting was seeing how similar he was to his reincarnation. She expected… a dragon really. This person looked like what Shin would be in a ten to twenty years from now, minus the red hair.

"We meet at last. I wish we could have done so in a more controlled environment." Shinryu greeted. Terra didn't know what to think of this. Wasn't Shinryu… "I am not truly sealed on that stone if that is what you are about to ask." Terra's eyes shot open in shock. She could barely mutter:

"Then… does that mean." She wasn't even hopeful about it, the question came off as a reflex. I still hurt her to listen to the answer.

"No. It does not. His very soul is locked inside the stone. Mine is not. However, as much as I'd love to help you Terra, I cannot do it alone. I have no body of my own, nor human, nor dragon." Shinryu's voice was calm, as was he. He was certain Terra had realized what he wanted to do.

"Shinryu… what you're asking me to do is impossible!" Terra shot back once her mind clicked.

"_To be fair it is not… if it were,__ then Shin's existence would be impossible to achieve."_ Tina chimed in. Her voice was still laced with doubt, but by this point, even she knew something had to be done fast.

"That's beside the point! I'm not a god or anything like that Shinryu. I don't have the power to do what you are asking me to! Especially not now!" Terra exclaimed in protest, a hand then slowly landing on her head, massaging her scalp.

"Says the small girl that defeated even my most ambitious dreams. Don't worry Terra, what I could do, I can too. It is true that you are tired, but look around you. Is there any place better than this?" He gestured to the liquid that surrounded them. "A place of creation, the very meaning of the stream is to create life. If you can harness it… there's no limit to what you can do!"

"But… it's tainted. Jenova rules it with an iron fist. Even I fell into her control once." Terra replied. It was true that if the stream was pure, it was essentially a sentient reserve of magic. It was at times like this she wished she had established a link with the Cauldron, but that had been impossible due to the non-stop fighting.

"Not ALL of it is tainted." Another voice tolled, this one not even having the right for an apparition.

"You. You're Aerith aren't you? But your body…" Terra began, remembering what she had seen while she flew towards Jenova.

"My body was recreated as a way to create doubts and hesitation in Cloud, but my will was not broken. Many wills are on the verge of breaking… but they can still be salvaged. Terra, let's do this together. Ask for their help. I'll make them listen." The disembodied voice of Aerith, which was nothing but as whisper now pleaded.

"_Way to push the pressure button…" _Tina complained. It was true though. Terra understandably felt nervous, the weight of the entire world was now directly on her shoulders, and her shoulders alone.

"It's nothing I haven't been entrusted with before." She told herself, taking a deep breath. "I hope you can hear me. My name is Terra Branford. And I've seen my world burn. Two years ago, my will was broken as I saw a monster in human form burn everything I knew and loved to the ground. I feel into a pool of my own sorrow and swore to live the rest of my days in hiding as that man ruled over the world with fear and destruction." She felt she was being listened, it was as if the current that touched her body carried with it the feelings and emotions of all that had been broken by Jenova. It was too much to process, Terra had to close her mind to the hatred, sadness, rage and, above all apathy. She felt like they did not care anymore. They had lost it all already. And this is why she told her tale.

"I know how you feel. Your lives stripped away as you were used as tools. A great deal of my life was the same as well. But then I learned… I learned to love others. I am sure you all know what is to love someone. I'm sure you all know the pain that losing that someone is. Do you wish it to happen to anyone else? Do you wish your loved ones to be controlled by this monstrous woman? Even if you do not have anyone who you can save, do you not wish them peace, or peace to those who still live?" She could feel other emotions now. The apathy was slowly washing away.

"What do you gain by idling, waiting for the world to end?! You have ONE chance! Just ONE CHANCE to make things right! Help me take her down! Help me stop Jenova before any more lives get destroyed! Help me bring peace to not only you, but everyone you ever cared for! I know it's hard! I know it's easier to close your eyes and live in blissful ignorance! But there are something's worth fighting for! Worth DYING for! Someone showed me that this very day and I will not break my promise to him. He's dead. I cannot save him. But I can save other people from experiencing the same. So I BEG of you! Not for me, not even for you but for everyone that has lived and will live on this world. Help me stop Jenova! Share your power with me! Let me guide you in this battle. One last battle before your eternal rest!" After that, silence. Long, cold silence. Terra lowered her head in defeat, wondering if she should even leave the Lifestream now. Then, one small orb of light formed in front of her. She smiled and caressed it. At least someone had listened to her. Suddenly…

"You seem to have caught their hearts…" Aerith whispered in her ear. Moments later, the Lifestream began filling with small orbs of green mako until everything in her vicinity was purified. "Do what you have to do. They'll help you." Terra acknowledged this and summoned her crystal, hoping it's powers helped her in what she was about try.

"_Well Sunny, I think it's time to save the world… again."_ Terra nodded at Tina's remark and turned to Shinryu, who had his had outstretched. Smiling, she gave him her hand, resulting in an explosion of light.

* * *

><p>*Cue: Answers, 2:40 onwards. FFXIV OST*<p>

Bartz on the ground, one of the Sons standing above him with a twisted fleshy claymore for an arm, ready to strike. He closed his eyes and covered himself with his arms, fruitlessly trying to defend himself. But then… something happened. Light. Lots of light. He could feel his eyes burn, even though they were closed, so bright was the flash of light. He opened his eyes to find the abomination charred, lifeless on its feet. A quick look around him made him see how the light was slowly returning to the hole on the ground where Terra had been pulled to. A hole a mere few meters away from him.

"**What… what is the meaning of this?**" Jenova snarled, not knowing why everything she controlled in the immediate proximity to the hole had been scorched alive while leaving the heroes untouched. "**You**** people are more trouble than what ****you**** are worth… I'll just kill ****you ****from now on!**" She told no one in particular. Easier said than done.

"It felt like it was Terra, didn't it?" Luneth pointed out.

"That was just one of them. Many identities from that blast stem. You see, I don't think Terra is alone. I can feel it in my bones." Shantotto said, casually strolling into the battlefield. Who was Luneth to question the biggest magical authority they had?

"Terra! You down there?!" Bartz called from the edge of the hole, instead being "greeted" by a cracking floor right below his feet. "Crap!" The cracks on the floor exuded Mako, but also began shinning on their own, their light shooting upwards. Bartz immediately got up from his kneeling position, but it was too late. The ground below him collapsed and he fell with it.

"Bartz!" Zidane shouted, getting ready to jump in there to save his friend, only to have his tail grabbed by Squall, who stopped him from running up to the now crumbling Area.

"I have a feeling he'll be fine. Besides, you can't reach him now, the whole area is going down." Squall pointed out and Zidane didn't have any way to disprove that. The lion was somehow optimistic about this new development. The light had been… comforting. He could only hope this was a consequence of it.

From the ground, two silver wings.

"No freaking way…" Edge gasped, memories of the Lunar Subterranean at the True Moon flooding his mind.

A soul shattering roar.

"Holy Shaiza… IT _IS_ HIM!" Prishe gaped, showing fluency in German for her cusses. Everyone that vanished from had seen him just once in their lives, more than enough.

From the ground a flash of the purest silver erupted, barreling towards the skies where it spread its wings, halting in all of its glory. The crystal-like scales covered his entire body, be it silver for most of it or the golden that covered his lower body and wings. A red mane fluttered to the whimsy of its energy, its eyes pure red. Cloud looked on, muttering the name even the Gods feared.

"Shinryu…" The SOLDIER voiced, soon to be followed by its savage roar.

"**BEGONE ABOMINATIONS!**" Godsbane Shinryu roared, flapping his wings once to create a tempest of near endless arrays of golden rays, which had only two orders. Seek and Destroy. And they did so. Three of them obliterated Jenova's current body while the others mercilessly rained upon the battlefield, burning her spawns in Holy Fire. Those who became encased in the fire soon found themselves trapped in a crystal. Said crystals were now all over the battlefield, only encasing enemy forces. Everyone looked on in sheer awe as the dragon seemed to draw a deep breath.

Again he roared. With the divine roar came the cracking of the crystals. Before long, they all broke in a million pieces that now lay scattered on the battlefield, Jenova's army now reduced to dust.

On top of Shinryu Terra fell backwards, the strain taking its very predictable toll on her body, being caught by Bartz.

"Terra… you okay?!" Bartz asked her, splashing some water with his magic on her cheeks.

"Just… tired that's all." She struggled to get back to her feet, hand covering her forehead. "We did it… Shinryu… everyone." She said, to which a mental acknowledgment from the dragon and the countless souls that now were a part of it came.

"Wait… you actually summoned THIS guy?!" Bartz received a small nod in return. "You gotta teach me!" Terra smiled back, but was interrupted by a sudden tremor, followed by the return of Jenova, no damage left on her, just a grim snarl.

"**What are you?!**" She shrieked, her screams hurting the ears as nails on a blackboard.

"**Me? I am Shinryu. I trust you heard my name.**" Said he with a courteous, almost mocking tone. He knew what strings to pull.

"**You cannot be! You have no body! Only a soul that is soon to cease!**" She spat, to which Shinryu chuckled.

"**It was not by my hand that I was once again given flesh. I was brought here by the same hands that you forced to build your reign. Their wish for retribution and freedom burns inside my very being****.**" He kept calm, much to Jenova's anger.

"**Do not spit such holy words! You**** are a class of monster far worse than anything that you accuse me of being! I**** brought stability to humanity! I brought them peace and love! You brought them only destruction!**" Shinryu knew she had a point on the end of her speech, but he was not one to dwell on the past anymore.

"**Your words are as empty as your soul! Mankind ill needs a savior such as you!**" Shinryu replied, everyone losing their words the Godly dispute they were witness too.

"**What is a man? A pile of flesh seeking happiness! Happiness I can provide!**" Shinryu had had enough with this woman's blind self-righteousness.

"**ENOUGH TALK! Have at you!**" With that and a scathing breath of light, Jenova's body was again no more.

"Whoa… this guy's strong!" Bartz pointed out, always Captain Obvious.

The worst was yet to come though, as seemingly all of the tainted Lifestream seemed to congregate in a single spot, a sudden and eerily silent pause followed by an eruption of dark Mako. From it came what could barely be classified as humanoid anymore. Were it not by the arms, wings and head, Jenova would be nothing but a pile of flesh and tentacles, each closer and closer to being an individual being. What was worse was that this grotesque appearance came accompanied with the size of a small mountain. So big was her that even Shinryu, a dragon that dwarfed Bahamut, was just mere meters bigger than one of her eyes.

"Geez… talk about overcompensating." Bartz joked… somehow. This got a surprised look from Terra, but a deep and resounding chuckle as well from the godly being bellow him.

"**You are a special case, are you not Bartz?**" Said Mime just shrugged at the dragon's question. "**But don't worry. It will take more than size to intimidate me. Will you assist me?**"

"Course!" Bartz relied, summoning his spear. Seems like we're not the only ones ready. He was looking downwards, seeing that not one soldier had backed off, all ready to take the titan on.

"On your call." Cloud told them as he flew onto their side.

"Let's finish this Shinryu…" Terra told him, relaxing her body before preparing to cast magic if needed.

"**I agree. Let**** us**** soar!**" And with that, they advanced.

* * *

><p>"I should be fighting now… no reason to stay here anymore." Noel told himself, picking up his swords as he started to head towards the exit to the building. Serah had been given clearance, she just had to rest. Her hair turning back to normal and so was the rest of her body. Also, her body was now filled with natural anticorps that combated and fed Jenova's Cells. She was basically immune to them. Which was why he was flabbergasted to see her sneak out of the building by one of the windows. "What the…" Noel wondered, jumping off the window as well to chase her, he didn't need to go too far. Five meters had apparently been too much for the weakened Serah, who now slowly tried to pull herself up. "What the heck are you doing Serah?!" He asked the woman, who looked at him in a broken expression.<p>

"I saw what'll happen… you have to get me to Valhalla! They'll… they'll lose!" She exclaimed, which was more than enough to catch Noel's attention was.

"I'll just go get Snow and Hope! We'll be off in a flash!" Noel said, only to be grabbed as he tried to run back to the building.

"Not Snow. He won't understand." The cryptic way Serah told Noel that made his bones chill, but he tried his best to ignore it.

"Okay Serah. I'll take you there." And off they went.

When they passed through the Rift, Noel gasped at all the commotion that was happening. He'd be lying if he said he had been following the battle. Now what he saw was a mountain-tall Jenova being swarmed by what looked like flies to her. Noel estimated that thing to be ATLEAST 500 meter tall, which was completely insane.

* * *

><p>Shinryu dodged the tentacles skillfully by closing his wings and dive-bombing through them, quickly opening its wings once again and letting out another stream of Chaotic Deluge upon the body of Jenova as he ascended. No matter the size, everything the blazes of light touched was obliterated from once side of the body to another. When they arrived at the head, which was protected by swarms of SINs, Bahamut blasted a Mega Flare through them to give them the way to the head. Two SINs tried to flank them, but Terra blasted one in the face with Flare, followed by a quick and deadly Ultima cast, deleting that being from existence. The other got Jumped by Bartz, quickly melting as a result of the Lugh.<p>

"**What will you do?! Destroy this body? What then?!**" Jenova asked, but Shinryu wasn't having any of it. Roaring, the dragon's power resounded with each vibration in the air, so great it was that the very particles that formed Jenova's head separated forcefully, leaving her headless.

"Watch out!" They hear Cloud yell, but even Shinryu couldn't dodge the incoming hand. The gigantic dragon was now enclosed by the palm of Jenova's right hand. What's worse, all the damage they did, from Shinryu's assault to the others… all of it was negated.

"**I asked you… what then?!**"Asked Jenova, whose head almost immediately reformed. "**I AM the Lifestream! The giver of life. No matter how much you damage me, all you destroy will return to the Lifestream, which will return to me! What do you hope to accomplish?**" Shinryu groaned dangerously, but was quickly silenced as the hand increased the pressure on him.

* * *

><p>"See?" Serah asked Noel, who nodded, still with doubts.<p>

"I don't get what WE can do about it though." He replied. How he repented he did.

"You can kill me." She replied flatly. Noel couldn't believe his ears. Her expression hasn't changed when she had told him… do that.

"What?! What are you on about Serah?!" Noel blared back, causing Serah to break eye contact.

"I came here for it. This is why I didn't bring Snow. He would never harm me Noel. I know it's a lot to ask, but you have to do it." She told him calmly as the battle waged on, the forces trying to free Shinryu from the clutches of the colossus.

"Why…?" Was all that Noel asked.

"Jenova's cells. They are tainting the Lifestream. I… I have in me the only thing that can purify it. The only way we have to purify it now is IN me! It took hope HOURS to create a vaccine. We don't HAVE hours!" She shouted, urging Noel to do something, Bahamut and its riders crashing on the ground, unconscious or worse. "Do it now Noel! While they can still defeat her! If we take too long, stopping her from using the remaining Stream will do nothing to help us."

"But I…" Noel began, looking at his flame shaped sword. He felt his wrist being grabbed and pulled. Before he knew it, his blade hovered right next to Serah's heart.

"Do it." She told him softly.

"I. I can't Serah! I saw you die once! I can't…"

"You know what to tell Snow. Lightning… just tell her to try and be happy for once." She held the blade so tightly her hands started to bleed. Noel was thorn. This may very well be their one shot at it, but even if it were… to kill his best friend like this was a dark prospect. But then again, from the corner of his eye, he saw how the offensive was beginning to lose their flare as more monsters diverted the troops from Jenova, they'd surely be overwhelmed. "Please Noel! If you don't… we're all doomed." Noel wanted to argue against it, he really did, but who was he kidding? She could see the future, he couldn't. Given time he'd always try the other option, but something told him that, if he didn't comply, she'd just do it herself…

"I'm sorry…" He whispered before making his blade pierce the young woman in front of him. He felt sick, bile reaching his mouth, forcing him to cover it before he hurled. It was instant, he hit her right in the heart. No last words. Nothing. She just died with a smile. Fighting off the tears, Noel slowly laid her down on the ground and closed her eyes. She quickly began to shimmer. What was worse was the voice that came right after.

"Serah…" The mournful call to a name he knew to be dead. This was not Noel, no, this was the one person that would be more devastated than anyone else.

"Snow, I…" Noel began, turning the broken hearted blond only to have him touch his shoulder while shaking his head.

"She asked me too. When I refused she cast sleep on me and I saw her make a run for it. I take it you found her." Noel broke eye contact and looked to the side. Snow got on his knees and brushed Serah's strands from her cheeks. She started to vanish into mako. "She'd just do it by herself if you hadn't done it. I don't blame you. You made it easier for her." In the saddest attempt for a smile Noel ever bore witness, Snow cracked his knuckles and said. "One last bout? For her sake?" Noel knew what he was trying to do and was amazed at how resilient Snow was being. Maybe it was his way to cope with things. Noel didn't know. But standing there wouldn't help, would it? With a weak smile, Noel nodded and off they went, rushing towards the battlefield.

* * *

><p>"Shinryu, how can we help?" Terra asked the dragon, who was clearly unable to release himself from the grip of Jenova.<p>

"**You underestimate me Terra. Hold my mane!**" Shinryu ordered, his eyes glowing red and mouth thundering.

"Holy…" Bartz began, Shinryu firing a whole different level of Chaotic Deluge onto Jenova's arm. "Craaaaaaaaaaap!" The ensuing explosion drove even the airships back and Bart and Terra held on for their lives. After the wind died down, they instead felt themselves falling, still blinded by the light. However, they soon soared upwards, prematurely revealing Shinryu had been successful. While they struggled to open their eyes, wishing Shinryu would've at least given them a heads up, they heard the groaning of Jenova coming closer and closer. Once Terra managed to regain sight, the unfortunately comforting sight of Jenova's pain as a large chunk of her right side had been blown off made her regain hope.

"_We're not out of the woods yet Sunshine. She can still regenerate."_Tina said, Jenova crying in agony for a couple of seconds. _"Well I'll be damned…__ She's not…__"_ In what seemed to take a colossal effort of the formerly seemingly untouchable woman, she cried again and managed to manifest the Lifestream onto her shoulder, remaking her arm. _"At least, it's hard for her…"_

"What's the matter Jeno? Need a break? You seem to be experiencing technical difficulties." Bartz mocked.

"**Be… SILENT!**" Jenova roared, commanding the Lifestream with Holy to go against them. Shinryu easily dodged the awfully slow moving Lifestream and, even if he did not know how this had happened, he KNEW he had to take advantage of it.

"**Terra… Bartz… We need to capitalize. Put everything you have in the next time I fly close to her.**" Shinryu asked, receiving approving nods.

"I'll help too." Cloud offered, to which they then barreled towards Jenova. While Terra bombarded her with successive Meltdowns, Bartz jumped to the torso and began opening scars with his spear, scars that would the explode into fire. Cloud mostly did the same, just that every sing of his cleaved meters of flesh instead of a small scar. Shinryu's bombardment of energy rays was the icing on the cake, leaving Jenova's body in a truly deplorable shape.

"**You… you miscreants… how DARE YOU?!**" Jenova shouted as she winced and grimaced in unspeakable physical agony.

"Daring? Oh that is rich coming from YOU!" Cloud spat back, pointing his blade at her. "After all the things you've done… you expect mercy? Fair game? We're here to kill you! Nothing less!"

"**You cannot kill me! I am a goddess!**" Jenova yelled, again returning her body to her unwounded state. What was strange about it this time was that the mako seemed awfully… pure and green.

"We make our living on killing those. Am I right Terra?" Bartz exclaimed, lifting his hand up for a high-five, being left in the dust when Terra was lost in thoughts.

"_Did you feel what I felt?"_She asked her soul companion.

"_Yeah… oh she is going to have a rough time alright."_ There was a sickening grin on Tina's expression. She was, admittedly a sadist after all, tenfold for Jenova. Right as she predicted, Jenova then suddenly started contorting her body in clear pain.

"**Wh-what is the meaning of this?! It is like I am being eaten from the inside!**" She shrieked, despair lacing her tone. It was sickeningly comforting. "**The Lifestream… it has anticorps that prey on my cells?! How can this be?!**" Lightning then suddenly crashed on her head from an airship, her expression unreadable.

"My sister… She was cured of your fowl taint. Even then… she did nothing but give herself to the Lifestream to stop you. I'll enjoy your death like I've never enjoyed anything in my life. The Lifestream is healing, and you are the only sludge left in it." She explained, much to the surprise and horror of the listeners.

"**You… you lie!**" Jenova lashed out, but only verbally. She was unable to move by now.

"Your body cannot move, can it? And believe me… when you fall back into the Stream, there will be nothing left of you. Not even a wraith." She then turned to the dragon in front of her and asked: "End her." Grief would come later. Everyone wanted to breathe easily. To finally rest.

"**Terra. I can do so. But would you do the honors?**" Shinryu asked of her. Terra looked down, firstly surprised but then she understood what he was going for. To end this with her own hands was to fulfill her promise, wasn't it? And if it weren't for her, this wouldn't have escalated liked it did.

"Thank you… but how?" She asked. Even when she couldn't move, Jenova was still sized like a small mountain… what could she do?!

"**Hold his sword. I'll share my power with you.**" Shinryu told her. Terra took a good look at the Solais Claíomh and almost laughed at the poetic justice that was about to take place. She easily drew the blade, as if there was no restriction to it and looked dead into Jenova's desperate eyes as she lifted her over her head. "**Here it is!**" It felt… she could not describe how it felt. It was obvious Shinryu wasn't as much using his own powers as he was channeling the Lifestream's and hers along with his to fuel the blade. However, he managed to tap into her limits without the emotional backlash it commanded. What resulted was the sword responding by creating a blade that dwarfed even Squall's Blasting Zone. The one that pierced the atmosphere mind you. Everyone stared in awe but Jenova, who saw in the titanic stream of light nothing but her demise. "**Finish it!**" Shinryu told Terra, who happily complied.

"Jenova, this ends by my hand! Final… Riot… BLADE!" Pumping her own power into the blade even more so by changing forms, Terra took it back and swung it vertically, the beam of Light bisecting two moons in the sky before descending down on Valhalla as if it were a divine punishment upon the ones that wronged.

"**How… how can you inferior beings flee from my hands?! Why do you reject perfection?! WHY?!**" Jenova shouted as the blade of judgment fell upon her body, bisecting her and burning away all of her body into the Lifestream in mere moments, reaching he ground to create a chasm that reached the horizon.

"Because…people have souls. And souls cannot be tamed or made a mockery of." Terra finished as she looked down on what she had wrought. There was nothing of Jenova left. Just pure, crystalline Lifestream. "Shinryu… let's go." She told Shinryu, ignoring the ensuing cheers and cries of victory. They had one more place to be.

* * *

><p><span>Not too far away from there…<span>

"Damned… mongrels… but it does not matter. There are infinitely more planets in this universe. One day... one day my time will come." Said Jenova's human form, which she had done her best to "eject" from the doomed body before Terra disintegrated it. "They surely believe themselves to be so superior now… One day I'll come back and show them what true te-" Jenova froze as Shinryu landed right in her path, in-between Valhalla and Caelum. "How?"

"I felt it. I knew there was still a sliver of you living." Terra told her and her and Bartz descended from the dragon. In a completely insane attitude, Jenova then cracked open in maniacal laughter.

"So this is how it ends?! You'll kill me after all?! How ironic. You had your chance not so long ago and you couldn't find it in you to do so! Will you fall into the chaos willingly just to kill me? Or will you just…" It was obvious she was trying to coerce Terra in a desperate attempt to flee, but she froze when Terra took Bartz spear and began walking towards her.

"All the people I've murdered… by letting you live…" She said, stopping at a few meters of distance from her. Without warning, she hurled the Spear of Lugh against the silver manned woman… missing. Again, she laughed.

"I knew so! You cannot kill me! You do not have the determination to do so! Pathetic… how could I ever think you'd be a good daughter?!" She asked. Terra's expression did not change.

"After all you did to me… I'm not the one that has the right to kill you. I want to… but it is not my kill to take." At first, Jenova and Bartz did not comprehend, but then Lugh erupted from Jenova's chest.

"What?!" Jenova gasped, coughing blood.

"Atonement… this is Shinra's final step towards it." Rufus spat, killing Jenova from the back to push her body off the spear. She was burning from the chest, a fire that could not be extinguished. "Truth be told… I thought I would burn as well after all I've done. But the spear doesn't seem to agree… maybe compared to you I am just an angel." Rufus Shinra spat, throwing the spear back at Terra. "I do not care anymore. You are Shinra's last dark secret. Burn away." He told her… lighting a cigar with her fire.

"It burns so much! Help me! HELP! I BEG OF YOU!" Jenova pathetically pleaded, trying to put out the fire by rolling on the ground. No one moved. "I curse you! I curse you all to the greatest suffering imaginable!" As she said that, Terra shook her head and replied.

"You've already done that to me." She picked up the spear and was merciful, driving it to her heart and ending the life of what could only be described as one of history's most demented beings.

"It's over…" Bartz said, looking at the now vanishing corpse of Jenova. Not even ashes were being created from the fire. Her very soul was being returned to nothingness.

"But at what cost?" Terra asked, thinking about all that they had lost. She knew this though… the battle had been won… but there was still a different war they had to fight.

* * *

><p><span>Next Part:<span>

_Omega has finally been released. With countless lives lost on the battle against Jenova and still lacking two crystals… is all hope lost? Or will Valhalla's treasure be enough to tip the scales of this battle? Join us at may very well be… our Final Fantasy._

Part Six: The Final Fantasy.

"The blade to conquer all evil…"

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****Well, after a month of keeping promises on my birthday, having an author's block and updating a story that was not updated in four months, I'm back with my baby. I know I can't excuse myself and I will stop promising things that I can't keep BUT… as way to keep ME under control and you knowing what I'm going to do… there's now a release schedule on my profile! On the bottom of it! Now, this story is going to get more attention than the others until I finish it… which won't be long. If you want to see when you'll get blessed with tasty tasty Struggle, check it out!

That said… how as the chapter? I tried my very hardest to make it epic, compensate you, tie it into the story and finally put the final paintbrush on Terra's character. From now on, I think you'll find her totally developed. If not, just say so, I'll look into it! Please guys, tell me what you think, this WAS a part finale after all and I love your opinions! Don't you want to get these chapters more frequently? Just motivate me in that gigantic box bellow.

So… what did you think?! Did you like it, hate it?! All of that in the review! For now, this is Herald, and THIS was chapter sixty-four!


	65. Masamune, Smith of Legend

****Author's Note:**** This one is short, but it's a transition chapter, I hope you like it though. Also, I'm sorry for the delay, if you read Radiant, you'd know I had the flu, so... yeah, I'm sorry.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Part Six: The Final Fantasy**

**Chapter Sixty-Five**

****Masamune, Smith of Legend****

* * *

><p>"This doesn't feel nearly as good as I imagined it would." Bartz confessed on the walk back to the main group.<p>

"That's good." Rufus replied, confusing the Mime. "You shouldn't take satisfaction in killing, just relief." The former president of Shinra explained, throwing his cigar on the ground to be consumed by the all engulfing fire.

"I suppose you're right…well, at least we did it, uh Terra?" He turned to the side to find her missing. A quick look around her wielded results though, as she had simply stopped walking a few meters back.

"You really have to go, don't you?" She asked Shinryu, the dragon in question now a man whose skin seemed to be made entirely of Lifestream and whose body seemed increasingly more liquid.

"In your weakened state you could not hope to truly create a body for me. It would be unfair for those who put their very being on my body to be denied return to the Lifestream." He explained, to which Terra could not disagree.

"Yes… I know." She replied with a taint of sorrow.

"Don't be sad, I'll always be one call away. Who knows, maybe you'll even be able to summon me without need for such tricks." He told her, rubbing her messy hairline with his leftover hand.

"I just… don't want to be lonely that's all." Terra said, quickly feeling two hands land on the back of her shoulders.

"Don't you worry Ter, we're here for ya!" Bartz assured with one of those giant grins on his face. Terra returned the smile before turning to Shinryu.

"Well, my work here is done for now. Any message you want me to… pass along?" He paused for a second to make Terra understand just what she was referring to.

"Just that… I'm sorry." She replied, not exciting eye-contact with Shinryu. She immediately felt his hand again stocking her scalp as he said:

"He says: "Don't"." And vanished into the Lifestream, his soul returning to the Lia Fáil.

"You okay Terra?" Bartz asked the girl, thinking to be hearing sobs. However, before he walked around to see her face, she turned energetically, giving him a beaming smile:

"Let's go meet the others!" She told him, inspiring happiness in both herself and the ones around her as best she could.

And we all know how the story goes. At first, most was happy, nay, radiant. They had just won against insurmountable odds, after all. And most continued to be happy. You see, for Caelum, this was an absolute victory over an unknown invader. For our heroes however…

* * *

><p><span>Outside the Banquet Hall at the base of Caelum Residence:<span>

"Lightning?" The woman in white heard someone call for her. She quickly wiped off her tears and returned to her usual expression. Lightning was thorn emotionally, but even then she had an image to keep.

"What is it?" She asked in her cutting tone, turning to meet her fellow female main series protagonist. Sorry for the 4th wall.

"Why did you leave the party?" Terra asked rhetorically, she had seen just how Lightning's expression had changed for a split second before she walked out of the banquet room, but she was playing the fool.

"How can you be celebrating?! We…" Lightning snapped, going swinging her arm to the side wildly, only to have Terra slowly reach out for it and bring it down to her chest.

"Are alive." Terra completed as Lightning's heartbeat was felt by her own hand. "We are free." This line hit Lightning straight in the heart. She had ignored how she had never been… corrupted like Terra had been. "That alone is worth celebrating." Still, this wasn't something easy to take in for Lightning.

"I see your point, but my sis-" She FELT the glare she receiving from Terra. It was only a split second and then her face had returned to her tender, motherly face, which was weird seeing as Lightning was older. But she understood what she meant. Who was she to be wallowing in Serah's voluntary sacrifice when Terra's children were cannon fodder for Jenova.

"There will be time for mourning later. For now, enjoy yourself. Please, this war is not over, take this chance to be happy, for your sister." Lightning looked into Terra's eyes and wondered how someone she had barely known had had such a big effect on her so easily.

"You know… I never knew you in person. I only heard Vaan talk about you. I have to admit, you just felt like a whiny girl who thought her problems were superior to everybody else's." Lightning began, to which Terra looked at the floor in shame. "He said you were always speaking badly about yourself, downright asking him to kill you. I told him you would be an hindrance to the Warriors of Cosmos." What could Terra say, she was right. But then, Terra felt a fist slowly hitting her right shoulder. "I was wrong. You are someone I can respect." That took Terra completely by surprise, but not as much as looking up to see Lightning smiling at her. Something she knew to be rarer than a diamond in a coal mine. "Somehow, you make it seem like it will all work out in the end. Whatever is the case, I'll follow you." Lightning told her, passing by her side and heading back to the banquet hall as Terra let out a "huh?"

"I don't want to be followed. I'm no leader! You, Cloud or Hikari are much more qualified for that!" Exclaimed Terra, and this time, Lightning chuckled.

"Keep telling yourself that. I doubt they would've gotten that far if that obsessive knight lead them. You are the one I trust, not them. And trust me, for me to trust someone in so little time… that person has to be special. What you showed in Valhalla was all that I'd ask in a leader and more." With that, Lightning entered the banquet to free her mind, ironically leaving Terra outside, confused.

"A leader, me?" She whispered to herself. Come to think of it, she had had plentiful moments when she took control of the situation.

"_Don't act surprised__, it's not like they didn't appoint as leader before.__"_ Tina pointed out.

"I wanted Celes to be the leader." Terra replied, to which Tina chuckled.

"_A__nd she ordered you to be leader as her first order. I think this is something that may repeat itself more even if you try. Just accept it, you may not be the most authoritarian__ person in the world, __and yes, you are different __but people don't follow __you for __your bloodline __ or your power.__ They follow your beliefs."_ She told Terra, who smiled inwardly, even though those words ran true.

"I suppose you are right. I still don't like the pressure." She replied just before a sharp pain jolted in the back of her head. Gasping, she tried to hold on by leaning on a wall and walking towards the room, but she ended up just sliding down it and sitting on the ground, head dangling to the front. She quickly realized what was happening.

* * *

><p>Tina forced her eyes to open, her body obviously aching from a planetary fall with the bare minimum as a shield. Groaning and still with her thoughts jumbled, she slowly got up, massaging the back of her head and checking if anything was broken. Unbelievably, no. Looking around her, she saw they were in a crater that they had formed and it was already sunset…<p>

"So… you have awakened." Tina's sense jolted back into full throttle when she heard the voice of Jihad, she finally placed in her mind where she was and how she got there. She followed the voice to see him sitting on the other side of the crater, meditating over a rock. One could only wonder how the man knew she had woken up, but then again, he's an Esper.

"Jihad… so this means you won, huh?" Tina spat, disappointment coursing through her body. All of efforts for naught.

"The battle… yes." He said as the Lightbringer formed in-between his legs. "But no leader has ever been successful if his people only follow him for his bloodline or his power. A leader is only a true one if the people believe what he believes, if they believe the beliefs of the person they follow. And your beliefs… I can see truth in them." He slowly got up from his meditating pose and stood up, Lightbringer in his hands. "Yet… I see truth in mine as well." He said as he pointed the sword in Tina's direction. "I am Sovereign now! You know what that means, do you not?!" Once Sovereign, one's title is permanent… until death. She thought it was a load of bullcrap, but they both knew that for the race to follow her, she had to abide by them.

"Oh I see… that's a pretty primitive way to determine the strength of one beliefs, but…" She stopped before her last words. She summoned the Apocalypse with the last sliver of her magical powers. She knew Jihad was exhausted as well, they were both on their "human" forms and Jihad only used the sword once he had no other choice, he was out of mana. Smiling bitterly, she pointed her blade in Crusader's direction. "It has to be this way." Oh, and please, do take the suggestion the author is going to make seriously. And pay attention to the lyrics.

***"It Has To Be This Way -Extended-"Metal Gear Rising (/watch?v=6t0y86-Spig&list=FLIlNRAk3PUN-6YHLEnstWUw&index=9) Here you have it.***

With no more words exchanged between the two, they charged at each other with only their battered bodies and a sword in their hands.

Tina pivoted towards his stomach with a lunge, Crusader easily dodging and countering with an overhead swipe, Tina barely rolling out of the way. Before she could gain her composure back, Jihad was already on her, unleashing a flurry of blows on the Esper woman, who could do nothing but block them. His strikes were both slow and clumsy, but then again, so were Tina's movements, the fatigue had clearly gotten on them both, even after passing out till the sunset as they did.

"Tina!" She heard her brother call as him and the rest of the council materialized, along with a giant mob of espers, all of them standing on the outside of the crater they had formed.

"Stay back!" She shouted as he tried to enter it. "This is between Jihad and me!" She roared while she pushed her master back with all her power. They were both panting even after so little time had passed, but they were far from done. "He is Sovereign now… I'm challenging him. Only one of us can leave."

"Don't be idiotic! You already lost once!" Bahamut shouted, but Maduin put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. Bahamut got the message, none of them would listen.

Terra ran to Crusader and jumped, trying to bring down her blade with such force he couldn't block. The slash missed by a hair, giving Crusader the chance to kick her on the side into the ground. As she lay on the ground, he drove the sword downwards upon the girl, which, again, rolled out of the way, this time however, she also swept her leg at his feet, knocking the Esper down. Now on even ground, they got up, half shambling, and clashed with their blades again. The battle was not spectacular, their movements were predictable and had nearly no force backing them up, it was a battle of endurance and will, nothing more.

Their eyes however, every time they met, they met each other with burning determination almost leaping out of them.

All of a sudden, Crusader bellowed, summoning power he had regained during the fight to knock Tina backwards. Flipping in midair, Tina handed with one hand on the ground, quickly looking to in Crusader's direction to see the Esper lunge in her direction, sword held high. She blocked it again, this time the air vibrated as the blades clashed. They were reaching out for power reserves they never believed they had. Again, they were locked in a succession of clashes, each one stronger than the other. The Espers could just watch in awe at the sheer passion each strike gave away, even to the onlookers. It was as if the beliefs were really fighting to see which one was the strongest, as if THEY were the wielders of the weapons, not the fighters.

But, as logic dictates, there can only be one. In one particular clash, the crowd, the wind, all of it went completely silent as the Apocalypse flew out of Tina's hand. The crowd's eyes diverted for a second to the flying blade, quickly turning their eyes back to the two. A collective gasp was created as Crusader's eyes expanded for a second before returning to normal, a bittersweet smile appearing on his lips. The sand beneath them began to stain with blood. Tina had just transformed her right hand and driven her right claw into the left side of his chest.

"You… deceived me." He told her with no malice.

"Nah… I just thought faster than you did." She replied, feeling up the oval shape between her fingers. She knew what it was. She did not want to kill him. But again, it was tradition. She was beaten during the fight for the throne. "So… your beliefs were stronger than mine. This is the end." Crusader said, accepting his fate.

"Rest Master." Tina whispered, grabbing a hold of the magicite inside Crusader and preparing to rip it out. A hand on her shoulder stopped her though, as Jihad pulled her in.

"I… I may die here Tina. But do not let that stop you from using my magicite. Follow your beliefs, if they are right, people will follow you. I'll be with you every step of the way. You do our race proud… Tina of the Raijū Tribe… Sovereign of Espers." Tina forced away the tears and hugged him with her left arm for a few moments before… finishing it. As she removed the magicite from inside his mortal body, Jihad fell backwards onto the bloodstained sand, his last breath carrying a message. "Do not… doubt… your decisions… Long…Live… Tina… Sovereign of Espers!" With it, as life escaped from his body and returned to his magicite, he incited the crowd to accept and revere the winner. The air was still uneasy though. You could tell the Espers around them were apprehensive of the result. But, unwilling to let Jihad's death be in vain, the person who took the first step was the less likely of them all.

"Long Live Tina! Sovereign of the Espers!" Diablos shouted, leaving the crowd completely shocked. He turned to Bahamut and gave a smug smile.

"Long Live Tina! Sovereign of the Espers!" This time, all three of the former council shouted, showing their complete acceptance. With it, the crowd was finally inspired.

"**LONG LIVE TINA! SOVEREIGN OF THE ESPERS! LONG LIVE TINA! SOVEREIGN OF THE ESPERS!**" The crowd began to chant as Maduin and the four slowly made their way to the center of the crater, where Tina looked into Jihad's Golden Egg, his magicite. She turned her gaze onto Bahamut, Leviathan and Diablos, who, in her presence, got one knee and bowed.

"Don't doubt yourself now Tina. We need you." Maduin told her before bowing himself. Tina looked around, took in the sight of HER entire people chanting her name and… after a deep breath, she told herself and the ones in front of her.

"Let's forge peace."

And it all went blank.

* * *

><p>"Te… rra. Ter..ra…. Te… Te… Terra!" The blonde girl's eyes shot open at the call. She found herself surrounded by Celes, Locke and most of the Warriors of Cosmos. "Thank God! I thought… I thought the time had come." Celes explained as she pulled her into a hug.<p>

"Not yet, don't worry Celes. I did see some more memories… but we're still one." Terra assured, looking into her spirit for confirmation.

"_Yeah… but I don't know for how much longer."_ Tina replied, a tint of fear on her voice.

"_As long as it takes."_ Terra refused to abandon her world until peace was a reality.

"What did you see?" Cloud asked, perhaps curious, perhaps wanting to change the subject.

"Well, it went like this…"

* * *

><p>Nightfall came, and with it, the adrenaline of the victory finally wore out. Before mourning, before planning their next step, before anything, came rest. It was only nine P.M when Terra slid into her bed, Chocolate sleeping on her lap with Stardust laying her beak on Terra's legs. Concentrating on only the good things and on her pet's presence, she managed to go to sleep before her children came into her mind. She had already broken down when no one was watching, she wouldn't let herself break down again.<p>

At first, she thought she would be able to sleep a calm and relaxing sleep. She was wrong… for now.

* * *

><p>Splash!<p>

Terra felt her body suddenly awakened by a fall into ankle deep warm water.

"WHAT THE-?!" The hearing of Bartz and Zidane's echoing and synchronized cries made Terra realize just where they were even before opening her eyes.

"Welcome… my warriors." Cosmos greeted the ones that had appeared around her. Everyone that had a crystal was there… and more.

"Cosmos… It's an honor." Terra told her, giving her a slight bow, one that her companions reciprocated.

"Don't. I'm not your Goddess anymore. I am like you, treat me as such." She told them to dismiss the formalities.

"That's all fine and dandy, but may I ask why you called for us?" Lightning asked her, always straight to the point she was, even if a bit rude.

"Light!" Shouted Bartz reprehensively, but Cosmos nodded it off.

"She's right Bartz, we haven't much time. I'm losing my power quicker than I thought, I cannot maintain you here for long." Only then did Terra see how there were small stains of blood on Cosmos' dress. She told herself to ask her what was happening to her after the discussion. Cosmos took a deep breath and revealed the bomb. "Omega has been freed."

Shock.

"What!? But it's…" Vaan exclaimed before being interrupted.

"Too early? Yeah, that'd be if there were no interferences." Neku told him, flipping a pin from behind Cosmos. He grabbed it and made his way onto the center. "They had a very knowledgeable Time Mage with them. The distraction Jenova provided was all they needed."

"Are you suggesting this was all in their plan?" Hikari questioned. Neku shrugged as if he was not interested:

"I wouldn't put it past them, but it hardly matters now. What matters is that we have access to all crystals but one." Cecil cringed and looked at his hand, as if he wished his crystal would pop out. However, there was something wrong in there.

"Firion is... dead. And we have no one his crystal chose or could choose." Terra explained, taking her hand to her chest.

"Firion is not dead. I was able to use his crystal to save him. As we speak, I sent someone to bring him to Hope in order for treatment. I just wish I could have saved more…" As Cosmos said that, there was a shadow of jealousy on Terra's heart, but she crushed it. Yes, she wanted her children back, but Cosmos did what best she could, and even then, whatever she did seemed to be taking a toll on her, her eyes were bloodshot and she was just a mess.

"That's good news! So, we just get Cecil his crystal and we're done!" Bartz exclaimed.

"Done with what exactly?" Neku asked, the silence that appeared on the room told him everything he expected. "Yes. The crystals seem to have something that Omega fears. But what does it matter if we do not know how to hurt it? They are useless for now."

"Do you have a better idea?!" Lightning snapped, to which Neku nodded.

"Yes. With Firion we have what we need. I know you possess Orichalcum. Pure Orichalcum. A quite large amount even." He said. The group nodded, it was true after all. "Well, we need to take advantage of that. Valhalla is where the second seal the crystals were created to protect is. Next morning we'll meet there. There is something I need to show you all, something that may very well be our only chance if Omega appears." They were about to ask what it was, but then they started to flicker.

"The time… it's almost over." Cosmos said, gasping for air.

"Cosmos! What's happening?" Luneth asked, rushing to her side.

"Nothing… you need to worry about. Just do what you must. I won't… vanish before this is over." As if the words weren't morbid enough, for the first time Cosmos flickered. She had no reason to since she was physically on her own Sanctum, this only worried them further. "Cecil… believe in yourself and your companions. I am certain you will earn your crystal soon."

"Cosmos… you are dying, are you not?" The Paladin asked.

"… Yes." She whispered only loud enough for them to listen.

"No! Why?!" Terra cried, rushing towards her and parting her now falling bangs from her face. The rest of the group rushed towards her and did their best to access the situation, but they soon began to flicker again.

"I'm… touched by your concern, but do not fret… we'll meet again. I won't leave this world without having you by my side, if you would." She turned her head to her Warriors, who all nodded in agreement, even Hikari. "I'm thankful. Now go and save your world."

And so the "dream" ended, with all of them vanishing back to where they came.

* * *

><p>"Yes?" Hope asked as someone wondered into the lab where he was tidying up his stuff.<p>

"Got a little something for you Hope." Joshua asked, him and Shiki carrying two peope. A familiar blonde teen was on Shiki's shoulder. He was carrying the battered body of Firion, which baffled Hope. He quickly took it and planted him on the operation table, rushing to prepare antidote.

"And is that one… Roxas?" Hope asked.

"Not quite." He answered.

* * *

><p>Terra woke up early in the morning. It was 8 A.M. Having had a good twelve hours to sleep, she found herself reenergized. Walking to her wardrobe, she picked up her original red dress that she had received back on Christmas and began to put it on. Her blue one had been tainted by Jenova, and the last thing she wanted was to have those memories looming on her head today. She had seen how Cosmos was and that had really returned her sense of urgency, especially since she could very well end up in a similar way if Tina's memories continued to come like they came.<p>

"_Well, off to another adventure, heh?"_ Tina asked her as she tied her hair.

"Yes… maybe it will be good at keeping me distracted." She didn't want to admit it, but for the brief moments she remembered her children or Shin before she pushed her memories away, the pain was almost unbearable. If this had happened a year ago, she would be broken by now. A knock on the door took her from her thoughts.

"Come in." She said. "Neku?" She didn't expect Neku of all people to be here. The Reaper walked over to her and began to talk:

"I don't want to give you false hopes Terra, I really don't, but if we do manage to use the Orichalcum as a weapon… we may be able to break the Lia Fáil." He told her, his eyes serious.

"What do you mean...?" Terra asked him, taking out her stone. Neku took one hard look.

"I wish I could be sure." He said, turning his back on her. "See you on the meeting point, grab something to eat." And he just left.

"What did he… It can't be." Terra told herself while she stared onto the stone. It was impossible, right?

* * *

><p>After a healthy breakfast, Terra found herself heading towards the ruins of what Jenova had destroyed with Celes and Locke by her side. There was really nothing left, or at least she thought. There was a small temple-like building on the outskirts of the hole from where Jenova came if she so recalled, one that even Jenova knew nothing about the functionality. Seeing as he ones that had come with Neku were nowhere near the hole, Terra headed to the temple. Sure enough, there she found Neku and the others, waiting for her.<p>

"You're not usually late." Bartz remarked. Yeah, being later than Bartz is kind of bad.

"I was… hungry." She confessed, poking her tongue out slightly. You know how Terra is with food, don't ya?

"Oh… poor cooks." Zidane said with a chuckle.

"We're all here, huh? Well everyone with crystals follow me. The rest can go back." Neku said in his usual coldness. Of course this didn't sit well with Celes, who had come with Terra after all.

"Why can't we go?" Asked the Ice General. A pin flew over her head and into a recently arrived Sora's hand, another flying to Cecil.

"Without a Reaper pin or a crystal… you'll cease to exist." That answer sure shut Celes up. "Sora, you're coming because who we're gonna meet can do something with your Key there." He explained before Celes put that into question.

"Be careful Terra." Celes told her best friend, clamping her hands around Terra's. "Remember, you can always come back to us." Terra smiled, comforted by how they always stuck with her and followed Neku to the inside.

* * *

><p>The temple was really reminiscent of the seal room in Ivalice, for a reason. On the other side of the room, there lay a square on the wall, one that had a hole perfectly in like the crystals they possessed in each of its sides.<p>

"So, we just put our crystals in there?" Lightning asked.

"Obviously." Neku really needed to learn manners. Hikari was the first, putting it on the lower left side. Terra did Luneth a favor and helped him up, to put it on the top left. He seemed to be in Heaven. Speaking of which.

"Sorry… y-you go first." Lightning stuttered as she backed away. Apparently she had collided with the newly returned Firion. Terra kinda felt bad for not going and greeting him, but this was gold.

"No no. You go!" He replied, both avoiding eye contact.

"Interesting… so Cecil WAS right!" Jecht mused before Neku coughing.

"This is serious, please, just put it inside the pedestals!" Lightning then took the lead.

"Party pooper." Accused Jecht before Firion finally put his crystal on the pedestal. Everyone in there felt like they were being part of a teleport spell for a split second.

* * *

><p>A split second later, they were on a completely, and I mean, COMPLETELY different location. The sound of birds happily chirping, coupling with the water of a nearby stream filled the air. Terra looked around. The area they were in was definitely oriental. The only trees were cherry blossom trees, ones that seem to be blossoming, the pink colors were beautiful and almost hypnotizing.<p>

"We have to follow the stream." Neku urged, leading the group up the hill. Looking around, our heroes found the location to be very, very normal looking, but also, mystical. The animals looked at them as if they understood what was happening, stopping their daily lives to watch them walk upstream. They soon arrived at a clearing where a small wooden hut was found. It was something you'd be able to build in a few days if you wanted it too. "We're here." They all locked at him confused. What could this possibly have so important? "Hey! Old Man! Come on out!"

Suddenly, the cavern shook, followed by a muffled cry. A few seconds later, the door opened and an elderly man in a violet haori came rolling out. His white hair was tied in a ponytail, but the rest of the person was a mess. He tried to get up, but ended up slipping in the food that came with him, causing everyone to sweat drop. Terra ran up to him and helped him up, receiving a goofy smile in return.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm just clumsy in anything not related to smith!" He told her before turning to Neku.

"Neku, my boy! How long has it been? I'm not used to having visits!" Neku looked back at him and replied:

"It's been fifty years since I accompanied you to the Grim Reaper's party, your spirit at least, it's not like your body can go out." He replied, referring to how this place seemed to be sealed.

"Oh yes, that's right! Regardless, why the committee? I haven't had visits for… five ages!" He exclaimed happily, surprising everyone.

"Five… ages? How long is that?" Bartz questioned.

"A long time. Time doesn't flow on this pocket dimension. It was the only way to keep this person from being forced into doing evil while still keeping him alive." Neku explained, Cloud finally asking the million gill question.

"And who IS this man, exactly?" He asked. The man laughed.

"Me? Whippersnapper! I am Masamune! Smith of Legend! I forged countless bless used by only the finest heroes! Look at this girl, she possess the Apocalypse, I can feel it." Terra was flabbergasted.

"You… you made the Apocalypse? But how? Tina had it." Terra asked.

"Oh, I forged it with the Lightbringer about… seven ages ago. Loved them both, but the Ultima Weapon was my favorite. It was something new for me, to craft a weapon without a blade." Masamune seemed to even be the creator of the beam saber we knew as the Ultima Weapon.

"If you didn't notice, most of your swords came from him. Sephiroth's sword itself was based on his work with the Masamune." Neku explained. Everyone opened their mouths in shock, the Warrior remembering the sword that Crono wielded. It cut like no other.

"Yup! But why did you come here? I know you don't come here without a VERY pressing matter, so we'd better get to it." Masamune was right, Neku summoned the pile or Orichalcum with a pin. "Is that…"

"One hundred percent pure." Neku told him.

"For all that is holy! This is like a dream come true! I always wanted to even touch this metal, if only for a second!" He rubbed one of the rocks and his face melted in pleasure. "So… perfect."

"Masamune!" He exclaimed, snapping him out of the trance.

"Oh! Right, right. You have just the quantity I need, but I won't make a weapon like this without the perfect wielder." He then proceeded to watch over every single one of them. "You girl… I feel something different about you. Come, come!" He seriously thought and moved too fast for me to narrate him! He took Terra's wrist and pulled her with him to the cabin, the others only staring at his antics.

"He's… worse than Bartz…" Squall gaped, his mouth actually showing his surprise.

"I can't believe it… but he is…" Lightning agreed.

"HEY!" Bartz whined.

* * *

><p>Inside the cabin was nothing but a table and a bed, Terra wondered how he could craft a sword. Even more so, why was she here?<p>

"Girlie… you're special. I can feel it. They are all special, but you! You are someone I may be able to trust with my life's work." Masamune's expression had changed to a dead serious one. Terra knew she was out of the time for jokes.

"Why?" She asked.

"I don't know. You are not supposed to explain this. I feel you are. But I have to test it. Nothing much, just answer a couple of questions. Are you up for it?" Terra nodded. "Okay then… why do you want a weapon made from me?" This question seemed easy at first.

"To destroy Omega and save the mankind from it." Little did she know, she was playing right into his game.

"Protect mankind… with violence." He mumbled, turning away from her. "What makes you right?"

"Huh?"

"What makes it right to use violence?" He asked. She did not expect that from a swordsmith, but he was just full of surprises.

"Nothing. Violence is horrible and I hate to fight. But sometimes… even though violence breeds violence… we must use it to protect what we hold dear. If there is something I had to learn the hard way, it was that." She replied. Masamune smiled for a second, she did not see it though.

"Fair enough. However, what makes it so mankind deserves to be saved? Such a violent people." Again, Terra was taken by surprise, he made weapons, how could he question it?

"There are people like that yes… but all life has meaning! We have to protect it with all our strength." Again, Masamune chuckled.

"And what meaning does life have girl?" This time, Terra had seen that coming.

"I cannot tell you." She told him. Masamune, for the first time, was surprised and turned to face her.

"Why?" He asked.

"Everyone has to find their meaning… on their own! Unless the meaning is to hurt people… they are all equally important!" She recalled Kefka for a second, but waved him off. Masamune laughed.

"Good answer! And your own meaning, what is it? Don't lie, I'll know if you do." He began staring at her face, scanning for any sign of not being truthful.

"I live to protect the things I hold dear. As long as they are happy, I am. And I won't let it all end because of a small group of people with their twisted desires." She told him solemnly, speaking from the heart.

"Your reason is… simple." Masamune replied with a disappointed look. Terra was about to try and react before the façade ending, Masamune's face lit up. "I adore it! Such a pure, simple view on the world. You are a kind, adorable little girl with answers far above your age." He grabbed her shoulders. "I'll make you a part of my dream. The dream to create the perfect weapon. The dream to have that weapon used to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I'll help you… destroy Omega."

Terra smiled. They had a chance.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_This is my workshop."_

_"I spared your life."_

_"Omega…"_

Next Time: The Nightmare Returns

* * *

><p><strong><strong><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>********Yup, you can see how it's coming to an end, huh? Don't worry, I'll do my best to make it an epic ending for you all. Next week we start the two-chapter special and I hope you're ready, because your mind will be BLOWN!

Now, what did you think? Please, I love to hear from you guys!


	66. The Nightmare Returns

****Author's Note:****What? Another short one? Well, read it until the end. You'll see why it's short.

**PS:** To- Anonymous on last chapter's review: Look, I know I stopped for like a month. And I apologize for that. But you must understand I have lots of stories to write, I'm in college, I was sick and to top it all off, I had a writer's block. I'm giving this story special attention to compensate, so please do try and understand, okay? For all it's worth, I'm sorry if I disappointed any of you.

But for now, let's read, shall we?

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Sixty-Six**

**The End? Don't bet on it!**

****Part 1- The Nightmare Returns****

* * *

><p>"Okay then, follow me, alone for now please." Masamune told Terra, lowering his body to open a trapdoor right next to him. Terra followed the elder smith, even if she was doubting why he had asked her to come alone. The place where they found themselves was as dark as the blackest void, but it wasn't wet or anything, if anything, it was quite warm. Terra was curious about where she was but when she was going to ask the legend if she could lighten the room up, he pulled a lever himself, the structure now being illuminated by tens of lamps. Terra gasped at what she was seeing, a full-fledged Blacksmith shop, one bigger than any one she had seen, was what Masamune hid beneath his house. Various different types of anvils, many different rooms, more tools than one could imagine, and especially… the weapons. Each and every one of those weapons, no doubt product of only his solitude, a guy had to have a hobby right? Well, this person's hobby was to create the finest blades Terra had ever seen. Compared to them, the Lightbringer seemed to just fit in, as if it was normal. All weapons inside were capable of being legends.<p>

"_Figures. Not like he could be of any use with just that washed up cottage."_ Tina commented in Terra's mind with her trademarketed snarky remarks. It's more of an impulse now than actually trying to be mean.

"Well my girl, this is my workshop." Masamune announced, outstretching his arms.

"It's amazing! All these weapons are… beautiful." Terra wasn't a person to like tools of war, so when something that was so provoked a reaction like that… it had to be a masterpiece. "But why am I here alone?" She asked.

"Oh yes, yes. Follow me!" And he began leading her to the farthest room. This room appeared to be untouched, immaculate, no tools showed any wear and tear and, all of it seemed brand new and cared for. "Now, Terra my girl, I want to ask you just one more thing." Terra tensed. "Oh, don't worry, it's not for you to take as a test." This relieved Terra, at least she was still on his good side it seemed. "The question is this: Who is the one inside the Lia Fáil?" Terra took it back, this was one hundred times worse.

"I… It's someone that…" She tried to explain without giving away the happenings that had led to it, Masamune cut in.

"It's Shinryu, isn't it?" Terra let her lips part and covered her mouth with her hand, slowly nodding in surprise. Masamune sighed. "I would know… he always had a penchant for getting into horrible situations." This interested Terra even further.

"How do you know Shinryu, if I may be so bold?" Terra asked as respectfully as she could, to which Masamune rose an eyebrow.

"Has that knowledge been lost into eternity? I crafted that dragon." Yes. Terra's mind was as blown as yours probably is.

"CRAFTED?!" Terra exclaimed, suddenly giving the Lia Fáil a shocked look as she digested the information. "So… in other words… Shinryu isn't alive?" Again, Masamune felt aloof by the answer.

"What do you KNOW about Shinryu?" Asked the old man. Terra informed him of it all, also that Shinryu was probably listening.

"Well, you sure do know little… not that there is much to know, but I reckon that with the eons that passed, one COULD lose his memory. It has happened countless times and if it were not a blessing from the person upstairs, I may have forgotten as well. Let me explain to you what Shinryu really is." Terra sat down on the chair she was pointed towards and listened. "A long long time ago… goodness, I can't count when it happened… but anyway, I was tasked by the one above all to create something I had never dreamed of doing. Sentient weapons. Before you ask, they were not for warfare… now that I think of it, how would they be? What does the Heavens fight against? Dismiss that, I'm rambling… Still, the weapons were to act as guardians, enforcers of peace whenever the living worlds got too out of hand. For that, God gave me three pieces of an extremely powerful crystal. The Crystal Primo. I cannot go into much detail on what it is, I can only make sure you understand it is something so powerful the very knowledge of it is reserved to only the most trustworthy and pure ones… and I am completely good with informing you of it… just don't tell anyone unless needed to.

"I won't." She assured with a smile while she tried to take in the story.

"Good, good. Where were we? Oh yes. I created three. With a shell of pure magic, Kayser Dragon to watch over the Espers. With a shell of pure crystal, Shinryu to watch over the Humans. And finally… with a shell of the closest to pure Orichalcum I could find, Omega, to exterminate any corruption whose seed had extended too far. He was to be the "Last Resort" as Shinryu and Kayser could reason with humans or just destroy smaller conflicts, Omega would obliterate the worlds deemed too corrupted, and was given power to do so. His crystal shard was the only one which had all of its power unlocked, the others had it restrained as they did not need it and they could also… turn rogue. I think you know Kayser did." Terra nodded, but there was something that didn't feel right.

"Why is Omega afraid of our crystals then?" She asked, to which Masamune rubbed his chin.

"Well, that is of my design. We made it so Omega had no emotions and functioned exactly like a machine, unlike Shinryu and Kayser, but we were still afraid its logic could be too cold. For that reason, God created the XIII crystals for thirteen of the worlds. They are, if joined together, capable of gifting people with as much power as Omega's. It is logical for it to fear it's own counter-measure." Terra looked at her magicite and crystals and nodded again, it all made sense. But a very much darker thought came into her mind.

"So… they aren't living beings?" She asked the smith, who laughed.

"To define them as "living" may seem hard, but I ask you this. What defines "living"? Can they die? Yes. Can they feel emotions? Discounting Omega, yes. They can think also. They can move and decide things for themselves. Just because none of them were flesh and blood… until recently, that doesn't make them any less living or "beings" instead of things." Terra smiled warmly at his response, but another question loomed.

"Then why does Shinryu think his objective in life is to destroy Omega?" She asked the smith, who sighed in response.

"With his cold, pure logic in the face of eons and the nature of humanity… I think you may realize what Omega started thinking." Terra lowered her eyes and took a deep breath.

"It's always the same… and I can't really dispute it either. Based on cold, hard facts, we have no true reason to exist. But…"

"You don't have to tell me why you think we should live Terra. I just wanted you to know Omega got overzealous in his purge and well… Shinryu and Kayser decided he would have to be disposed of. Still, as I said, their crystal shard was not meant to be used at full potential, hence the repeated failings on trying to deal with it." He explained with a trace of regret on his tone.

"So that's why…" Terra sighed, now pitying Shinryu for fighting a battle he truly could not win.

"Look, I feel responsible for what Omega did, I truly do. But I'll try to help you. The sword I can create with this material can cut through Omega's outer shell. It's only a matter of ripping off its crystal shard and we're done."

_"Easier said than done…"_ Tina mumbled, cranky as ever.

"Okay, down to business. Terra, what kind of weapons do you use?" He asked the girl, who nodded to summon her Apocalypse.

"I've been using it for years now… I prefer claymores. My body can use them as fast as a rapier, so it makes sense. Still… anyway you can fix this one?" She summoned her trusty broken Lightbringer, a victim of Omega onto her hand. Masamune let out a smile.

"I've always loved the dichotomy I created with these too." He told Terra as he took up the blade and the hilt of the broken Lightbringer. "I can fix this one up in… give or take five minutes." Terra's eyes shot open. "Don't give me that look. I've been doing these for eons. I learn a few tricks. Now go on and go get your friends, I'll reconstruct the Lightbringer and use it as a template for the size and maybe even width you'd want in your sword." Terra took the man's advice and went to get the rest of the cast.

* * *

><p>They were back in less than five minutes, but they already found the Lightbringer somehow reforge on the anvil, with Masamune sizing up the Orichalcum.<p>

"How in the blazes…?" Bartz gasped, Terra had told him "five minutes", but this was just ridiculous!

"All in the wrist buddy! That and we all know how RPG smiths craft in like… ten seconds. I'm looking at you Warcraft!" And he broke the fourth wall like Bartz… they could pass as grandfather and grandson. "Still, I know what you want here, and the answer is… I can coat your swords in some less than pure Orichalcum in about an hour. Just lay them down there and I'll see what I can do." He said, anticipating Neku's question. The heroes did so, leaving Neku and Sora behind. "Something the matter?" Neku nodded at Sora, who summoned the Keyblade.

"Well, well, well… what is this?" Questioned Masamune for once truly intrigued with a weapon. "I doubt Muramasa crafted this before he got sent to hell…"

"Well, it's a long story." Sora said, rubbing the back of his head.

"He's from another dimension all together." Neku cut in, nonchalantly explaining and… Masamune took it with it a shrug.

"Figures. Still, what do you want from me?" He asked, Sora was confused but Neku explained.

"Can this open "it"?" The way Neku said it explained the old man all he needed.

"Oh boy, you're really thinking in all possibilities huh? Let me check…"

* * *

><p>"So… you've been distancing from each other a lot. What happened?" Cecil questioned his most brilliant prospects.<p>

"Knock it off Cecil!" Firion exclaimed while he rushed into the woods. From the distance, Jecht smiled a smile that was just… downright creepy and took a side-glance at Lightning, who, as much as she tried to glare at him it only came as encouraging. He pretended to sigh and turn his back, walking away with his eyes always set over his shoulder. As soon as he saw her leave into the woods, he tip-toed away with a smile on his face. Not many knew Shippin' Cecil and even less knew his new partner Jecht, but the ones who knew, knew of his powers. Kain was the only one who refused to be granted assistance.

Watching over the scene amused was Terra, who then turned her eyes into the small sliver haired knight who was throwing rocks into the river, trying to make them leap from shore to shore. Walking up to him, she knelt and pet him on the head. He had changed his looks, but something told her he knew him just as well.

"How's my little knight been?" She asked him, again feeling guilty for not having spent time with him. He was her closest companion from Dissidia together with Cloud.

"Good. I just… miss them. Arc, Refia, Ingus." He said in a saddened tone. He was just fourteen after all, to ask him to ignore the hardships as easily as the others was just too much.

"We all do…" She realized how she didn't know his name.

"Luneth. My name is Luneth." If there was something he was, it was smart, maybe too smart for his good.

"I'm sorry Luneth. I just…"

"Don't worry 'bout it. We only saw each other again yesterday." He assured with a bright smile again, he was good putting on masks.

"You know, kids your age are allowed to cry." The silver haired boy and Terra looked up to see Cloud standing just besides them, making the stone leap a total of ten times to reach the other margin of the river.

"Show off…" Luneth muttered. "And I'm not a kid!"

"It's not about being a kid. It's about dealing with these emotions before they become too much." He explained as he also turned to him. "It shows maturity to know when to cry and when to hold it." Under the gaze of the two adults, the kid said.

"Hey! I cry all the time!" He shouted before thinking it through, trying to act tough… it didn't exactly work. "Hey! Wait a minute!" It was too late, Terra was already giggling her heart out and even Cloud chuckled at his antics. "Still… does that mean that YOU know when to cry? You cry Cloud?" Oh, he got him good there. Asking Terra would just receive a nod, but CLOUD?

"No comments…" Said the SOLDIER whose face was like a tomato. This caused Terra to giggle even further. "Still, how's that crush treating you?" Was Cloud really going to get into a fight with a kid…?

"What crush?" He said, desperately avoiding any eye-locking with Terra. She had no such thing and just stood in front of him.

"You can't still be going on about it." She told him sternly. They said love knew no age, but this was ridiculous. That and she wasn't really interested in him.

"I… look, you're beautiful!" Terra covered her mouth with her hand due to how direct he was, but still shook her head, not annoyed, she only knew what he felt and it wasn't… true. All kids had their childhood crush.

"_Remember when you thought Leo was the man of your dreams?"_ Tina teased, chuckling at how flustered Terra had gotten. She was so embarrassed of that time.

"_Oh shut up auntie."_

"_Don't you dare call me that Sunny!" _Terra called it even right then and there and focused on Luneth, her mother-mode activating.

"Flattery will get you nowhere young man! When this is over, you are going to either wait four years or you're going to get yourself a nice girl your age, okay?" She really, really, really sounded like a mom scolding her kid, even Luneth took the hint.

"Fine mooooom!" He whined, rolling his eyes in irritation. She wasn't an easy quarry before, but something told him she was more on the "impossible" realm now.

"Good! Now give mommy a hug!" Luneth is an orphan everyone, you all knew this was coming.

"Wait! He's an orphan too!" Luneth shouted before beginning to get smothered. Cloud looked at him as if he had been betrayed because, before he knew it, he was pulled into a headlock of cuddles by the same person who was at least ten centimeters shorter than him. Heck, Vaan was just walking by and BAM, he was in it. Still, it was all in great fun, and they all felt truly happy for the first time in a while.

* * *

><p>"Sometimes I wonder… how can they all be so optimistic?" The Warrior wondered out loud as he stared at the scene.<p>

"I wondered that too some time ago." Hikari wondered who that was, but soon noticed Squall sitting on a nearby rock with a hand on his knee. Squall nodded with his head towards the trio of crystal bearers to the side, Hikari noticing how Bartz and Zidane did nothing but argue, laugh, pick small fights and generally be goofy. "Those guys taught me how to worry about things only when you need to. Don't tell them that though." He stood up and began walking towards the group to break up the fight, but still said. "Point is, don't massacre yourself with problems you can't solve. Just think what you'll do when all of this ends." Ladies and gentlemen, SQUALL just gave a lesson about optimism!

* * *

><p><span>Meanwhile, in the forest near the mountain stream<span>:

"How did you find me?" Firion asked while he watched the stream.

"Guessed." Lightning simply said as she took a seat near Firion. Cecil had made his place behind a nearby bush with Jecht, who was rubbing his hands in anticipation. After a few minutes of silence, he finally got to hear some kind of interaction.

"Look, I'm sorry I acted like that back there." Firion was the one that began, not moving his head from the water.

"No, no. I'm totally fine with you not being into people like me." She caught herself saying that and almost slapped herself, she tried to mend it as fast as she could. "What am I saying? I mean, being near people like me."

"No, it's nothing like that! It's just that Cecil is a little… overbearing." Firion tried to explain, trying his best to look at Lightning without getting eye-contact.

"You can say that again…" Lightning agreed with a whisper. Again, they awkwardly sat beside one another for a few minutes, a few too many for Jecht's taste, who was about to interfere when…

"What's thi-"Firion asked when a foreign object got shoved onto his face. "But I... how?" It was his rose. The one he tirelessly had tried to find before coming here. He gave up, thinking he had gotten rid of it while beneath Jenova… but here it was.

"I saw Jenova tell you to throw it away… I kept it with me." She told him while looking to the other side, her face redder than her pink hair. Hearing this, Firion almost broke down but instead took the rose carefully in his hand as a giant wave of relief and warmth filled him. With an honest smile, he turned to her and said:

"Thank you… from the bottom of my heart Lightning." He told her and the woman felt her heart skip a beat. Finally being able to look into his eyes, she turned and told him:

"Claire." Firion's surprised look was asking her for a better explanation. "You can call me Claire, I don't mind. It's my real name and I… I think I don't mind having you call me that." Firion smiled back and nodded.

"Claire it is then…" And they stopped talking because it was unneeded. Cecil smiled like a child in a grown man's body and just walked away, being joined by Jecht and Prishe who was on a treetop... watching. What? She's weird like that.

"Ah, young love." Cecil commented with his fellow adult.

"Makes us feel like ol' coots huh?" With a laugh out of the both, they left, the hour passing quickly for our heroes.

"Old coots, you? You have no idea how I feel!" Prishe said, sprinting past them, leaving them to wonder just how old she was.

* * *

><p>"Well, your weapons are done." Masamune told them, pointing at the shinning new arsenal they possessed. They didn't LOOK different, but just touching them made the difference known. Amazing couldn't even describe their new weapons.<p>

"Thanks old guy!" Luneth thanked, promptly getting smacked in the head by Terra. "I mean, mister Masamune!" Masamune laughed, but a beeping noise interrupted the calm atmosphere. Neku took out his phone, nobody questioning how he could hear stuff from another dimension since he was already from another plane altogether and answered it, an exasperated voice interrupting even the greeting, the image showing nothing but passing rocks.

"Neku! It's Shiki! Come back quick, there's… AH!" The pink haired girl said before getting hit by something, the communicator falling into the ground and losing image for a second.

"Shiki? Shiki come in! What's happening?!" Neku shouted, desperation quickly welling up on his voice, voice that was silenced by a very well-known laughter. His face grew pale as the communicator revealed the hopefully unconscious body of Shiki, just before getting picked up by none other than:

"Hello friends! It's been too long! Twenty four hours too long!" Kefka said in his mocking, joyful and sadistic tone.

"Kefka! What do you want?!" Terra exclaimed from the other side of the room, filling the clown with glee.

"Me?! To destroy of course! But we all know how I can't do that freely anymore… Look, here's the deal before I change my mind. You guys meet us here at Valhalla, or we blow up that city over there. We all know how many people would be left if did that, don't we?" Everyone cringed. They knew it was a trap, heck, they didn't even try to HIDE it, but well, they had to interfere. If they did not, the last human establishment would burn, save for Ivalice, and they couldn't sacrifice that many people. "Well, take your sweet time, in ten minutes, it's Kablowyee!" And with that the communicator exploded, leaving them in the dark.

"Ten minutes… well, I guess we'll have to go." Neku said almost casually, putting his phone on his pocket.

"But the sword isn't…" Terra began, Masamune stopped her.

"The sword will take one thousand years." The room's murmurs stopped cold.

"HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO USE IT THEN?!" Lightning snapped, almost going for the old man if Firion didn't stop her.

"Just get out of here and wait one hour. For times of crisis, this pocket dimension was given the ability to shift time passage. Or did you think I'd live all these eons at normal time? I'd die of boredom! If I reverse it though, my time passage will be much faster than yours. I'll have the sword ready for you in just one hour Terra. I promise you!" Terra nodded, the elder seemed to be telling the truth. Everyone agreed that they needed to go there and buy time and began to leave, except for Terra. "I need something from you." Masamune told her. "The Lia Fáil." Terra was confused, but he just said. "It's a secret. Just go along, I'll see you in an hour!" Worried as she was, Terra did just that, leaving Masamune to "get to work" as he put it.

* * *

><p>"How do you expect me to stay back?" A voice asked Lezard from a fair distance of the battle.<p>

"You would not be able to choose if it were not for me. I spared your life and for that I only ask this small request. For now, stay back and do what I asked." The wizard told the man in black, who agreed with a grunt. "Look, it seems company has arrived. I'll see you momentarily. Remember to wait what I told you to." Said Lezard before vanishing.

"Shall we?" Another man asked. The man spat again and vanished into his destination.

* * *

><p>"Is it done?" Terra asked Neku after leaving the portal. Consulting a pin, he nodded. With that, they ran out of the small temple to see a very familiar view in the distance, just on Valhalla's shore. "Omega…" This was the time where her body instinctively felt fear. Not once, but twice, that thing had almost killed her. Still, she knew that everyone was feeling the same way. "<em>It's not if we are afraid or not that makes us brave… it's what we <em>_do with the fear that determines our valor."_ I told myself one of the many advices Leo had given me to soothe me.

"Shakespearean." Tina mocked, even if she also felt better a few moments of recollection, they finally dashed towards the location before time was up. If they played this right, they would only have to stall them for fifty five minutes.

* * *

><p>When they did arrive though, they were greeted not only by the machine, but by every single villain they knew to be on their side… Garland, Mateus, the Cloud, Exdeath, Kefka, Seymour, Nag'molada (Prishe was told them about him.), the Xehas and Vanitas. Omega was still there, in Form, coldly analyzing them.<p>

"You're… early!" Kefka said, jumping up and down as if it was a party. "Good! Good!" He exclaimed just as everyone realized that the ones that stayed behind to wait for them, that being Celes, Locke and Shiki on his feet.

"Kefka! This has gone on for too long! Just let them go and we'll settle all of this by ourselves! I'll even fight you on my own." Terra told her nemesis, who straight up laughed at her.

"You are in no position to make demands missy! But I think I'll take you on, on that offer I mean." He said, clapping his hands in anticipation. "But fist… let's get this party started!" Shouted Kefka and, before anyone could react, Omega's cold voice announced:

"**Wave Canon Deployed!**" As he shot its most powerful shot to the city. In what seemed like an eternity, Terra could fell her heart sink again. She had failed to protect everyone again. The laser homed in on the city, outside of everyone vision range and there was a small flash as it hit it… followed by the entire thing being redirected skyward, the city left untouched.

"What?!" Kefka shouted in confusion. Seconds after though, thunder crashed right in front of Omega, from the lightning coming its master, Orlandeu. "Well, I GUESS your reputation precedes you, not-so old man." He commentated.

"You alright guys?" Before they knew it, backup had arrived in spades. Reks and Ashe joined Vaan, Kain landed near Cecil with the Mist family while Crono, Ramza and Serge made an appearance. Even Noctis and Stella showed their faces, the rest was probably still too injured to fight.

"I had planned to test Omega on the foolish bearers… but it seems that is not possible anymore. Very well, to arms!" Xehanort, the old man, said, only to be cut off when the entire backup charged them without hesitation and knocked the four out of Omega, taking the battle elsewhere. Even Sora jumped his would-be evil twin, leaving only Dissidia's participants, Seymour and Orlandeu to confront each other.

"I can hold the beast… that was the reason I was brought here. You should fight your enemies and then join me. Let us go! Fight with honour!" Orlandeu shouted as he called own an Hallowed bolt on top of Omega, forcing everyone on top of him to spread and charging the beast.

* * *

><p>"It has been too long." Garland told Hikari, who sneered:<p>

"It's as if you were correct Garland. Even after death, you still haunt me." Hikari told him, his armor exploding in light to become his Knight armor, the blues more deep and more intricate borders that came with the Ex-mode. However, he did not even bother with his helmet.

"It would seem so… and now we shall clash again! Not for the last time, but we shall do battle like it was!" Shouted Garland, who exploded into his Knight armor as well and lunged at the Warrior.

"I'll make it our last! I vow to do it!" Hikari charged as he did and jumped, meeting Garland in midair.

* * *

><p>"Well, isn't this nostalgic…" Mateus commented, raising up his staff in preparation.<p>

"Not a good memory, but yes, it is." Firion replied, drawing his sword that instantly became blood red.

"Mind if I enter this dance?" Lightning asked Firion, who smiled back.

"Not at all." She summoned Odin's Zantetsuken and they prepared for battle as petals spun around the trio.

* * *

><p>"Well, I must admit, I'd expect the boy to my opponent… but you'll do as well." The Cloud of Darkness said in the face of her new opponents.<p>

"What do you say Serge? Third time's the charm?" Crono asked his fellow time traveler, posing the Masamune.

"Third time's the charm…" Serge agreed, preparing his Mastermune.

* * *

><p>"Welp… guess I'll have to beat ya up like I did in the eleventh cycle." Jecht, almost bored.<p>

"You will do no such thing!" Seymour said, blasting at Jecht with magic, magic that was intercepted by a ball of darkness.

"Mind if I join in?" Cecil in his dark knight armor asked.

"The more the merrier!"

* * *

><p>"THIS is the part where I beat your face in Nagi!" Prishe told Nag'molada, cracking her fists.<p>

"I'll make you pa-" Before he could even finish he phrase, Prishe "took the initiative".

* * *

><p>"Seems Pride has yet another challenge up ahead!" Bartz said dramatically as Exdeath hovered above them. He even gained his cape and his stars.<p>

"Challenge?! Don't make me laugh!" Zidane exclaimed as he tranced.

"Stay focused." Squall told them with the Lionheart on his shoulder.

"Hur. Hur. Hur!" Exdeath laughed in his pretty stupid laughter. "Your chances to win are…"

"VOID! WE GET IT!" Even Squall joined in, it was just that obvious.

* * *

><p>"What are you looking at?" Kefka asked Terra as she slowly approached him with fire in his eyes. "Oh, it's because I lied… daaaw, my mistake m'am!" The clown told her with a salute.<p>

"Stop it Kefka! This has gone for too long!" Terra exclaimed with her Lightbringer in hand. "Too many people have suffered because of you and I won't let that continue for any longer!"

"Oh! We're serious now, are we?" Kefka asked her as his clothes began to burn away. "Okay then, let's have a party!" His eyes squinted as he saw what happened next. "This is a PRIVATE party mind you!"

"Then I'll just crash in like I always do, whaddaya think?!" Vaan told the jester as he made his way to Terra's side along with Luneth and Cloud.

"Everyone I…"She began, but she knew it was futile.

"I won't let you do this alone Terra! We're in this together!" The Onion Knight told her as he became a sage.

"We're a team… right?" Cloud asked the girl as his wing and Ultima Weapon manifested.

"Right… thank you." She nodded and looked deep into herself.

"_Time to cut loose!"_Tina exclaimed as Terra's body transformed.

"Let's go!" And the four jumped the former God of Magic, whose smile didn't diminish, no, it grew.

Shall we peer into the future? Don't worry, we'll come back soon enough.

* * *

><p><span>One hour later, at Masamune's cabin.<span>

"Finally… it is done." Masamune said, pride wheeling up as the thousand year blade was finally touched up. He began to examine the blade… but he could not, the moment of his greatest happiness quickly turning to tragedy as one of his own swords trespassed him from behind.

"And I thank you for it." Sephiroth hissed darkly, pulling his blade from his chest and letting his body sink into the ground. "Lezard will find great usage in this weapon. Don't you think?" He asked to the man on his side.

"Yes…" Responded Delita, his hand slowly making its way to his sheath. "Pity he won't ever lay his hands on it!" He shouted, slicing deep into Sephiroth's shoulder before he realized what was to happen, quickly following the attack with a blast of thunder that blew the One Winged Angel away. "Are you well old man? I am sorry I could not stop him!" Delita said, feeling genuine remorse for not being able to find a gap in Sephiroth's defenses sooner. The man was still breathing, yet weakly, the blood flow not stopping from his wound.

"I'm not important right now! Is your heart pure?" A simple question pierced Delita's heart. He once believed it but now…

"I am sorry. But I am no hero." He told Masamune, the response being different from his expectations.

"No! No! That's good! Take the blade. It will burn you, but it won't bound with you for it will only bound with the first to swing it whose heart is pure. Endure the pain and slash at that stone…" He pointed at the Lia Fáil, it being merely meters away on a small shrine. "GO!" He urged, Delita nodding as he reached for the sword. His hands burned, but what's worse was that he couldn't lift it. It fell directly on the ground. "The sword is as heavy as your sins." Masamune told him.

"Good thing. I am able to carry them." Delita answered, giving him a nod and grabbing onto the sword, disregarding his searing flesh as he pulled, and pulled, slowly lifting the sword up to his waist's height. Heavy step over heavy step, he managed to get to the table before Sephiroth had made his way onto the room. As he arrived, he slowly positioned himself for an overhead slash, just as Sephiroth erupted into the room.

"How dare you!?" He shouted, outraged. Delita gave zero damns that moment.

"Too late Sephiroth." He told him with a cocky smile as he swung the unnamed blade right into to the rock, cleaving both it and the table in two as the room exploded in golden light, the sounds of thousands upon millions of chains breaking, the sheer energy pushing everyone back. After no less than five whole minutes, Sephiroth managed to open his eyes as the light died down. He did not like what he saw.

"You…" He whispered.

A young man in his twenties stood there, we all know his mane-like brown hair that passed his shoulders. No one needed to remember us of his black overcoat with his always unclosed zipper, black shirt underneath. Dragon-shaped patterns inscribed in gold trim and golden dragon's wing on the back of the coat, pants, shirt and even trousers. We all know him.

"It's good to be back."

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

"_The blade that can cleave all evil…"_

"_We'll just have to take him ourselves."_

"_Shinryu!"_

"_Shin…"_

"_Terra!"_

Next Chapter: The End? Don't bet on it! Part 2: The Final Fantasy

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****Yeah. The next one is just too big… but I even gave you a glimpse of the future, and I think we all loved how this chapter ended, didn't we? I loved writing FiLight… maybe I'll do more of it, what do you think? Anyway, I'll take a week and a half on next chapter. I'm aiming for it to be one of the best I have ever did, but for now… guys, I'd love to have to reviews here, even you anonymous ones, I appreciate even the critiques. So gogo! What did you like? What did you dislike? Predictions? Opinions? Anything! Also, you got "him" back, so I think I made you happy, didn't I?!

**PS:** Guys, I'm hosting weekly polls on my profile, this week's Unending! Go there and vote. There will be a new one each Saturday!

**PSS:** I'll describe THE sword next chapter, but can any of you guys guess it's name? It's extremely obvious!


	67. The Final Fantasy

****Author's Note:****It isn't big, but I decided to make this three parts instead of two, I think you'll come to realize why.

PS: To- Anonymous 1 on last chapter's review: Oh he'll come back alright… with a vengeance.

To- Anonymous 2 on last chapter's review: Well, I updated on Easter, second best thing right…? Don't blame me! Blame Monster Hunter!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Sixty-Seven**

**The End? Don't bet on it!**

****Part 2- The Final Fantasy****

* * *

><p>On the now empty fields that composed Valhalla, fighting on the torn lands, a clash that had repeated itself countless times before continued to rage.<p>

"Garland! What is the purpose of this?!" The Warrior shouted as him and the stalwart crossed blades on the center of the battlefield, sparks erupting from Garland's giant monstrosity of a weapon and Hikari's crystal blade.

"Does a battle need a purpose?! The purpose of the battle is the battle itself!" He replied, catapulting the warrior of light into the sky with a massive swing of his blade.

"You cannot fool me Garland! You enjoy combat, but never did you do so without an intention!" Hikari shouted, a red fang being used to pressure Garland with a stream of fire. He let out a chuckle as he transformed his weapon into a whip, culling the flames with water.

"You know me well… but that is to be expected! Very well! Defeat me and know the truth! Fall and live your afterlife in blissful ignorance!" Morphing his whip into a pair of swords, he showered the warrior with multiple missiles of fire.

"Lightning!" Chanted Hikari, summoning eight blades of light that intercepted the flames, transfixing them and continuing onwards. Garland laughed and jumped on top of one of the swords for altitude, them jumping again into Hikari, swords now an axe that he heaved on his opponents direction. "SHINE!" This time, Hikari blocked it with his shield, immediately afterwards making it explode in light, shooting Garland towards the ground.

"Very well! VERY WELL!" Garland shouted in ecstasy. "This is what I LIVE FOR!"

"And this is what you shall die for!" Hikari replied, throwing his shield at the man as he dove into him.

"Cocky!" Garland roared, slapping the shield away while transforming his weapon into the while, swiftly grabbing Hikari's leg and slamming him to the ground. "So very COCKY!" He returned it to a blade and spun it around, dealing a massive blow on Hikari's side before forming an axe again. "I'LL CRUSH YOUR CONFIDENCE!" The massive swing crushed the very ground beneath him, possibly taking Hikari with him.

"You can never crush what I am! I am the Light's will!" He roared, with all his strength pushing Garland's blade away, his shield materializing on his hand. "RELEASE!" Infusing it with light, he hurled it at Garland, breaking the armor on his stomach before controlling it to dent blow his arms and legs, finishing with a massive blow on his torso that blew the knight away.

"That speech is so antiquated! Light? Darkness?! Do you think this to be a fairy tale?! There is only two sides! The strong… and the WEAK!" He began to exude the same crimson energy Chaos once emitted, raising his sword skyward. "And as proof of that… I… GARLAND will knock you DOWN!"

"My companions make me strong! You are the weak one Garland!" Hikari blared, concentrating all of his mettle and power into his sword. "I put my all… in this sword!" They stood there for a few moments, intensively staring each other until that, in perfect synchrony, both eternal opponents rushed towards the center.

"Can you withstand this?!" With his dual blades shining crimson, Garland forced Hikari to block with both his shield and sword, getting counted by a lunge that traversed him. However, the lance he formed afterwards blocked Hikari's follow-up lunge, his axe getting blocked by the warrior's shield.

"You're… finished!" Hikari boomed, delivering two strikes in the shape of a cross as he dashed right through Garland, the ensuing burst of light consuming his armor and seemingly even the stalwart. "If we ever meet again Garland… I will end you once again."

"Care to test your fortune now?!" Hikari gasped at the voice. It was coming from behind him but… it felt different. Familiar… more guttural. His darkest memory came to mind. "Yes Warrior… it has been so long yet so little time has passed…" Hikari now knew it. The closest thing to the devil he had ever laid his eyes on stood in front of him. It was no wonder, knowing who Garland was. The beast possessed four arms, two black wings and even horns, his humanoid body far taller than the warrior or even Garland. In his hand was still a sword, but now it was crimson and black, the tail of the beast now forming as Hikari stood face to face with the being he had never been able to vanquish alone.

"Chaos…"

* * *

><p>"Now now, isn't this a tad unfair? I'd like to believe you were more honorable than this Firion, but then I recall how you already used your friends to take revenge upon me." Mateus mocked, gesturing with his staff to reveal hundreds of aerial mines that he had somehow conjectured before the battle had started, so many where they that Lightning and Firion could not even take a single step without causing a chain reaction. "Maybe I should… even the odds." As he said that, a thin line began to form through he middle of his body, expanding for a few seconds before, in a moment, bright flash covered the transformation. Now two Emperors stood. One equal to his former self while the other dressed in black, violet and platinum, his hair now slick and with just two massive spikes to the side.<p>

"What did you just do?!" Shouted Firion in distress, the sight of his nemesis becoming two people shocking him to no end.

"The same I did a year ago. But you would not know that, would you? Minwu fought the other me in Arubboth after all… let us just say that I am the Emperor of Hell while…" The golden Emperor explained, passing down the word to his other self gracefully.

"Am the Emperor of Heaven." He said with a bow.

"Together we shall rule all!" They announced pompously, for a mere fraction of a second taking their sights off out heroes, only to find regaining their sights of them a "little" more complicated.

"Where have they gone?" One of them asked, furiously sweeping his head around. It was then that the other one realized how he was looking in the wrong places. Taking a quick glance upwards, the Emperor of Arubboth quickly shoved Mateus away and jumped away at the same time, barely dodging the falling mechanical horse that carried Lightning and Firion.

"You like to yap, but can you back it up? I'm a goddess to, you know? And I'm pretty sure Firion here already beat at least one of you. You're in no place to threaten us." She told them smugly, eying Arubboth's ruler dead in the eyes as Firion did the same for Mateus. In perfect synch, the Emperor's clapped, even their voices matching.

"Very well. It seems I'll have to prove my dominion. It shall be a pleasure." They both snarled, taping with their staff on the ground to reveal even more floating mines than the ones beforehand. This time though, they wasted no time in detonating them. As smoke covered the battlefield, the Emperors laughed, unsurprised by the lack attacks. "Come now, you really believe you can fool me? I know you will not be fell so easily." They both said as if they were one. Just then, from the smoke a dagger erupted, hitting Mateus' original body in the torso, quickly pulling him into it. Firion showed himself as he spun around his sword and axe upwards, finishing with a double slash to knock the emperor back on the ground. Not wanting to lose this opportunity, Firion forced the air behind him back with magic and dashed towards him. "Slow." Mateus taunted, creating a floating glyph that shot three projectiles on Firion's direction. Seeing this, he made and abrupt stop and landed on the ground beneath him. Said ground flared up.

"Damn!" Firion cursed before beginning to get electrocuted by Mateus' trap. Laughing smugly, Mateus began walking towards Firion, his hand touching the liegeman's forehead.

"Do you now understand? You only bested me for the second time because you had your companions. Alone you are nothing against the powers I gained from the crystal of darkness. Run Amo-" After the small taunt, the Emperor prepared to cast Flare on the unmoving soldier as he spared in pain, but he was met with none other than himself, hurling from the smoke in his direction, flying again off the cloud.

"You okay?" Lightning asked Firion as she knelt near the now kneeling man.

"Yes. I just… let my guard down. I thought I had caught him unprepared, but he truly has set up traps for every possibility." Firion felt bad. He underestimated Mateus' cunning and thought he could have finished him in just one frontal assault and almost paid for it with the biggest price.

"Stay focused, I can't have you die on me." Lightning told Firion as she broke the eye contact, positioning herself to continue the fight. Chuckling inwardly, Firion stood up with newfound courage to face the Emperors.

"Insolent rats!" They exclaimed in unison.

* * *

><p>"Calm down fanboys!" Kefka shouted, exploding in golden light as the group of four closed down on him from all directions. Terra and her companions were sent back a few meters, but they soon realized Kefka wasn't even trying to hurt them. He now stood in the form that had been worship as, and that was in fact in a lot of ways, a god. His purple skin now showing, only drapes covering his midsection and six wings sprouted from him, four angel and two demon ones. His hair was now truly golden, as were his eyes. It still sent shivers down Terra's spine seeing him like this. To think that the man who had done so much wrong had become God, even had a religion just sickened her, yet, she also couldn't help but feel sorry for someone who had been lost in such madness. To see his form as God made her see just how far gone from humanity he was.<p>

"_Don't you dare…"_ Tina was beginning to say, but Terra cut her off.

"_I not going to say I won't be sorry for him. But I know what I must do Tina, you know me."_ Terra told Tina in her mind.

"_I know for a fact you are doing this with a guilty consciousness."_ And she was right.

"_Kefka is like this because he got infused with my essence, my blood."_ Terra remembered Tina with a sigh. She was staying back as Cloud repeatedly tried to wail on the God, being the only one except for her to be able to keep with him even slightly, mostly due to the Protomateria and the ability to fly, but all of his efforts were canceled when every time he was even CLOSE to hitting him, Kefka would just appear ten meters away from him. _"__If I had never existed, if I was never born… Kefka would probably have been a happy, sane person, maybe with a family and kids. For the few years I knew him before he got injected with my essence, he was a truly loving person, a big brother even."_ The last time she had reflected on this was… right before entering Kefka's tower. When she had done so, she had to shut her mind from it. She couldn't bear to think of it at that time, it burned her heart to fight someone that she had known as someone she had seen as family.

"_Sunshine…"_ Tina on the other hand, felt guilty for taunting her with these memories. She had regained them during her stay in Mobliz, and they played no small part in why she wished to stay in Mobliz. She had managed to get around it by simply looking at him for what it was at the moment, and in Dissidia she didn't have her memories, but this time, was different. He wasn't the end-all be-all danger. He was just a henchman. A very dangerous henchman that would end countless lives if let be, but it was much harder to live with yourself when you couldn't tell yourself that the killing of someone ended all the torment for good. What Tina didn't expect was a sudden surge of determination welling up inside Terra, who touched her chest, closing her eyes for a second before continuing.

"But he's dead now. _He was one of the people who died because of me. That… thing is not even close to being a person anymore.__"_ Terra sighed and unsummoned her swords. _"I owe it to him __to… put him to rest."_ With that, she pulled her arm backwards and swept it to the right, sending a single Riot Blade to the exact place Kefka had teleported to by escaping a Pyroclasm from Vaan. Obviously though, he dismissed it with a barrier magic of his own, but it was enough to get his attention.

"Oh, is the princess done dressing up? I know it's tradition for royalty to come late to the party, but we've already started to dance!" Kefka joked, giving the rest of the crew just enough time to gather around Terra.

"So, what do we do, you got a plan Terra?" Vaan asked, already slightly worn down from dodging hails of fire from Kefka while also trying to get a good shot at him. Terra didn't answer them, she took one good look at all of them and they knew they needed to stay still until something happened. What she was going to do, they had no idea.

"_Sunshine that's just… d__evious, but fine, I'll help, it's not like you're an expert in this."_ Tina said, laughing on the inside. Kefka was surprised to see how Terra walked alone towards him, but he played along, whistling.

"Woho! You're coming to Uncle Kefka alone?! I like what see!" He exclaimed, a sharp response cutting the air just after.

"I know you do. Too much. And that is what kills you on the inside, isn't it?" Kefka immediately stopped laughing, the atmosphere around the battle completely breaking as all men stared at Terra incredulously. "Why do you act so surprised? You always wanted this." Terra then created an flaming figurine of herself in her early childhood sitting in on the corner of her palm, a figurine of a teen running to her and kneeling by her side. "You were tasked with taking care of me, and there WERE times where I felt you genuinely cared for me, but all of that was inferior to how jealous you were of me, wasn't it?" She asked him, destabilizing the clown in a way none of the onlookers ever expected to see. He was completely without words.

Terra was playing Kefka's game and… winning.

"You were so jealous you even accepted going on a totally experimental process of infusion by assuring yourself you did it because you "trusted me" and "Were sure that my power wouldn't hurt you". There was a reason they considerably lowered the concentration of my blood on Celes' injection afterwards." She told him, his expression now changing from shock to anger.

"And then it was all perfect for you. You were slowly losing your sanity, but you did not care for it. You had my power and you had me. I have no idea how you lusted over someone who wasn't even ten, but you were slowly becoming insane, so I'm not surprised. The slave crown was just the perfect fantasy for you. You controlled me, you made me do what you wanted, you were superior, in control, but at the same time, you made me praise you and tell you how thankful I was. This was because I was what you wanted to be, making me "bellow you", just made you feel like you had done it. But then… the crown broke." It was amazing how Kefka STILL was quiet, Terra was just hitting just all the targets, everything that made him tick.

"When you saw me at Narshe, when you lost to me and my friends at Narshe, it corroded you on the inside. For power, you had sacrificed everything. Leo would not trust you. Celes obviously saw you as the "failed experiment" she could've been. Even the Emperor was wary of you, with a reason. But what hurt you the most was what had happened to me. Not only did I have power to match yours but… I had friends who trusted me and I now hated you." Kefka visibly winced at that word, which surprised even Terra, she didn't expect him to be THAT hurt. "Whatever part of you remained from ten years ago was crushed at this. Of course you moved on to murder my entire species and get their power. You could have me by force AND have power, couldn't you? You even killed LEO, your best and ONLY friend. He STILL wanted to be your friend, even after all of that and YOU killed him. You even became GOD. Yet, in the middle of your "glory" you realized that there was still something missing. Something you when you were human always wanted. Me." It felt weird to acknowledge that, to see that there was a man who had a horribly twisted attraction to yourself, even more so when she was ten years younger than him. This time however, Kefka didn't stay shut.

"Shut up! What do you know?!" Terra didn't even move when the enraged clown shot a Firaga blast in her direction, she knew he'd miss, and he did, passing right next to her right shoulder.

"_You're actually getting in his head! Where did you learn to speak like this?"_ Tina congratulated, even if she knew she had been one of the two main reasons Terra had finally managed to get over her more fragile side.

"And so you did the next best thing." Terra continued, not letting Kefka's act even so much as making her flinch. "You changed yourself to be like me, when it didn't work, you tried to change ME to be like you. Killing the people in Mobliz? Made to create guilt on me. The reign of terror? You wanted me to hate you. You wanted to make me BE like you! And that is why you couldn't stand that I felt sorry for you in the end. Everything you tried failed. Never did I love you, never did you become as I was, and never did you make me what you wanted me to be. And as it stands, we both know that that will not happen. So I ask you Kefka, why are you fighting?"

"Why do you good guys always try to apply some logic to destruction?! It's FUN to destroy! How HARD is it to understand that?!" Kefka shouted, but everyone saw how he was being defensive about it. There were few times where you saw some shred of logic registering on Kefka's brain, but this, this was one them.

"You keep telling yourself that… but enough of this. I am to blame for what you did. If I didn't exist, you wouldn't be like you are now. If I submitted, all those people wouldn't have died when you were God. But I'm not going to lose myself in self-pity. I'm going to take responsibility! Shin taught me that to continue to live you have to accept what you are and tie everything up before moving on and that's what I'll do! This is not my doing, so I won't let it chain me with guilt and regret! Kefka, it is about time I close this chapter of my life! I'll… put the person I loved as a brother to rest." And without further ado, before Kefka even processed what she had just said, she showered him with Holy orbs, quickly chasing after him as they hit, clawing the God onto the floor with both of her claws. She then tried to do the same again, but her claws met the dirt as Kefka vanished, reappearing behind her upside down, his wings shooting for her.

"Not so fast!" Cloud exclaimed as he blocked the hit, sending Kefka away, who shouted in frustration.

"Get OUT of here you damned brat! This is between me and Terra!" Kefka roared, for once using Terra's real name, such was the rage burning inside him on that precise moment.

"No Kefka… I don't have to fight alone. YOU do! Friends stick with each other until the end. You destroyed those bonds for power. If you have any, call them now…if you don't, we'll fight together!" Terra exclaimed as Vaan and Luneth arrived at her sides.

"I… I'm done! You just crossed the LAST line Terra Branford! If I can't have you... I'll kill you, I'll destroy you and everything you love! And everyone else as well! I'll destroy them ALL!"

* * *

><p>"So Sephiroth… what now?" Shin questioned as he took in freedom for the first time in ages. He had only been partially conscious and aware of the time passage on the Lia Fáil, but he still knew it had been way too long.<p>

"I do not believe you can fight us both in your condition. Without your "mother's" help even less." Delita told him, delighting on Sephiroth's expression, even if it were cold, you could almost taste the reluctance he had to swallow his pride and run.

"We shall meet again…" Said the one-winged angel, still wounded from the battle not even a day before, running away like a whipped dog . Delita of course didn't trust that he had left and went to secure the entrance, meanwhile, Shin rushed over to Masamune, who had found his way into a wall, leaning against it while he held the giant gash in his stomach. Shin didn't like what he saw, the wound looked horrible, and Masamune was literally holding his guts in.

"So… we finally meet… grandson." It somewhat shocked Shin Masamune had called him that right off the bat, but he knew for a fact from Shinryu that they had had quite a number of conversations during the forging of the sword, and that Masamune looked at all of his creations as his children… which would make him, a creation of Shinryu, his grandson. "Son of Shinryu…"

"Yeah, it's me gramps. I can't thank you enough for… making the sword that could free me." He thanked as he tried to think of a way to save the man. He wasn't experienced in healing arts a couple of days ago (or hundreds of years in real time), and that hadn't changed in his imprisonment. He was shot into an alert state as Masamune tried to move. "Don't move! I don't know how to fix you up yet!" He exclaimed, to which Masamune smiled.

"You cannot. You know this and I know this. My wounds are far too severe for someone like you to do it. I just want… to gaze upon my final creation one last time. I never got the chance to do so." He said that with such a great deal of acceptance on his voice that it tied a knot on Shin's stomach. Sighing deeply, he knew he had to give the old man his last wish and so, he quickly got the sword back, laying it on his knees. He couldn't help but gaze just as much as Masamune did. The sword reminded him of the Lightbringer in many ways, but it was in many ways different. The handle of it resembled two wings, it was purely golden with white feathers extending outwards from in, two lone gems on each side of the handle, right in the middle, one blue and one red. The blade was however, much unlike the Lightbringer, instead of being straight, it curved inwards from the handle until it was reaching the tip, where it expanded outwards for just a bit, then forming the tip. The sword was still wide, even wider than the Lightbringer, but the other major difference were the colors. Most of the blade was a purely golden white, with only the very edge and a small section inside the center of the blade being gold. Inside that section there glyphs Shin couldn't decipher, but he was too busy watching in awe as the blade shone by itself, no power was being put into it, yet it was still shining. It was warm even. Like it was… alive. "The letters mean Fantasia."

"Huh?" Shin asked, snapping out of the trance the weapon had induced in him.

"The inscriptions… they mean Fantasia. You know why?" He asked Shin, who just shook his head, watching as the man caressed the blade as if it was really his newborn. "It was my dream, my fantasy to make this blade. To work with Pure Orichalcum, the epitome of crafting materials. It is said that Pure Orichalcum responds to the will and emotions of the wielder, as if the sword was alive, and I believe it after touching it… magic is also amplified by the blade, and it is simply impossible for it to gain wear and tear, let alone break. Perfection incarnate, he blade that can cleave all evil…" He then violently coughed blood, his breathing becoming harder and harder as death crawled ever closer. "If only I could name it before I…" Again he coughed.

"Your dream… your fantasy… your… Final Fantasy." Shin whispered, it was almost as if the words weren't his own, almost like… the sword was naming itself. This brought a gleaming, true smile of happiness onto the old man's face.

"Perfect! The Final Fantasy…" His smile was quickly interrupted by another show of weakness. Masamune realized he had to step it up. "Shin… this blade will be one with the first person of pure soul that swings it. You must give it to Terra, she can use it and…" Another cough, this time so prolonged and agonizing that it left no doubts about it. His time was here. "She can destroy Omega! Now go! Go and be yourself Shin, I cannot ask for anything better of you." Masamune said, grabbing the sword and shoving it against Shin's chest. Shin got up on his feet and turned his back, but he still glanced over his shoulder at the man who had made his existence possible. "Don't pity me. I've lived far longer than any human or being should… it is time for me… rest…" And just like that, the flame of his life extinguished, but Shin knew, he was at peace.

"We'll make your dream a reality Masamune. I promise you." He told himself and the smith of legend before he rushed outside, opening his ethereal wings as he did and rushing towards the battlefield, leaving even Delita behind.

* * *

><p>As this happened, on the battlefield various battles raged. None of them seemed even close to a definite end, but we'll join our favorite Half-Esper girl in hers.<p>

"Oh perfect light… I want to end this!" Terra chanted, her Ultima spell exploding in a violet burst, sending Kefka downwards, where Cloud awaited. However, Kefka blocked the Ultima Weapon with his wings, turning to chant Ultima onto Cloud, the burst sending him against a nearby rock formation. Both Vaan and Luneth tried to ambush him from behind, but Kefka was having none of it, the wings spiked backwards and stopped their momentum. However, this left Kefka open to…

"Let it end!" Terra shouted, launching two fully charged crimson spheres of energy upon her mortal foe, the first one staggering him while the second one buried him into the ground below before exploding.

"Yeah!"´

"Dead on!" Vaan and Luneth cheered as Cloud helped himself out of the crevice he was in. Terra smiled in satisfaction, but quickly turned to grab an incoming projectile. One that she quickly determined to be none other than the… Excalibur? This set her off quickly, making her glance to the side to see Orlandeu weaponless on the ground, Omega's mechanical foot rising for the finishing blow.

"Terra go!" Cloud shouted before she could even question what to do. "I doubt he'll not be here when you come back." He added in sarcastically, holding his blade high while Kefka's shadow rose from the smoke.

"We'll just have to take him ourselves!" Luneth exclaimed, Vaan nodding. Terra felt bad for letting her friends fight her battles, but she knew where she was needed, and that's what friends were for. She nodded back to Cloud and cast teleport to Cid's side. However, she miscalculated Omega's speed, the foot was closing in much faster than she thought.

"_Block it sunny!"_ Tina said with unusual conviction. Terra was doubtful about it, but she had no choice but to press her hands against Omega's foot with all her might. Surprisingly… it stopped.

"**Error! Unknown Force blocking extermination! Unknown force identified as Terra Branford. Power irregularly high!**" Omega stated in its steel voice. Terra smirked, very uncharacteristically of her I know, but she was amazed at just how much more powerful she had become in so little time. Omega Mark II all of a sudden didn't feel as threatening. In a burst of power, she put all of her force on her arms, even chatting Zero Gravija and swung Omega overhead, yes, you heard me right, she swung Omega overhead, slamming it into the ground.

"_It's… worth a shot."_ Terra thought after her surprising blow on the machine. She charged her right arm with energy and exclaimed: "Riot… Blade!" and swung it like it was one, slicing Omega's foot clean off the rest of the leg. Even Orlandeu was flabbergasted.

"_Sunshine that was… amazing! You… you're even stronger than I was now!"_ Tina congratulated as the fickle of hope lit up on everyone watching.

"I may not reach the core, but I'll hold Omega here!" She told herself and Orlandeu, certain she could hold Omega in this form easily. Keyword being, in this form.

"**Danger! Danger! Threat level undefined! Engaging full power of the Crystal Shard! Deploying Deus Ex Machina Program! Nanomachines ready for transformation!**" Terra would not believe her ears. All of a sudden, in a single moment, it happened. The entire metal shell of Omega exploded, leaving what was its center, its true form, for everyone to see. It was substantially smaller, about half the size, and it probably was the main Orichalcum skeleton of it. It now looked like a four legged spider, with the legs now being above the core, curving cowards. All of its body was inscribed with strange markings and it was now multiple colors, ranging from green, to brown, even orange. The center was also more… cylindrical and housed the eye, levitating above it. If Terra didn't know any better, she would say he was made of stones, but she knew better. "**Mark XII, achieved**."

"Mark XII?! The one the Occuria tried to copy? The Ultimate form?!" Terra gasped, shaking her head to shake off her fear. "I… can't give up now. Cid, will you…" Cid was right by her side, and nodded.

"Take the lead, children of the Espers." Orlandeu told her, to which she did so. She wasn't going to let it get the first blow, so she did. They both rushed towards the monstrosity, take care not to fall into a trap or a well-placed ray from it, but they didn't seem to need it as Omega didn't move… at all. "Is the beast mocking us?" Orlandeu questioned, and to tell the truth, Terra did not know. Still, she tried to gamble on it.

"Let's attack it!" She exclaimed, her arms blazing in blue light.

"Very well." Orlandeu answered as the Excalibur burned.

"Riot Blade!"

"Divine Ruination!"

They both let out their most powerful moves, light from the heavens crashing down on the massive as a storm of energy blades assaulted it, the sheer amount of energy blinding everyone who looked at it. A few seconds later, Terra opened her eyes and her heart sunk.

"**Damage to systems not found. Threat level now residing at non-existent!**"

If Terra was not looking directly at Omega, she'd call it a lie, but… it was completely undamaged. By the same attack that, at a very lower scale, had cut off its limb!

"How can we…" Terra began, but the doubts were quickly quenched.

"_You just have to hold him Sunny! Don't you dare give up on me!"_ Tina told her with confidence. _"With the sword we can win! It's been almost an hour already!"_

"Yeah… you're right!" Terra agreed, turning to Orlandeu and transferring the information.

"Very well, let's gain time." He agree, but…

"**All systems now fully operational in MK XII mode, commencing extermination.**"

"Drat." Terra cursed as tens of lasers were now approaching her. She managed to fly away just in time, but she failed to see if Orlandeu made it. Not that she could mind you, as the Wave Canon shots were hot on her trail, and she was quickly losing distance from them, even in Esper Form. She couldn't stop to cast Teleport, she'd be caught up in a second. "I can't… dodge." She realized, seeing as even with all the twists and turns they still followed her. "But…" She tried to follow the oldest trick in the book, barreling towards Omega with the beams in tow. Her plans however, were put to halt when the very ground in front of her rose in a column to stop her.

"_He can use magic now?!"_ Tina exclaimed, desperately watching in vain as Terra got surrounded by more columns, every exit barred. "Terra!"

"Light come with me!" Just before the beams congregating into Terra's body, none other than Cecil came bursting in, taking Terra away from their trajectory at the last moment, saving her life as they both landed safely away from the breach in time and space that it provoked.

"Cecil… thank you! But what about Jecht?" Terra asked the Paladin that had just saved her life, her worries now on the man fighting Seymour.

"He told me he could handle Seymour, you are more impo- Be careful!" Time slowed down as Terra got pushed away by him, Cecil's chest burst into bright light, a stray wave canon that was meant for her destroying his left lung.

"CECIL!" She cried, immediately jumping up from her position and rushing towards the Paladin, whose consciousness had left him. "Please be alive… Please be alive!" She cried, for once, her dreams coming true. Omega had missed the heart. But still… "How can… how can we fight this? We… we need something! Oh, Cosmos, please… anything…" Her prayers fell into death ears.

"**Canons recharged… next target, Terra Branford.**"

Terra returned to her human form, turning to her crystal and shouted at it:

"DO something!" She couldn't run from the rays, and if she did, she would be leaving Cecil to die! The crystal remained silent, no light shining from it to relieve her of Omega, nothing. "What I'd give to… have you here." She whispered, flashes of the one she had saved so many times, yet, had saved just as many in more ways than one appearing in her eyes.

"**New threat detected East! Deploying Wave Canon!**"

This surprised Terra. She couldn't but wonder who could it be, but she also almost didn't WANT to be saved, if that meant someone would have to die to save her. However, that was far from being the case. Even before Omega shot, the shining light had planted itself onto the eye of the beast, making it rear in agony. The light then landed just a few meters away from Terra. It felt so... familiar.

"It can't be…" Terra gasped, the familiar feeling making her heart skip several beats.

"_That guy is immortal.__ Shinryu.__"_ Tina said, smiling inwardly at the person who now was beginning to appear from the light. Terra didn't waste any time in jumping to her feet, knowing that she had at least stabilized Cecil with a ReRaise spell, and lost herself in the moment. Before she knew it, she almost unwillingly threw her arms around that person's chest. She hadn't even seen his face, but she knew it was him.

"Shin… I… I thought I'd…" She mumbled, but she stopped trying to speak. She was crying. So much she could not stop, but they were all tears of pure bliss.

"Thank Masamune. He set me free." Shin told her, now slowly caressing her hair. "Seems I can only make you cry." He joked, to which she laughed. She slowly whipped the tears off her eyes and looked up into his now golden eyes.

"I wish I could cry like this every day." She replied, letting all of her surroundings be deleted from her mind for just a few moments. Omega was still recovering, she could have a little moment for herself, couldn't she? "Now, I still have to give you back something." She whispered him, grabbing the sides of his head and pulling them in as she stood on the tip of her toes. Nothing could ruin this… right?

Wrong. Just before their lips met, Terra felt like her mind exploded into different sensations, different images showering her conscious mind so fast she couldn't make sense of any of her. The pain was unbearable, it was like she was being torn in two. And she cried in agony, together with Tina. Her crystal fell into Shin's feet and she screamed.

"Terra?!" Shin exclaimed as the girl stumbled backwards, clutching to her head, her hair going from blonde to green to pink several times over, her Esper form taking over at random parts of her body repeatedly. To make matters worse, an unknown barrier kept him from getting closer to her, one that became visible a few seconds later, when someone appeared near Terra.

"Well, that took longer than expected, but the timing could not be more perfect." Lezard said, chuckling darkly as he did.

"Lezard?! What have you done to her?!" Shinryu shouted in pure rage, slamming his fist against the barrier Lezard had done. Terra was now on her knees, clutching to her head as her cries become bloodcurdling.

"Me? Nothing. This is all natural. All your God's fault." He answered, to which Shin quickly realized what he meant, all his hopes dashed.

"But she had a month!" He shouted back with futilely plastered all over his face.

"At best. And come now… did you believe Jenova's control would not change her condition in the slightest? You are truly naïve… Shinryu." Lezard mocked, making Shin's rage explode. He quickly hammered the barrier insistently, producing little to no effect.

"Terra! Hang in there!" He shouted, receiving no response but a scream of agony.

"And why does this concern you Lezard?" Shinryu spoke using Shin's mouth, to which he adjusted his glasses.

"Me? I'm here to…" His hand began to shine in a pale light , his smile turning devious. "Save her!" He shouted, driving his hand INTO Terra, leaving no blood, as if his hand were that of a ghost. Terra's eyes shot open before losing all of her glow, the girl collapsing to the side, motionless. Lezard's hand now held two pure crystals, both with a lone light dancing within. "I've modified the Rite of the Sovereign quite a bit during my stay here. It is good to see it now applies to other beings." He said smugly. Shin was about to ask what that was, but Shinryu explained to him it was something made to translocate souls of otherworldly beings. Which made sense, considering what Terra WAS. But there was another question on Shin's mind. If those were their…

"Are those Terra and Tina's souls? What do you plan to do with them?!" He shouted, leading Lezard to a crazed laughter hat died down as he took a hold of both crystals, one in each hand.

"In this hand I have the Esper Sovereign of a thousand years ago. She is rash but kind hearted, she can be filled with rage yet still do the right thing. Changing the path of the war was not an easy task, much less becoming the most power of Espers…" He said, chuckling as he turned his head to Terra's soul crystal. "But in this hand is so much more. A normal girl that went through hardships which would've broken anyone else yet still came out gentle, pure, perfect. She is the kindest person I've ever laid eyes on, yet her determination is fierce, she will do anything to protect those who she holds dear. Her will is indomitable. She killed a God and brought peace to her world and many others in Dissidia, even if she had the help of her ancestor." He then let out a dark chuckle. "But… only one of these can return to the body. Whose life is more valuable? Who is the strongest of the two?" He asked Shin.

He didn't know what to say. He WANTED to say Terra, but he would be condemning Tina… was that the right thing to do? He didn't have to decide though.

"It was rhetorical! Despite being born as a normal girl, despite her gentle nature, her will burns the strongest! She is the most formidable being I have ever laid eyes on!" He exclaimed, a part of Shin becoming hopeful as he raised her crystal the air. "And that is exactly why she must vanish… Fiunt unum cum crystallus. " He completed, Shin's mind not registering what he said until… Lezard crushed the crystal with his bare hand. At that moment, Terra's crystal flared for just a second before dying down, all warmth Shin felt from holding it gone. The realization hit him.

Lezard had just… crushed Terra's soul.

"She was too strong for her own good! There was no possibility of her ever breaking to my –"Lezard's speech was cut short as he was forced to teleport away from an unknown force. "Unbelievable…" He commentated as he saw one of Omega's legs' splitting in half over the power of just a swing of the Final Fantasy. A swing that didn't even need to connect, nor was it directed at it.

"You'll pay…" Shin said, his voice now fully one with Shinryu's. Words cannot describe the fire that now burned in his heart. Nor can they describe what made it burn. Anger? Hate? Sorrow? I cannot know for not even he or Shinryu knew. "I can never… forgive you…"

"**What you did to Terra… CAN'T BE FORGIVEN!"**

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_The End? Don't bet on it! Finale- A Destiny Fulfilled. Shinryu and Omega._

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><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****Okay. Okay. Okay. Now is the time where I ASK you to kill me!

Leave a review here cursing me, maybe it will work… that and there's a new poll there.

I… I just killed my Tewah…

I wasn't planning to save her from the moment I gave her that curse since Shin was going to survive but this... this hurt my heart to write.


	68. A Destiny Fulfilled Shinryu and Omega

****Author's Note:****: Let's see if I can make it up for you after last chapter…

**PS:** Anonymous: I… just read on please.

Wolf: I deserve nothing less than what you said… but well, continue to read. You may have a surprise in store. If you still have your acount, tell me in the review because I'll just PM you.

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><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Sixty-Eight**

**The End? Don't bet on it!**

****Finale- A Destiny Fulfilled. Shinryu and Omega.****

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><p>"How dare he…" Kefka whispered, stopping in midair as he was chased by Cloud. The Non-SOLDIER took advantage of this strange happening, plunging his sword into and through Kefka's torso. However, this supposed moment of victory felt… hollow somehow. He had hit him, it was no clone, but still, even Luneth and Vaan knew something was off. The former clown didn't even move an inch. "How dare he even touch… a strand of her hair…" Cloud quickly realized who he was talking about. What scared him was what he meant by that. "Let alone… kill her…"<p>

They froze. All except Luneth, who cursed loudly for the first time while bolting in the direction where he had last seen Omega.

"LEZAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!" Kefka howled, the Ultima Weapon shooting out from his body as a shockwave grew from him, sending Cloud, Vaan and even Luneth away as the ground beneath them caved in at the sheer pressure of the magical power Kefka started to exude just before he vanished.

"Did he just…" Vaan asked Cloud, speechless.

"Vaan… go left, I'll go right. We have to round up the rest." Cloud replied, a cold and stoic look contrasting Vaan's shocked and increasingly angry one.

"How can you say that?! Terra…" Vaan shouted, his protest being cut short by something he never imagined he would one day come to see.

"Kefka can be many things, and liar is one of the top offenses, but that look wasn't one of someone who was acting. Luneth already went to check… he's the fastest and he's a smart kid, he won't get into things he can't get out of. And if Terra really lost… we need everyone with us!" The Ex-Non-SOLDIER exclaimed, carefully avoiding stating what was on his mind. But he knew that Kefka wouldn't turn against his ally and go into such a rage-filled trance for a lesser reason than Terra's death.

Both he and Vaan knew this, Vaan just had a harder time accepting it. They exchanged a silent conversation with nothing but a deep stare towards each other, the sky pirate agreeing.

"I don't like this, but I have to play along, don't I? Let's go, we meet at the center when we have everyone… or at least the ones that survive." Vaan replied, taking out his crystal and using it to find a way into the others. And so the hunt was on.

* * *

><p><span>Meanwhile, on the center of the conflict:<span>

"Oh, I seem to have broken him. How pitiful." Lezard commented, adjusting his glasses as he saw Shin slowly lay Terra against a nearby rock.

"Shin, snap out of it, he's right behind you, you're a sitting duck!" Shinryu urged, doing the mental equivalent of trying to break through the walls Shin had surrounded himself with.

"Terra I…" Shin whispered, noticing how Terra's now hollow eyes were still open. Slowly, his palm still trembling, he reached out for her face and slowly closed them like she had done to him. Only this time was different. She hadn't been incarcerated into a stone, she hadn't even died normally, she had her very existence crushed to so many pieces no one could hope to reassemble. "I'm sorry…"

"Well then… even my patience has limits, and you have just reached them. I admire your devotion to her, I really do, even if it pales in comparison to mine, but I seem to be out of time, so I'll have to ask you to leave my perfect vessel alone and just go fulfill your mindless feud with the weapon… Shinryu." Lezard said, hitting all the wrong buttons with Shin… still, one must wonder, was it on purpose?

"_Shinryu… I want it all."_ Shin said, poison practically spewing from his mouth as he said so.

"_Shin, you can't…"_ The dragon riposted in vain.

"_ALL OF IT! THIS ENDS NOW!"_ Shin shouted inwardly, eyes blazing in fury. It was then that the sword in his hand began to burn like it was fashioned from the fires of hell itself. Shin paid it no mind in his rage.

"_Shin! You know exactly what can happen if I give it to you now! All of this, all you tried to be, can be gone in a flash. You may cease to BE!" _Shinryu shouted back, reluctant to say the least.

"_I. DON'T. CARE! Too many people died already! The human race is on the brink of extinction! Everyone is here, everyone is risking everything, why are you telling me to not do the same?!"_ Shin blared back, even if he knew Shinryu had the perfect answer.

"_There is a difference between risking everything and committing suicide!"_ They stood there in silence for a moment, minds slowly speaking without words to one another. Until Shinryu spoke up. _"This isn't justice Shin. It's just vengeance."_ He stated. Shin just sighed deeply, turning to face Lezard, this time answering with his voice.

"And I never said otherwise." His voice was tired and hollow, the only thing he felt was the burning sensation in his hand.

"Shin…" Shinryu said, no other words appearing on his mind. He didn't "understand" emotions all that well, especially human ones, so he had no way to argue with what Shin was feeling right now.

"Do it… if not for me, for everyone here." Shin asked him as he started to slowly walk towards Lezard. It made sense even for Shinryu. Whatever the reason Shin had, it was now or never. Omega was here, his instincts were flaring up just due to that, but he also knew that this was the final stand. If they lost here, there was no backup plan to turn upon. Whatever Shin's intensions were… the ends justify the means, right?

He knew what could happen. If Shin dipped so deep into his power, he could be assimilated back into what created him… or worse, go mad with it. It happened with Terra, it happened with Kefka. It happened with countless people, and this was SHINRYU'S power. A shard of the most powerful thing in creation was the source of his power. Even then… Shin needed that power. Omega was using it, and Lezard, whatever his power was, wasn't something to take lightly. His cunning was far too great for that. Even Shinryu had no idea what was behind those maddened orbs that he had for eyes.

However, before the Lord Dragon could even think about leaving Shin access his full power, something struck them from above, causing searing pain on the duo as pure white light cascaded upon them.

"He's mine…" Kefka snarled, slowly walking besides the crater that his Light of Judgment had created, no trance of Shin appearing on it, just Lifestream spewing from the hole on the ground. "Lezard...I'm going to tear you apart!" Any trace of the clown persona had vanished from Kefka's expression. His entire being was burning in rage at having "his kitty" stolen away from him. Lezard's expression did not help, it was a mocking one, as one would expect it to be, it was like he had it all in control. He even seemed to go a step too far. He laughed. "What are you laughing at, you piece of TRASH?!" With a swing of his hand, all in front of him was vaporized, leaving a sea of Lifestream oozing from the ground.

"Kefka, you lack faith in me…" Lezard said as he appeared right beside Kefka, vanishing before Kefka could even as much as try to attack him. "Besides, we cannot fight here." He continued, reappearing besides Terra's body. "Don't worry my _friend_, when all of this ends, your wish will be realized." He then picked up Terra's empty husk and reappeared in front of the god. "I just ask for your trust for a few more days…" As he handed Terra's body over to Kefka, he seemed to stop for a moment, as if to access his fellow god's behavior… to no avail. Still, it shook Kefka enough to have the body he always subconsciously wanted for all these years, he just took it, glaring at Lezard through every passing moment.

"What are you doing with Terra?!" Luneth shouted as he arrived on the scene, seeing as the clown was now slowly caressing what was one of the people he valued most in his life.

"We? We're just leaving. You have a much bigger preoccupation." Lezard replied, adjusting his glasses as a crater of Lifestream exploded in an upwards torrent. "I do hope you manage to pull through though." He added with a sinister connotation before vanishing together with Kefka and Terra's body.

"TERRA!" He called in vain. For a moment afterwards, Luneth was going to question what the sorcerer meant but he realized it was not worth it, instead looking at what was coming out of the torrent. "S-Shin?" He stuttered, not even knowing Shin HAD come back. However, this was not the Shin he knew. He wasn't even sure this WAS Shin!

"**O-Omega**…" He snarled, the voice reverberating multiple times on Luneth's eardrums. The voice, no matter how much he tried to justify it, was NOT human. It was not even Shinryu's voice. No. This was... a completely different voice. It all made sense the moment Shin stepped out of the Mako. Luneth gasped as the wings he had on his back were no longer ethereal, but a pair of bonafied dragon wings, exactly like Shinryu's, albeit of a much lesser scale. His mane was now past his shoulders for the first time also, but what scared Luneth was what had hit the round just now. A tail. A crystal-like tail, just like Shinryu's, silver on the outside with the lower part of it golden. And it didn't stop there. No. Shinryu's jacket was thorn on the right side of his chest, showing how Shin's chest was now covered by crystalline scales that encompassed even his arms, his hands were more akin to claws now. Even his neck was somewhat taken by scales, his face having traces of them as well, straight lines of crystal covering small parts of his cheek. His eyes were now reptilian and purely red if that was not enough to prove how similar he was to a dragon now. Even his teeth were more like fangs now.

"Shin… is that you?" Luneth asked as he slowly got closer to the man, careful not to get on the "thing's" bad side. Shin suddenly shot him a penetrating gaze that froze Luneth in place. Something told him that that was NOT Shin… it didn't even "feel" like Shin. It felt much like Shinryu… Suddenly, it was like the Onion Knight stopped holding interest or the man, who simply turned his attention directly to the horizon, Luneth realizing how he was eying Omega intently.

"**This… this en****ds… NOW**!" Whatever Luneth was seeing roared, the ground beneath him trembling under the voice of him just before the dragon-human hybrid opened his wings, taking flight into Omega's direction.

"Did he… lose control of his powers? Why does everyone DO THAT?!" Luneth whined before his eyes finding something quite interesting in his opinion. He rushed towards a sword he had never seen before. The Final Fantasy was CLEARLY too big for him, heck, it was bigger than him, but it still intrigued him. He reached out the hilt and was shocked when it burned him… but what was more shocking was how he "got the message" without a voice or anything telling him. Something in his guts just told him only people with a truly pure heart could touch it… which on his mind equaled only to Terra, which would make them screwed. Speaking of which, on the corner of his eye was… Terra's crystal, probably left behind by Shin as well. Luneth quickly ran up to it and picked it up. It was… so cold. It hurt him to hold it, all crystals were as warm as a human's body yet this one confirmed his deepest fears.

"What now…"

* * *

><p>"Cloooooud!" He heard someone call from the distance as he raced around the battlefield. Coming in his direction were none other than the most known trio in their group, the "Pride" as Bartz called them.<p>

"Bartz? What happened?" The non-exactly SOLDIER asked, or was he now that Rufus had… wait, did the SOLDIERS even exist after Jenova? I'm getting off track, aren't I?

"You tell me! Exdeath just suddenly went "puff"! It happened like, two minutes ago! We were fighting him, and he had even managed to trap Zidane in his tornado when he… up and left, telling us that he would not want to be NEAR what was about to happen." Bartz exclaimed, waving his arms like the show star that he tried to be every time he opened his mouth… even if involuntarily. Cloud wondered what the Warlock had meant by that, but he didn't have to wonder for long.

A familiar rock-shattering roar shook the earth, followed by the vibration of an unstoppable force colliding with an unmovable object, the air trembling in response. The group turned his head to the right to see a small light barging against Omega, knocking the machine back against a rock formation, completely shattering it.

"**OMEGAAAA!**" They knew this voice, or at least they THOUGHT they knew it. It was at this moment Cloud suddenly realized what had happened. He quickly turned back and downright ordered:

"Squall, Bartz, Zidane! Go get the others now! I have to go!" He shouted, not even giving them time to discuss it as he took flight.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, there was a single young man that rushed across the dread wastes that the waging battle between the Warriors of Cosmos and the ones that once served Chaos had created. This man? The heir to Baron. He couldn't shake feeling of dread off his heart, even less so when a few minutes ago he felt like he himself had been stabbed. Cosmos herself was watching over him intently as he tried to find his father.<p>

"_I have a dreadful feeling about this Ceodore… please, Cecil needs you by his side."_ Her voice still rang in his mind. She had imparted her knowledge of Cecil's location, and he knew where he was… but he wished he did not when he finally arrived. Cecil was on the ground, a massive hole on the left side of his chest as he slowly took deep, painful breaths. Terra would have tried to heal him for good, but alas, she had been cut short and the ReRaise spell was not infinite, it would eventually time out.

"Father!" Ceodore called as he reached out to him, kneeling besides his fallen father.

"Ceo… dore…" Cecil called with a peaceful smile on his expression.

"Don't talk! I'm going to heal you!" Ceodore exclaimed as he began using his inherited White Mage skills to cast Curaga on the fallen Paladin, but we all know that Ceodore wasn't much of a healer.

"Don't… you are wasting your time Ceodore…" Cecil replied, raising his hand to show something to his child. In his hand, deep purple and shinning, was his crystal. "By… protecting others... the crystal found me worthy of it. Even if I am able to fight no more." Cecil finished, violently coughing out blood.

"What are you saying Father?!" Ceodore asked in denial, a hand finding itself onto his hair.

"What I'm saying is that… after three adventures… it's finally my time to go and your time to shine… with your own light." The Paladin told his son as he slowly passed on the crystal onto Ceodore's right hand, closing it with his own.

"But dad I… why not Kain?" The Red Wings second in command asked, seeing no reason as to why it had be him.

"Kain would never accept this destiny… he is no hero, nor does he want to be. You, Ceodore, are much more than the son of Cecil. I can see the light within you and it shines with an amazing strength… the crystal sees it too…" He whispered as his voice became weaker by the second. Ceodore saw how his knees were becoming stain with blood. The ReRaise spell had ended, Cecil was bleeding out, and he could only extend his suffering. "Take it and be yourself… Ceodore… we're on the verge of victory… I know you'll do me proud. Tell Rosa I hold no regrets other than leaving so soon…" Cecil then held onto Ceodore's hand for a good five seconds, stopping Ceodore from casting anything. Ceodore refused to cry in front of his father. He could only return his gaze. This simple action made Cecil smile, he knew he would leave the crystal in good hands. "Goodbye… my son." And just like that, his hands lost all of his presence, his eyes glassed and he drew his last breath, a peaceful expression now adorning the resting Paladin's face.

"Father… I won't let you down. The time for tears comes later." Ceodore swore, reaching out for his father's sword and giving him one final bow before turning to where the crystal called him to be. With one last look, he felt something… like someone was in the crystal, watching over him. "We fly, father." He told the jewel as he leaped into the skies like a dragoon.

* * *

><p><strong>Target locked in. <strong>

**Shinryu: Threat Level-Immeasurable.**

**Extermination is to be the only logical solution. **

**Barrier deployed!**

Omega, even for a machine based entirely on logic, was experiencing something very akin to fear. For all its technology, it could not process how Shinryu had unlocked the full power of the Primo Shard. It made no logical sense since he was created to not be able to do such a thing. But even then, the machine did not care. Shinryu had become a target for it long ago, it had only to be destroyed, no matter the shape.

All of this was interrupted when the barrier did… nothing.

Shin had broken through it, roaring inhumanly as he clawed the side of Omega for a massive gash, even in his massive body.

**Rationality seemingly inexistent.**

**Adjusting battle approach.**

**Firing Wave Canon.**

Wall of a suddenly, from out of nowhere, tens of lasers appeared from the side Shin was, curving around him to flank him on every possible direction.

"**ALMAGEST!**" Shinryu roared, covering himself with a dark shell, one that protected him from all of Omega's attempts on harming him before exploding into a blinding white light, from which he emerged, landing on top of Omega's vision module. "**I'll gauge your eyes out!**" Shinryu boomed as his claws ripped the vision out of Omega making the robot rear back in confusion and pain. It was still a living being after all.

**Vision compromised.**

**Nanomachine program activated.**

**Deploying security measures. ENCIRCLE.**

Knowing just what to expect from that, Shinryu knew he had to fly away, outside of the circle that Omega had created. Everything in Omega's vicinity just vanished into the Rift, and his vision module was just about ready to be used again, but Shinryu had it all planned, for even consumed by power, he still maintained his infamous wit.

"**CHAOTIC DELUGE!**" Roared the Lord Dragon, from a swing of his hand coming three beams of golden light that targeted Omega's still unrecovered vision just after the usage of his most powerful move. But then, what he could not expect happened.

**Evasive Maneuvers enabled.**

Omega had somehow vanished from the target area, possibly distorting space around it to displace itself. Whatever it had done, it now stood behind Shinryu without the knowledge of the dragon, and he took advantage of it.

**Surge Canon deployed.**

It's most powerful canon was instantly fired from his eye, impacting straight unto Shinryu as he was turning towards Omega, breaking a great deal of his scaly armor around his right side, the dragon-human hybrid falling onto the ground below.

**Threat elimina…**

"**Savage…**" For once, Omega had been truly wrong. "**ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!**" The skies cried and the earth screamed, the vast landscape suddenly opening up in various cliffs and gorges, the skies breaking apart into gateways to the Rift, Omega itself could not escape the enormous range of the roar of Shinryu and all of the damage caused was increased tenfold when from all the destruction that the roar had created came an explosion of energy that engulfed Omega and all around it, blinding everyone in the area with the blinding light that erupted from the chasm.

* * *

><p>As the dust settled, Luneth, who had been watching from what he thought to be a safe distance, found himself NOT falling into one of the chasm Shinryu had created, nor was he fried by the energy that exploded from them, Cloud was simply holding him, landing with him on a nearby mountain.<p>

"Are you alright? What did you find?" Asked Cloud, surveying the surroundings as he did. He gasped the moment he saw Omega, still existing, even if a pile of scraps due to the power behind it. He knew it could still repair itself.

"Cloud I… I think Terra really is dead…" Luneth said, eyes locked on Terra's cold, dead crystal that he showed Cloud. The SOLDIER cringed, but took interest in the sword Luneth had tied to his back, horizontally of course, it was bigger than him so it could not be vertically.

"Is that the sword Masamune made?" He asked the kid, who simply shrugged.

"I THINK so. At least it told me that only someone of pure heart could yield it, so it makes sense that it was what Masamune made for Terra… wish I could actually wield it without burning my hand though." Cloud stared at the Knight intently as he said it. "Yes, it "talked to me". I don't think that sword is JUST a sword Cloud. It's something… out of this world. I felt like it was… alive, but it didn't even talk to me or anything, I just "knew" what it wanted to say."

This of course answered Cloud's questions by itself, but he still wanted to give it a shot. He took the Final Fantasy by its hilt and, while it did burn him, it was not that that made him let go of it. No, he even sheathed it on his back. He knew the blade didn't want him, but the sword only assure him of what he had to do. He took Terra's crystal, a sliver of warmth coming from it as he touched it, utterly baffling him before needing to shake it off.

"Luneth, we need to stop this fight. Shinryu isn't going to win." He told Luneth, seeing as Omega had just regenerated completely while, in the distance, he could see it. Shinryu was heaving already, his body badly damaged by the Surge Canon.

"How are we going to do it then?" Luneth asked him, just before someone landed besides him.

"We'll hold Omega, isn't that simple?" Vaan asked with a cocky grin while Lightning and Firion, fresh off the fight with the Emperor arrived as well, Hikari following right after. Soon after, Squall had arrived with the rest of the crew, even Ceodore had landed, ready for battle. The eleven crystal holders all looked at Cloud, and nodded.

"Get some sense into that kid's head, SOMEONE has to use Terra's crystal, and it sure as hell won't be me!" Jecht said, spitting on the ground on the process. "We'll just go and show that machine what some MAN power can do!" Jecht exclaimed, being the first to jump from the mountain and straight into the action rushing towards the recovering machine with the others as Cloud stopped on the plateau for a moment longer.

"_I know how he feels…"_ He reached for his own crystal, which somehow, suddenly replied:

"We can't let him mope around forever like you do, can we?" Aerith teased for the first time since Sephiroth had taken her from the crystal. It made sense now that the Lifestream was not under Jenova's control that she would be back, but that didn't stop Cloud from being visibly overjoyed that his annoying… whatever she was back. "Come on Cloudy, we're wasting time!" She urged, bringing a much needed positive side to Cloud at that moment. And so, he took flight.

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't we…" Stella asked from the distance, looking at the Warriors separating in to tackle Omega and Shinryu.<p>

"We would only get in their way." Orlandeu told her as he arrived, leaning over Reks' shoulder. That was the last time Stella questioned him, it was Orlandeu of all people saying that they had no business fighting with them.

"Pft, guess I can't be there hero again, can I?" Zack joked as all of the bystanders looked on into what could be the deciding battle.

They had no idea what the former Warriors of Chaos had in mind, but if Omega was defeated today, they would have nothing else to fall back upon but themselves, and that would be a victory in of itself.

* * *

><p>Shinryu was wheezing and gasping as while he saw the Warriors of Cosmos engage Omega for him, which enraged him greatly. Omega was HIS prey, nothing else mattered right now, did it? Well, apparently something else was about to, since someone he felt like he should know was now covering his view on the situation.<p>

"Shinryu… or should I say, Shin? I can't say I know anymore." Cloud called, landing right between Shinryu and the past to Omega.

"**I… I'm...****"** Shinryu stuttered before covering his face with one of his hands, shaking it vigorously. "**We're Shinryu."**

This time, it was Cloud's turn to shake his head. He sighed and summoned the Ultima Weapon.

"Guess I'm going to have to snap you out of it yourself… it even feels like déjà vu." Cloud said, remembering the time when he had to be a human punching bag for Terra back in the thirteenth cycle. Good times… Still, as soon as Shinryu poised his claws, Cloud took the preemptive strike by slashing at him, even if the Ultima Weapon couldn't even scratch his silver scales.

**"Why do you stand in my way? We want the same!"** Shinryu asked him, kicking Cloud on the side of the torso to gain distance. Cloud lost all of his breath and felt like he had lost a rib or two on that one attack, but he expected it. He wasn't supposed to be matching Shinryu itself at full power. He just had to bring him back down to earth.

"We do? Because WE want to save the world. YOU?! You're just throwing a temper tantrum!" Cloud blared back, still rushing headlong into Shinryu, mostly because he knew that defending wasn't a game he could play and for that the best defense was a good offense. As they clashed again, he asked: "What logic do you have behind all of this? Why are you fighting alone when you have us?!"

"**SILENCE!**" Shinryu blared, the sheer power behind his shout knocking Cloud away.

"It's not even for revenge. Omega did nothing to Terra. You just lost control and are too lost in self-pity to regain it!" Cloud accused, charging his sword with power and unleashing a blade of energy towards Shinryu, who easily deflected it with one arm.

**"Do you not understand?! First I destroy Omega, then I tear every single one of those godforsaken bastards limb from limb! YOU are the one standing in the way of what I must do! Destroying Omega is my destiny! It is why I was made!"** Shinryu retorted, hitting the ground with his hand to create a geyser of Energy that homed in on Cloud.

"You were created by Masamune to protect humans! Not to destroy Omega!" Cloud shouted, dodging his best to dodge the laser, but needing to reach for his crystal and have Aerith use the Lifestream to block it. "And even then! You can't do this alone! You weren't even created with the power to beat Omega! You need us!"

"**Hypocrite! You have no word in this, you did the very same!**" Shinryu shouted, appearing from the middle of the explosion that the collision between Holy and the Chaotic Deluge caused, grabbing Cloud throat and smashing him into the ground. Not a single ounce of pain was on Cloud's expression though. It was a more solemn one. So solemn the expression was, so piercing was his glare Shinryu retracted his arm from his throat in surprise. He felt like he was seeing right through his broken psyche.

"Wrong. It's because of what I did that I can tell you this. Shin. It's not worth it. Shutting yourself from the world. Scorning your friends. That isn't going to bring ANYONE back. That's just going to get you killed. I understand that those powers are hard to control, but you have to do it Shin, there is no meaning in dying. What would Terra say if she saw you like this? No, better yet, how would she feel?" That stopped Shinryu right in his tracks. They both stared at each other for a few more moments before Cloud realizing how Shinryu's eyes were slowly turning back into the usual golden. Shinryu then cringed and roared again, but this time Cloud didn't feel any hostility from it. No, this was sorrow. The roar became increasingly more human-like, and increasingly more wail-like as Shin fell to his knees, crystalline tears hitting the grounds bellow. His body seemed to have stopped on the middle-ground. His hair had returned to his normal length, albeit still red, his hands were now normal human hands but he was still covered in Shinryu's crystal-like skin, in a much more refined way.

Really, it looked like he was wearing a suit of armor fashioned out of Shinryu's scales. Jagged shoulder pads, an ornate breastplate and greaves made of the same silver material with a golden outline, all of it brimming with light. What tipped Cloud off that this wasn't a piece or armor, was how the wings and tail still remained, essentially making this entire suit of armor be an extension of Shin's body, using Shinryu's scales to form it. As old-fashioned as it looked to Cloud, he had to understand those Shinryu WAS eons old, his fashion sense wasn't up to par… even if his power was. Still, the SOLDIER had better things to worry about than fashion. He slowly got up, having Aerith cure his injuries before reaching out for his back to grab the Final Fantasy. It burned him yes, and it was quite heavy, but he still walked over to Shinryu, who looked upwards to him.

"Let's finish this… together. It's what she would've wanted." Cloud told him, extending a hand with Terra's crystal on it towards the man. Shin took a good look into the oval egg of blackness and then turned back to Cloud, smiling.

"Yeah. You're right." He grabbed his hand and let Cloud pull him up. There was faint warmth on Terra's crystal now, as if it had been revived. Maybe it had realized its owner needed to change… maybe it was something else entirely. Who knows? What he was surprised to see though, was how Cloud then handed him the Final Fantasy. "Why? It burned my hand the last time I even tried to swing it. And I committed more sins than all of you combined." Shin asked, not sure if he should take the sword in his hand or not.

"Last time you swung it, you did it out of rage didn't you? And about your sins…" Cloud explained, leaving someone else to finish it for him.

"_I committed them. Not you. And you are yourself Shin."_ Shinryu finished, leaving Shin with no other chance than to take his advice and to take the Final Fantasy in its hand.

It was as light as a feather and it was like the sword was healing his wound with its mere touch.

"So this is what Masamune meant with this being the sword that would only cleave evil…" He mused before turning to Cloud. "Let's go and kick that machine's ass… if he has one." Cloud then did something completely uncharacteristic. He smiled. He SMILED and nodded. And so the duo flew into the where their companions were putting their lives on the line.

* * *

><p>"God freakin' Damnit! That hunk of steel is HARD!" Prishe whined, shaking her hand to make the pain of punching Omega go away.<p>

"We can't even damage it…" Ceodore commentated as Hikari and Firion were blown away by a sudden activation of barrier.

"**Stand down humans. Your actions are illogical. You cannot hurt me.****" **Omega stated,

"We don't need ta! Give Chocobo head enough time to get that Lizard kid back here and THEN we can worry about beating ya down!" Jecht replied, giving away their plan entirely. But of course, this was all a part of the plan to the Jecht-meister, as in that precise moment, Cloud and Shin landed right beside him. "Totally… planned!"

"Sorry we're late. Had some stuff to sort in my head." Shinryu explained, still brimming with confidence.

"Do not fret. We know of your loss and we share it. But now that you are here, it is time to put that blade to good use and end this curse upon our world once and for all!" Always the by-the-book archaic person, Hikari's speech was so… cliché, yet so true and inspiring it was a miracle.

"_That is true… And I will help you." _

"This voice… Cosmos?" Firion asked, recognizing the voice to the Goddess of Harmony.

"_I once created replicas of your crystals. For that, I know how to manipulate them somewhat… I think you have realized how they are calling each other." _ It was true. Everyone could feel their respective crystals burn in a calm flame now that al thirteen had finally been joined_. "I am going to link them. You have no knowledge how to do it yet, and it is too big of a risk to teach you, so my powers should be enough for a short like. Omega will not be able to stand up to the power of what was created as a counter-measure to it…Though I must beg for you to prepare yourselves for I cannot do it for long."_

At that notice, everyone nodded towards each other, clustering together right in front of Omega, who looked on with curiosity. It did not know what they were about to do, being more preoccupied with scanning their powers.

"We're ready." Hikari assured, to which Cosmos took note off, pouring her entire being into the crystals once more. The crystals pale flame then exploded into a burning inferno of light that enveloped everyone with a pale white flame, their bodies flaring up with power they could do nothing but imagine before.

**Warning! Warning!**

**Insurmountable power detected! **

**Engaging all engines, threat to be neutralized immediately!**

**Firing Surge Canon!**

Omega's steel voice resounded, breaking out of their power induced trance all of the heroes.

"It's too late now Omega…" Shin told him, the Warrior's Cosmos then erupting into a dash.

Lightning, ridding Odin was the first to reach Omega, even before he could fire his most powerful canon. "This is how the thunder protects the ones it cares about! Zantetsuken! Ikkitousen!" She blared, Odin jumping towards the body of Omega, where she carved the Zantetsuken on, beginning to spin the blade with such power it catapulted Omega into midair, spinning in a tornado of slashes that did not seem to end.

"No matter if you're a god, a human or a machine…" Vaan exclaimed, Zodiark appearing behind him as he blasted Omega downwards with the Keeper of Precept's Final Eclipse.

"We'll always be here, fighting for what we think is right!" This time, it was Prishe's time, who hurled out her crystal into Omega, the explosion catapulting him Jecht's hands.

"It's not about freakin' logic!" The now morphed Final Aeon grabbed the robot and jumped with it, spinning it into midair before hurling it right onto the ground. Suplexing trains is so last decade.

"It's about belief!" Zidane, Bartz and even Squall roared as they spun around Omega, delivering him a veritable storm of blows that decimated much of his exoskeleton before all of them joining into a single lunge that catapulted the machine right into Hikari, Firion and Luneth's direction.

"And that is why…" Luneth and Ceodore exclaimed, Luneth casting meteor and Ceodore faling from the skies to slam Omega into the ground.

"You will NEVER…" Firion and Hikari stated, cutting through Omega one from each side before shooting it upwards with a blast of Light and a Blood Arrow array.

"Be able to destroy us!" Cloud and Shin exclaimed while executing a twin version of the Omnislash on the machine, the damage on it being so great now it did not even have legs.

"Feel the power of our will!" Cloud roared, the Ultima Weapon throwing the leftovers of Omega downwards. But it didn't stop there, no he used the momentum to do a full circle, and on the second time around he shifted the inclination of the blade so that Shin could use it as a spring board. There was something that they could not cut no matter what they tried. The Core to Omega. Only one person and only one blade could cut it.

"**GO SHIN!**** IT'S ALL ON YOU!**" They all boomed in synchrony just as Cloud threw Shin downwards.

"_This is it Shin. I created you for this… finish what I began!"_ Shirnyu encounraged. Shin could even swear he heard Terra's voice.

"_I know you can do it Shin… for me and for every one of us."_

"This is my… no... humanity's… no… THIS IS TERRA'S DREAM! HER FINAL FANTASY!" Shin roared, with one swing cleaving Omega's body clean in half, core and all. A crystal flew away from the center of the machine, which uttered its final words.

**Orders… unmet… failure to understand… true purpose of… existence…**

Omega then proceeded to explode as all the energy contained within him had finally been set free, leaving our heroes to admire the spectacle of colors that came with that much magic being released.

"_It's over. After so much... time. It's over…" _Shinryu said, the amount of relief in the dragon transferring to his alter.

"We… won." Shin said, even if the information took a while to register on everyone's brains.

"_Thank you Shin…"_ This time it was more than a voice, he could swear an apparition of Terra was right beside him, looking up to the spectacle.

Then the atmosphere erupted in cheer.

* * *

><p>On Cosmos' sanctuary, Cosmos fell back on her seat, her power nearly completely expended but a large, serene smile on her expression. Her Warriors… they had done it. They had grown so much… she felt like a mother, seeing her children succeed. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she saw everyone gathering around Shin and the rest of the warriors, celebrating with hugs and cheers, because no matter what they had lost, this victory today had to have stricken at the heart of the enemy. They had lost their trump card…<p>

Or had they?

Suddenly, like an arrow carving itself on the back of her head, she felt a sudden surge of darkness and discord concentrate itself not so far away from the heroes. She instantly realized where it was coming from.

* * *

><p>"<em>Everyone! <em>_Omega's shard is in danger!"_ She exclaimed unto her warriors. Shin was the first to act as he had seen just where it had fallen. Even not knowing what would happen to it, he rushed towards the horizon, soon seeing the shining light of the Primo shard on the distance… surrounded by a bubbling pool of ooze he remembered too well.

"NO!" He shouted in denial, diving towards the shard, only to be engulfed by a giant snake's head with it.

"**SHIN!**" They all cried, only to have the man in question appear in a flash around, rolling into the middle of the crowd, Cosmos having spent the last of her power to translocate the crystal holder outside of Ouroboros.

"It… can't be…" The serpent they all remembered and feared was there, standing tall, more fearsome and giant than ever.

"Oh, but it can… why do you think we let you take on Omega alone?" Xehanort asked, as he stood on top of the snake.

They all realized just what happened… they had been played.

"I think you see it now. The shard I possessed… it was Kayser's crystal shard. With it, I could intimidate Omega, even order it, but I knew I could not kill it. I could not retrieve its shard. But then YOU came." He pointed towards Shinryu. "Then I knew that somehow, someway, you would vanquish Omega, with your crystals and Shinryu's shard… so we waited. We saw you grow stronger. Acquire the crystals. Even a weapon to slay Omega with, something Lezard told me to be possible. The two of us predicted every step you took. And now… we posed two shards of the crystal. We could have all three, but alas, Cosmos took it from us." He turned at Shinryu and smiled.

"But I digress, Ouroboros has already gained power with Kayser and with Omega it can now… evolve!" Just as it said it, a million bloodcurdling screams were heard. Suddenly eight dragon-like wings sprouted from Ouroboros, also a mane much similar to Kayser's appeared on its head. All the while the villains one by one appeared on its head, laughing. "With this power we can cross the very barriers of space and time! We are no longer tied to this plane! We shall march forward, through both heaven and hell, towards the birthplace of creation and acquire that which created all! The Crystal Primo! And then… and our efforts will be rewarded." It was by this time that Ouroboros, roared, taking flight, the winds of its wings too much for our heroes to even move due to the air pressure. "Farewell warriors of Cosmos! May we meet again in the otherworld!" Xehanort exclaimed as a massive shadow manifested itself on his back, much different from his Heartless. This was… empty.

Ouroboros roared, the very fabric of reality breaking to reveal a desolated landscape that any of the Reapers or their companions promptly recognized. The serpent then soared into it, leaving this plane behind. On its tail, and just before it closed, there was someone though. It was Kefka, on his lap Terra's body.

"SAYONARA AMIGOS!" He exclaimed, his damned laughter being the last thing our heroes heard before the world around them going silent.

They just stood there… staring into space. Wondering how could a victory have turned so sour. In the end they lost Terra. They lost Cecil. And they did so to give the victory to their enemies… Shin was the first to do anything. He slowly too Terra's crystal into his vision range and begged.

"Terra… what can we do now?"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"We do what we must. We chase after them!"_

_"Death… life… those concepts have to be thrown out of the window now! We are dealing with powers far above them…_

_"Is this… real?"_

Next time: "Of Dreams and Miracles"

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****That's quite a plot twist, don't you agree? Aaaaaaand I just made it all worse. Now, before you kill me, I must tell you this.

Next chapter is a gift to all of you. I've wanted to write it for TWO YEARS NOW! I don't know if you can guess what is going to happen there, but some already know it, and oh they are excited.

Everyone, next chapter is the final chapter before the final arc. I thank you all for following me on this, and for that, the next chapter is a "reward". So, for now, leave a review down below telling me what you thought of this chapter. Yes, even how Omega got completely overkilled. Reviews FEED ME! And when I'm fed, I write faster!


	69. Of Dreams and Miracles

****Author's Note:****This one came three days late, I know, but you know what? I'm not sorry. I could not rush this. At all. I had a blast writing it and I KNEW that there was NO room for mistakes here. If I crash, I crash, but at this moment, this is the chapter which I'm most proud of putting out… if only because it's a territory I know almost nothing about. We've now passed 400K words and we are reaching the last part... it's been a good run so far, let's make the homestrech even better! Without further ado… the end to part 6!

**PS:** I'll shoot whoever makes a sixty-nine joke in the reviews.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Chapter Sixty-Nine**

****Of Dreams and Miracles****

* * *

><p>"We do what we must. We chase after them!" The answer to Shin's question came not from the crystal he was begging of, but from a grizzled old man with too much to blame.<p>

"Okay, Cid, this is the part where I say you just went bonkers. How the HELL do we chase after them?!" Prishe shouted, always the calm and rational one.

"That is a question for another time. For now I need to address a more pressing matter." Prishe was about to go on a questioning rampage again about how "what can be more important than that", but she wisely shut up when Cloud looked at her the wrong way. "Shinr… I mean, Shin. Would you kindly give me Terra's crystal? It will be just for a moment." The elder man asked, extending his hand. Shin wasn't thrilled in entrusting Terra's only remaining belonging besides Stardust to Cid of all people, mostly because of his irrational deep seethed grudge against the man, but with a nudge from an apologetic Shinryu, he did so.

"What do you want it for anyway?" Luneth asked the scientist as the ones observing the battle arrived.

"This is… I can feel faint traces of warmth. It does not feel like a crystal that is being bounded to someone in our midst, yet it does not feel like it is unbound. Tell me, what did Lezard chant before crushing her soul?" Cid asked, making Shin have to dig deep into the back of his memory to recall.

"It's… fuzzy, but I think it was: Fiunt unum cum crystallus, or something like that." He replied, a very confusing expression coming over Cid. At first he smiled, but then that smile faded into confusion, leading to a somber expression.

"This must be a trap… but if it is not, there is a chance…" He opened a portal to the Rift behind him and turned back, away from the warriors. "Warriors of Cosmos, come with me, bring your crystals. We shall return to this world very soon." Ceodore wanted to respond, his mother was about to arrive, but he felt someone touch his shoulder, turning to see Kain.

"Go. I do not believe Cid would speak and act in such a way if not for the utmost importance." Kain assured, pushing his former Second-in-Command to follow the rest of the group. Ceodore begrudgingly accepted, swearing to beat Cid up if this wasn't important enough. The thought was only reinforced by seeing his mother fall on her knees on the distance, Rydia and Edge as well as Kain slowly walking up to her and the body of Cecil.

* * *

><p>The walk was short. Five minutes tops. Needless to say the Rift was… trippy. Strange worlds, different planets, random litter from ones that had already fallen, darkness, the works. Even flying pink fuzz balls. Don't ask.<p>

Still, what we have to concentrate is that they reached a quite large tower in the middle of a hill on the midst of nothingness. Obviously, Cid was leading them there. As they drew closer, they saw that the medieval themed tower was indeed quite wrecked, looking like it could collapse at any minute, which begged the question as to why Cid was leading them there. As soon as they entered though, they knew something was wrong.

"What is that smell!?" Bartz exclaimed, covering his nose before the splashing made him look downwards to find himself standing on top of an oozing liquid. "What is…"

"I do not know and I'd rather not know what Lezard experimented with here." Shin froze at the mention.

"Why are we here?" He groaned, his temper only becoming worse when Cid just shook his head and removed a book from the shelf, causing it to open, a tunnel to the underground opening.

"We will discuss this when I show you what needs to be shown." Cid dismissed, which wasn't really helping considering how even Shinryu held a grudge against that man.

"Don't." Cloud told Shin, shaking his head at him. He got the message and took a deep breath, following the man through the new installations. Now these were… disgusting. Dead monsters and… whatever those things were supposed to be lay on the floor, and the ones that were whole were lucky.

"Well, Lezy really wanted to clean house, didn't he?" Bartz commented, trying to up the atmosphere as everyone looked around, disgusted.

"And I thought Hojo was dangerous… this guy is every bit as twisted and his genius is every bit as big… yet he can actually fight." Cloud said before coming across a very disturbing paper on top of a table.

"You're right. Lugae had nothing on this guy." Ceodore said before hearing a table crack in two. "Cloud?" He was livid, crushing the paper on his hand.

"Project JENOVA. He… he's the one to blame isn't he? The one who brought her back!" He punched a wall in fury.

"Yes, but that's over now." Lightning replied stoically, continuing to follow Cid. "We all have a grudge against him in one way or another Cloud, but I don't think now's the time, and you're not helping by punching random walls." And THIS is why Cloud and Lightning must never be left in a room alone. Interestingly enough, Cloud nodded in agreement, even if he was gritting his teeth. He knew everyone in that room wanted a piece of the wizard, it was best to leave the subject be.

* * *

><p>They then arrived at an empty room, the only giant testing tube empty. And for good reason, as it expressly read "Jenova" on top of it. Needless to say, everyone looked at Cid expectantly. Why had he brought them here? To make them angrier at Lezard?<p>

The answer was not what they expected though, as the man walked past the testing tube and into a wall, walking right THROUGH it, not a word was spoken.

"I can't help but feel this is a reference to hitting our faces against walls to find secret rooms and passages…" Bartz wondered out loud, only to receive a strange look from Cloud, Squall, Zidane, Tidus, Prishe, Vaan and Lightning. He turned to them and just said. "You guys with your fancy 3D graphics won't understand." And left after Cid, murdering the fourth wall and running from the scene. When they stepped through, they saw it. The only non-destroyed test tube in the entire facility. One that contained inside of it a simple mass that vaguely resembled a human, but one without sex or features.

"This is what I was to show you. Lezard's perfect Homunculus. I found about it on this diary." He showed them a half-burned book that he had found on the first trip to this laboratory. "I think you should read the final pages." He gave it to Shin, who, with a mix of curiosity and suspicion, began reading it out loud.

The details of the reading were frankly unnecessary until the last two pages.

"At last, I have completed what I have been working ever since I have stepped foot on this wretched replacement for my laboratory. The perfect homunculus. One able to not only give a soul a new body, but BECOME the soul's former body. As useful as it is to recreate myself in other bodies, the limits to those are visible. A being can be too powerful for it and, for that, it is hampered. Now with this… a perfect replica of it is created, no matter the power of the creature or even the… _species_." The way he had written species caught Shin off guard, but he had to keep reading.

"Terra Branford. The only one worthy of my ultimate creation… Except for myself and yourself of course, but she has so many more uses than a simple Second Chance that I cannot for the life of me put it to waste. Those fools have no idea how to separate both souls, but I… I know. Two souls, one body. Just imagine what two bodies of that magnitude of power can accomplish. Breaking her may be a problem… but it is something for later… Oh, it would seem the operation has begun. I shall document how the final stage of my experiment proceeded once I return, until then dear Lenneth." Shin immediately disregarded the name that Lezard put at the end, as his eyes were too busy staring incredulously at the thing in front of him.

"That is supposed to be a body for Terra…?" He asked, any hope being crushed by the reminder of what had happened to her. "But her soul is…"

"In this crystal." Cid completed, much to the astonishment of the people in the room. Only Cloud seemed to be somewhat expecting it. "Lezard did not destroy her soul, he used an incantation to bind the soul to her crystal, nothing more." No matter how much these news filled so many hearts with relief and bliss… there was one who saw right through the mist around the confession.

"For what? What purpose? Why not escape with the soul and have two servants instead of one?" The Warrior asked, sure that Lezard was also planning to use Tina.

"I cannot say… and this is why I am so unsure of this. It seems… too convenient. If Lezard decided on having only one, why not come back and destroy the homunculus? Even if Lezard had used Terra's apparent death as simply a catalyst for Shin to go berserk, nothing would stop him from destroying this vessel, even more so considering how he gave US the possession of her soul. It feels much like he… wanted us to find this." Cid retorted, a tired and confused look reigning over his expression.

"So… it's a trap." Firion pointed out flatly, sighing deeply just afterwards. "Why can't we have just one small victory?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"Yo, hold up, I don't feel ANY magic on that piece of… I don't know what, and the crystal feels fine to me!" Prishe exclaimed, always the optimist.

"And that is exactly why I have decided to come." The entire room knew of that voice. Serene, pristine, as beautiful as the one speaking such words. Entering through the false wall was Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony.

"Cosmos? What do you mean?" Luneth asked as he observed that the woman's condition was worse than ever.

"Are you certain you should remain here?" Hikari questioned as Cosmos coughed blood right afterwards, so hard she fell onto her knees. Her dressed was ripped apart and bloodstained, her glow was almost gone and her eyes sunken. Her skin was that of a dead man, not that of a goddess.

"Cosmos!" Her warriors shouted, rushing towards her, only Shin remained behind, for Shinryu had understood.

"So… this is what you suggest, is it not Cid?" It was Shinryu talking through Shin's torn mind. The young man was torn between his want to take Terra back from the crystal that held her or to play it safe and simply walk out without her, destroying the homunculus, begging to find Terra's body afterwards. "None of us can, at this moment, perform soul transfusions, so you plan to have Cosmos do it… in a state she CANNOT." Shinryu was almost bearing fangs as the scientist with his tone, rightfully so, considering what Cid was asking.

"Sacrificing Cosmos to bring Terra back?! That's what this all about?!" Zidane suddenly blurted as he was the first to reach the conclusion.

"So that is why you are so worried at it being a trap. Terra falling into enemy hands is a catastrophe, but to sacrifice Cosmos and then lose Terra can mean defeat, am I right?" Squall coldly asked, treating Cid with no sympathy. Turns out, it was not so.

"No. The reason he told you that it could very well be a trap is not so… I have already seen into the crystal and the body and there are no magics at work." Cosmos replied as she locked eyes with Cid, who looked away saying.

"A trap may not be only on the magic behind it. Maybe Lezard has planned for Terra to be returned to our side. We cannot be sure where his web of lies and deceit extended." Cid explained, his point valid but his true intensions clearly masked.

"You are doing this because you cannot bear to see someone so similar to your wife die." Shinryu spat without mercy. "She is going to die in any case Cid. It does not take a genius to assess that." He continued coldly, the elder man returning his gaze with burning fury.

"How dare you even…" He began, grabbing Shinryu's shirt and slamming him against the wall, still not managing to change his expression.

"If you are going to blame me, you are too late on it. I already accepted it long ago. That is not going to help any of the ones here though. She is tied to World B Cid. World B is nearing extinction. For once, let her chose. The last time she did, she set you free and changed my way of viewing humans, isn't that enough?" The dragon asked, grabbing Cid's hand and pulling it away from him, nodding in Cosmos' direction.

"Cid, we cannot avoid this." The weakened goddess stated as she was helped back on her feet by Hikari. "She… she's more useful than I'll ever be in this condition. Anyone is…" She confessed before coughing heavily again. "World-B's final remains are fragmenting… at least let me vanish on my own volition." She wasn't beginning, her eyes were far too determined for it. Cid could not say anything, just slowly acknowledge it by giving her Terra's crystal. Cosmos smiled and, with Hikari's help, she turned back to the rest of her Warriors, a mixture of nostalgia, pride and sadness washing over her expression.

"I am sorry I have to leave so soon…" Before any of them could react, she dismissed anything they'd say. "Please, let me finish." Her warriors stopped dead in their tracks and nodded slowly. "As heartless as I was when I started the cycles, I've come to see each and every one of you as my children… and that is why I feel nothing but pride for what you have become… even Cecil. I know he is in here, watching over a whole new light." She turned to the Warrior. "Hikari… you may have been created as a Manikin such as I, but that does not mean you have to follow your original purpose to fight forever… when this is over, promise me you will live on as a human."

"As you wish Cosmos." Hikari told her, slightly bowing his head in acknowledgement.

"Firion… Your dream gave strength to so many of your fellow warriors. I cannot ask for you to do anything more than what you are doing now. May you achieve your dream… I'd love to see a world where wild roses could bloom freely. Who knows, maybe you are already making one bloom." Cosmos said, adding that last bit only to fluster Firion and we all know who.

"I will do my very best." Firion stated as he recovered from the small shock.

"My little knight, or should I call you Luneth? It pained me to summon someone so young, but I must say, you have become as mature as anyone here. Maybe enough to call yourself a protector again, this time in truth." Luneth smiled weakly before forcing a bigger one.

"Yeah! I'll protect Terra and by doing that, I will be protecting you!" He exclaimed in false energy, making Cosmos release a faint chuckle before turning. She turned to Ceodore, who didn't know how to answer. He felt that he didn't belong here.

"Ceodore. I knew you for so little time, yet I could see in you such limitless potential. Trust your father. Trust me. You can be greater than anyone that lived on your world ever was. You just have to believe in yourself and BE yourself. Not Kain's student. Not Cecil and Rosa's son. Just Ceodore." Ceodore's eyes glistened at her request, he slowly wiped his tears from the corners of his eyes and nodded.

"I'll try. No. I will!" He told her with his confidence boosted significantly.

"Bartz… Bartz, I wish I could ask you something. Anything. I wish I could help you, but instead… just be yourself. Never doubt what you do, follow your own wind." Cosmos told the wanderer, who smiled back

"Always did, always will." Assured the mime, leading Cosmos to turn to Cloud.

"Cloud. You are one of the ones here whose past is most scarred, and I know you are the one here with the most trouble to let go, but you've shown recently just how you can put that all behind you for the sake of the others. No matter what Cloud, just promise me you won't go back to wallow in self-pity again. None of us want that, not even Aerith. If anything goes badly now, please, take the reins. You are a leader." This time, the former Ex-SOLDIER shook his head, but what he said did not disappoint Cosmos.

"I am not a leader. I am what the people in my life need me to be. You are right Cosmos, my past has chained me for far too long. I won't disappoint you." The degree of sincerity in his tone was enough to comfort Cosmos, even enough to make her shed a tear, such was the pride she had on her "children."

"Squall… you already realized what I wanted you too, but please, show your friends how much they mean to you, at least sometimes." She asked the lion, who chuckled.

"I'll never hear the end of it, but if you ask me that Cosmos, who am I to say no?" He asked, the answer being good enough for Cosmos. It was Squall, you can't teach old dogs new tricks.

"Zidane. You may not be human, your purpose may have been one of war, but stop demeaning yourself over it. And let your friends know when you are hurting, they'll help you. Make Kuja cherish the life given to him." Now everyone looked at Zidane, who was scratching the back of his head, embarrassed at how Cosmos had seen right through him.

"I guess I'll be more open, huh? But Kuja's a given, don't worry your beautiful face Miss Cosmos." He still couldn't help but weave in some compliments, could he?

"Look, Cosmos, I know what you're goin' to say and well, I just want you to know that I WILL make this right. That brat has no reason to be in the Farplane now, I'll fix it." No one knew just how serious Jecht was at that moment, maybe except Cosmos, who nodded at the man who had been forced to betray her.

"Same old Jecht… Prishe, your immortality may weigh on you, but please, don't ever change. You are a beam of light in a darkness filled world." She told the unaging Elvaan, not to her surprise receiving a positive response.

"Okie dokie Miss Cosmos!" She exclaimed, leading Cosmos to Vaan.

"Vaan, you may have wronged us in the past, but don't think for a second we do not trust you with our lives. Your dreams and ideals are special, see them through to the end." The Sky Pirate raised a thumb as a response.

"Who am I to say no to the Goddess of Harmony?" He questioned jokingly, leaving Cosmos with only… "her" to cover.

"Lightning… I know you never trusted me, and now, I cannot say that that wasn't the most sensible choice, but for once, I beg you to listen. No matter what you are now. No matter what you have become, what you have lost, know that each and every one of you went through a lot. Put your trust in them Claire… you already did so to two, why not all of them?" Lightning's response was, however, very "Lightning".

"Who do you think you are to know what I feel? Does me trusting or not trusting somebody hinge on either I am vocal about it or not?" Cosmos was astonished at the response, almost as much as she was relieved, who would've thought Lightning thought like that? Then, she turned to the only one there that hadn't earned the crystal, the one she held to be more exact.

"Shinryu… I'll admit, never did it cross my mind that we'd be in the situation we are today. It is almost surreal to think that you, of all beings, would've gone to such lengths to assist us. I do not know if your intentions were pure when you began this, but now I know that they currently are. I'm putting my faith in you to watch over all of them." It became obvious midway through the sentence who she was referring to, but that didn't leave the one she wasn't out of it, no, once Shinryu nodded in response to Cosmos' request, giving up his body to its rightful owner, Cosmos beamed.

"Shin, I wish I could've had you in my cycles. You are every bit as noble, as trustworthy and as heroic as any of the ones here. If you had existed during the cycles, maybe Shinryu would've changed his mind… but that is for another day. You changed so much just by existing, even when you could not fight on par with the others, you slowly changed people. You are one of the reasons why I am willing to give up everything to rescue Terra… you pushed her over her most arduous hurdles and for that, I am as thankful as I can ever be. I can only ask that you continue to watch over her once I vanish. And that you deliver a message of mine to her." Shin nodded in agreement, waiting for the final words the Goddess would give to the half-Esper.

"Tell her that I am… so sorry for letting Chaos summon her for Kefka's pleasure. Tell her that I'm sorry for doubting her valor as a warrior and that there was no person in the world as deeply "human" as she was. Seeing her, despite what she had gone through, what had been engraved on her very soul, fight on, even against her liking, giving everything for the other's sake and not hers was the last I needed to change my stance on the war. Since then, it was a joy to see her grow, to see her learn about herself even more and to accept what she is and the world around her. I wish only the best of her, for I know she'll be the one to end this cycle of destruction wrought from times immemorial." Having given her speech to her final warrior present, she turned to Cid and announced: "I am ready Cid."

"Sarah…" He whispered, something that seemed to deeply hit something inside Cosmos.

"Cid, I am not your wife. I have long since stopped being a mere mockery of a life. I am Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony and I have the right to do this. To help my warriors, my children, in their time of need. Now, will you let me breathe new life on my child's broken soul?" Cid could not respond to the woman's question. Her gaze was far too powerful for him to say no, whatever his selfish heart wanted to reply was erased under the sheer dying will of the woman that he saw his wife in. Begrudgingly, he nodded as he walked into a nearby computer to start the coupling process.

"You may transfer her soul… Cosmos. It was… truly a pleasure to be offered your company on those endless cycles, no matter how twisted they had become." The scientist said, not even able to spare a gaze. He knew that one look would send him into denial again. Cosmos slowly nodded and muttered some words in Lufenian, causing Terra's crystal to burn in a transparent white flame, a thin line connecting the crystal to the body, which began to change, to be more unique each moment that passed.

"My warriors… I seems that this is where we say farewell." She told them, parts of her body beginning to slowly dematerialize under the stress of her spell.

"Cosmos…" Luneth said, trying to hold back the tears, to no avail.

"Do not be sad little one… I may perish today, but it's for a good cause. It's for all of you." The goddess said while caressing the Onion Knight's cheek, her last caress never making it as the hand went right through his check. Seeing this, Luneth immediately tried to wipe away the tears.

"Yeah… but… I'll miss you." He told her, only to be comforted by the last person you'd think.

"We all will…"Cloud told him as he kneeled and put his hand on his shoulder. "Goodbye Cosmos." And with that and a final smile, Cosmos' cheek fracture, then her hand, and in mere seconds, she had vanished into a pristine breeze of white.

"Live on… my children." Cosmos last words were, while touching, almost immediately substituted by a much awaited small bubbling that came from the nearby test tube, calling for a more immediate reaction than wailing over Cosmos' parting. Turns out, Terra's body was… already complete, but with the catch of being unable to breathe on the liquid that surrounded her.

"Break her out before she…" Cid began before seeing Shin break the glass down into a thousand pieces, ignoring the liquid as it passed through his body to grab Terra in-between his arms as she fell. He could feel her limp body slowly regain control over itself as she forced herself to breathe again, coughing parts of the liquid she was in as she did. After a few moments, she stopped, her eyes flickering as she regained cognitive capabilities, to which she looked around, sheer confusion taking over her being.

"Is this… real?" She whispered into the ear of whoever was holding her, and was more than pleased with the answer.

"Yes, don't worry about it Terra." He told her, shivering as she gripped him tightly.

"I feel… so tired… I'm afraid. Does this mean I'll go away again?" She asked him, shivering t every word. Of course she was confused and scared, the shock of losing her body and then just reappearing stark naked inside a test tube still hadn't disappeared.

"No, no. Your body is just exhausted due to the changing process… it's quite natural for it to need sleep." Cid told assured, her, leading the girl to sigh happily.

"Okay… I'll get some rest. Just don't let go, okay?" She said as she drifted to sleep in Shin's arms.

"_Daaaaaaaaaaaaaw."_ Shinryu joked.

"_Shut it."_ Shin spat back, whipping his coat around Terra and heading out with the others.

"_She's not as flat as I imagined her to be though…"_ Shinryu teased, making Shin break into a crimson blush before threatening the dragon.

"I will end you…" He whispered, only to be met with:

"_You better hurry up, I'm not staying for much longer."_ He said, Shin gritting his teeth. However, just as he was going to leave, he turned back and paid Cosmos one last respect. "Thank you Cosmos…"

* * *

><p>"Alright, what now?" Bartz asked as Shin left Terra's room, the entire crew loitering around the door.<p>

"She's fine according to Cid… but I need some shut eye." He confessed, the effects of using Shinryu's power to a full extent were easily noticeable.

"Of course you need it, you sloth." Zack scuffed from the back of the corridor. "Go ahead, get to bed, the grown-ups have some talking to do…"

"_I've got a bad feeling about this…"_

"_Oh, mine's a good one."_ Shinryu pointed out.

"_Thanks for confirming my fears."_

"Shin, we need to talk." Celes told him, forcefully grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him violently through the hallways.

"Yup… I'm done." Shin sighed.

* * *

><p>"Well, I think we should get back on with OUR sleep, shouldn't we?" Luneth asked, crossing his arms behind his head and turning to where Cloud and Zack where… only to find the SOLDIER duo conversing, an apparition of Aerith in the middle of both. That was far from the scary part though… what was scary was how they were acting. Aerith was giggling quite eerily while Zack rubbed his hands and Cloud… smiled? And they turned to him… "Guys? You're scaring me now! Guys?! GUYS?!"<p>

* * *

><p><span>The Eve of the same day:<span>

Shin slowly rubbed his eyes as his consciousness returned. He swore to have seen a pink ball bouncing on his bed, but as he rubbed his eyes again, it turned out to just be Chocolate. He yawned and pet the puppy, stretching his arms and starting to leave his bed while muttering.

"Well, there goes my normal sleep cycle…" When he realized there was someone in the same room as him. Someone with hair of the spiky variant. But not the one you may think. "I guess I was right. Cloud, you can go to Zack and tell him to shove it." He told the SOLDIER, walking past him to go brush his teeth. As he was though, he looked at the mirror to see how Cloud was STILL leaning against the wall.

"Zack isn't why I'm here Shin." Cloud said, finally breaking the silence. Shin just quizzically looked at him while he finished brushing his teeth. "We're leaving in a week. Neku told us we need to create a much better ship to cross the hazards of where we're going. Not only that, we need to recollect strength, heal the wounded and pretty much calm our minds after all the losses and blood rush we had on the past weeks." Cloud explained, all perfectly reasonable things to say, but Shin still wondered:

"You're here JUST for a status report?" He asked him, which prompted Cloud to take on a more serious expression (seems impossible, I know) and standing up straight, looking at him dead in the eyes.

"No. I'm here because I don't want someone to go through the same I did." He explained, catching Shin off guard with his tone. "Shinryu, Shin, whatever you are called, you have one free week. I'm not going to let you go into what can, no, what IS the most dangerous "adventure" we or anyone has ever went through in our ages… with things left unsaid and unfinished."

"Huh?" Was Shin could say, not really getting where Cloud was going with this. The SOLDIER sighed, but knew he wasn't much better when he was Shin's "age", that being his mental age, since Shin is barely above a month old by now.

"Look, let me be straight with this. I'm going to play matchmaker." Cloud said with his normal wooden expression. Wait, let me read the script… he ACTUALLY said that?! Shin was as stumped as me."

"_All the bad things I said about him are now void."_ Shinryu said, nodding approvingly in Shin's mind. Shin did the mental equivalent of punching him in the guts and turned to Cloud.

"Aerith forced you into this, didn't she?" He asked, again leaving Cloud to actually show emotion and stiffen… even more.

"I don't think you get in Shin. I'm the only one that knows you well that DID NOT get a happy ending when it came to relationships. My lover is now a crystal ball that constantly tells me to go hunt down other women. I've lived like this for years and the worst part is I spent… one night that was actually me and her. I know how precious time like that can be, so I'm not going to let YOU let it go to waste." Cloud told him with more emotion Shin had ever heard out of him outside of battle. As he doubted why Cloud was going to such lengths for him though, he got an easy answer. "I'm not exactly doing this for you. I'm doing this for Terra." He finished, crossing his arms and turning his back to him.

"Oh yeah… you did have a thing for her when you had no memories right?" Shin asked, receiving a glare back from Cloud. "Sorry, it's not something I wanted to remember."

"I'll never get used to the fact that there is someone with most of my memories running around… but yes, I do care for her, in a brotherly way as of now. And that is why I'm going to go through the easiest path to make her happy, that being you." He said, pointing his finger at Shin.

"I don't know if I should feel insulted or not…" Shin mumbled at the reason for Cloud's actions.

"_I'd go with the insulted option."_ Shinryu quipped.

"I think the fact that I'm willing to put enough trust in you for this should tell you that I think you're a good match." Cloud explained. "You of all people should know how she feels. I'm going to give you a shot and I'll do everything for this first night to work… now, are you in, or not?"

"Well… I did already spill the beans…" Shin began, scratching the back of his head as he went.

"Which were never hidden." Cloud pointed out, quite truthfully he had to admit.

"So yes… I guess a little matchmaking can't go wrong." He admitted, Cloud's face giving off a small smile as he turned back, signaling him to come with him. "What, no "I'm going to kill you, slash, maim you, slash, torture you, if you hurt her speech? You know, the kind big brothers give?" Shin asked playfully as he followed Cloud. His answer was short but deadly.

"Her best friend is Celes." That was enough to shut Shin up as he imagined what Celes would do to him if Terra even broke a nail in his vicinity. And he liked his family jewels the way they were, stuck to his body.

"_Okay Shin, I knew it would come to this one day… but I need to talk to you about something important." _Shinryu told him in a tone that rivaled his tone when they were fighting Terra in sheer seriousness. "_You see, son, when an esper and a dragon love each other very much... The dragon will want to try and make... magicite with her..."_ Shin just stopped right in his tracks and hit his head against the wall.

"_REALLY?! The birds and the bees talk?!"_ He shouted back at him, which he seemed to ignore.

_"These feelings are completely natural… or at least somewhat__, given the spectrum of your species though, it may very well be..__. But, you need to treat her with delicacy... And, no, I don't mean eat her." _It was at this point where Shin just slammed his mental doors on the dragon's face, shutting him down and walking towards the slightly confused Cloud.

"Ignore it, just some lizard issues." He told him, to which he nodded and began talking.

"Okay, here's the rundown…" Cloud began to explain.

* * *

><p>"Shin really bought this for me?" Terra asked as she rode Choby in her new garments. She was a black and white top with a stripped skirt, exposing her midriff, black boots and some exquisitely colored clear blue gloves, a star adorning each of them. But what really stood out from it all was her cape, which was made out of a marvelous transparent tissue, even covering her left shoulder. In addition, she had changed her haircut at Celes' suggestion, now tying her hair into a small bun using her blue and gray ribbon.<p>

"He did." Locke wasn't LYING about this, Shin HAD bought it, albeit… "not willingly".

"_You're going to__ make up for her getting you your__ clothes whether you wa__nt to or not! Now get into that__ clothing shop!"_ He remembered Celes shouting hours ago as she slammed Shin into a clothing shop and didn't let him out until he picked up a new outfit for Terra. She had been… pleasantly surprised at his pick, since, even by Locke's "sister-in-law-o-vision" she looked drop dead gorgeous.

"That's so… sweet and thoughtful of him." She said, staring at the skies blankly as Celes covered her face with her palm. This was where Terra's and Celes' personalities clashed the most, Terra was a romantic and Celes was a… "I'm a general, not some love-starved twit." kind of person. Still, she had been there to make sure Terra didn't fall into a less than happy mood and showing her the city while talking about old times was enough for that… but Celes could sense something different about Terra. She wasn't quite as focused on them as she used to be… like she had something in her mind, or, if Celes was right, _someone_. Still, checking her watch, she saw it was time. Faking tiredness, she turned to Terra.

"Terra… I know we promised to show you the city, but we haven't had a good night's sleep, can you… walk around with Choby for a bit?" She asked of her, taking advantage of how light-headed she had been today to slip away with something she'd usually never ask for. A time-out.

"Oh? Of course! Don't make me take away from your time together too much." She told her, slyly winking her eye at Celes, which baffled her to no extent. Did Terra of all people just suggest what she thought she had? Anyway, it was good for her, she must've gotten the wrong idea regarding the escapade. With that, she and Locke left her, thumbing up a blonde flash inside a dark alley as they went back. Who knows… maybe Celes would even go the route Terra wanted her to take when they were back.

"Well Terra, what do you want to do?" Choby asked her, knowing full well from Cid just what she'd be needing to do by now. To prove it, he could hear a faint stomach rumble. He turned his beak at the new slightly red Half-Esper and chirped. "Well, now I know. C'mon, I'll get you to a restaurant." He offered, starting to walk towards the spot they'd agreed to.

"Choby! I don't have gil!" Terra exclaimed once the Chocobo broke out into a run.

"You're Terra Branford. You don't need to ask gil of them right now." He replied, suddenly stopping at what seemed to be quite a luxurious entrance for a restaurant. "Here, Celes and Locke loved this place when they tried it. Château Moogle, you love moogles don't you Terra? They even have moogles serving here!" While Terra was going to refuse such an expensive place, her eyes lit up and she went into "Moogle Mode" that she reserved for only the cuddliest thing. Only a cloud of dust was left on Choby once she barreled in.

* * *

><p>It was dark inside, not pure darkness, but there was no electricity, just candles lit the hallway. She soon reached the door, slowly pushing it open to see something white with little batwings and a huge pompom reach her waist. Needless to say, she quickly grabbed it and pulled the abnormally large Moogle up for a cuddle fest. It took for outside help for her to realize she wasn't, in fact, cuddling a Moogle.<p>

"T-Terra it's me! Lu-Luneth!" The boy exclaimed, redder than a tomato, causing Terra to stop the cuddles.

"What happened? Why are you dressed as a cute, cuddly moogle?" She asked him, to which he had to find a quick excuse to how there were no people working on it.

"I… I lost a bet with Mog, and he was serving as a waiter here. I have to take over the job for a day." He quickly explained, his eyes meeting Terra's violet ones, that stared at him intensely.

"Luneth…" She said sternly, making him shiver. Had she found out about the strategy? "Can I cuddle you? You look so CUTE!" She exclaimed, only missing hearts in her eyes.

"Be my guest!" He exclaimed, reveling in the small, worthless victory he had today. _"Lucky dastard…"_ He cursed, visualizing Shin as he was held in-between Terra's nigh obsessed arms. "Anyway, can I point you toward your table?" He asked her, who nodded. In a minute, they had entered the main, candle-lit hall.

"No tables? And candle-lit?" Terra asked, now getting a bit suspicious.

"Well, we were missing electricity after the battle… and we DO have one table. That one over there." He pointed at the middle of the room, leading Terra to simply let him go, falling unceremoniously on the ground.

"You set this all up..." Terra accused as she locked eyes with Shin, wearing a full-blown black tuxedo.

"You say that like it's a bad thing… just enjoy dinner, I'll be back with the drinks." He quickly dismissed, using his tier 1 speed to dash into the back of the restaurant.

"_Stop gawking at her."_ Shinryu told Shin, hitting him in the back of the head mentally. _"Oh, and __s__on, if you don't tap that, I swear I'm gonna hit you." _He told him, prompting a lashing.

"_But you already did! And why are speaking so infor…"_ His thoughts came to a halt when he found that Terra was standing right across from the table, hand on her chair. Summoning his British side, he quickly jumped off his own chair and pulled it for her, even if he was blushing crimson as he did.

"Shin… did they force you into this?" She asked, clearly more worried about him than herself in this situation. Of course, this got Shin thinking. Was he? Cloud was pretty pushy… but he was the one who accepted with little to no resistance so…

"No Terra, I'm completely okay with this… would you take a seat?" He spotted a not-so faint smile on her lips as he said it, and he could only hope NOT to botch this up.

* * *

><p><span>Inside the kitchen however, was a mess.<span>

"So let me get this straight… Hikari can only cook meat, Firion is even worse, Luneth is the waiter and can't cook for crap, Ceodore had cooks so he doesn't know jack, I bought my food, Squall leaned on Rinoa, Zidane "appropriated" food when he ran out of funds, Vaan is Penelo-dependent on that front and Lightning… yeah…" Cloud said, looking at Bartz, who shrugged, being the only capable cook in the group. "You can't handle it, can you?"

"I barely cook dishes, I just roast meat and all, I COULD help if I had instructions, but we honestly need a chef…" The wandered pointed, making Cloud start to lose his hope.

"On hindsight, we should've planned this a TINY bit better." Zack pointed out, always Captain Hindsight.

"If I had a body…" Aerith sighed, the whole group going with her.

"And they are hitting off so well, we can't just cancel this." Luneth said as he grabbed the drinks for them. Suddenly, the wall just exploded, covering the kitchen in dust. Then a voice bellowed:

"Chill the fuck out guys… WE GOT THIS!" Such manliness could only come from one person… as Cloud and the others opened their eyes, a sight they would never phantom appeared. Jecht, Prishe and Gilgamesh dressed in full kitchen gear, "Hail to the chef" on their apron and matching chef hats.

"Jecht?! You can COOK?!" Bartz blared out loud.

"Bitch please, who do you think made the meals back in my house? I come from a great line of chefs, or my name isn't Jecht Ramsay!" Okay, now they were done.

"We're all going to die…" Zidane whimpered before getting slammed in shape by Jecht.

"Okay pussies, we're gonna cook and YOU'RE gonna help!" He exclaimed, Gilgamesh and Prishe rushing towards the tables and preparing for service. "Let's go!"

* * *

><p><span>Back in the much calmer dining room:<span>

"Here are your drinks. I know you don't like alcohol, so we'll make a less classy exception." Luneth said, delivering the beverages and slowly walking away, worried at how quiet both of them were. It was not long until one of them cut through his veil of silence.

"You kept your promise." Terra stated, wistfully passing her eyes over his before breaking contact again.

"Oh? Oh yeah that! I guess I did… there were some speed bumps here and there, but we managed." Shin said, flustered by how non-smooth he was being.

"_Dude, channel some Latino passion!"_ Shinryu exclaimed, leading only to grit teeth.

"_You're not helping…"_

"Is your father bothering you again?" Terra asked, a small but wicked smile on her lips as she did.

"_F-f-f-ather…? I'm out!" _Shinryu blurted out of sheer embarrassment, suddenly vanishing from Shin's consciousness. He couldn't help but laugh, clearing the air from the tension.

"You sure know how to get into people's minds now Terra." He told her, who giggled in return before her smile turning dire.

"It's just… Tina always got so flustered when I called her Auntie…" She said, remembering just had happened to her. She felt a warm pressure on her right hand and turned her head up to see Shin's eyes, who had reached out from across the table.

"Don't worry. We'll save her. I promise if that makes it better." He told her, again changing a scowl into a sincere smile.

"Thank you…" She replied, not doing anything to break the contact between their hands.

"Don't mention it."

* * *

><p><span>Meanwhile, in the kitchen!<span>

"This crab is so fuckin' raw it's still singing "Under the Sea"!" Jecht blared at Zidane, his incompetence getting the better of Jecht as he saw just how late they were in their preparations, more than forty minutes had passed!

"This chicken is so undercooked it still wants to fight Peter Griffin!" Shouted Gilgamesh, slamming the bird back into the hoven right in front of Cloud.

"And this salad is so unfinished EA tried to publish it at full price!" Prishe added, the last of the three chefs reaching their limits.

"I swear it was done! But a pink cat just waltzed in and ate half of it!" Firion shouted, waving his hands as he looked at Lightning for support. She just stared at him with a "are you serious?" glare.

"Okay, everyone one of you just STAY BACK!" Jecht roared, ripping apart his shirt, Gilgamesh extended his eight arms, all with a different kitchen utensil in them and Prishe ripped off her sleeves. "Serious cooking mode… on."

* * *

><p>Mere minutes later, Luneth was rushing out of the door with two big plates on his hands, only to see how Terra and Shin were now engaged in small chat, much to his bittersweet happiness.<p>

"Here you go!" Luneth exclaimed, breaking up the two's chat to reveal two masterfully crafted dishes who not even he knew what they were about, so high class they were. One of them DID contain about double the amount of food of the other, so they both knew who to give it to… Terra.

"It looks amazing! Thank you Luneth!" She thanked, Luneth turning burning red afterwards.

"No problem…" He told her, turning his back and giving Shin the "I'm watching you" sign.

As they ate, and they ate a lot, especially Terra, who seemed to prey on Shin's moments of not watching her to somehow make half of the dish disappear, Shin brought up an interesting topic.

"Terra… when this is over, what do you want to do? How do you want to live?" He asked her, taking her a bit by surprise, but she seemed to have been thinking about it.

"After what happened I just want to… step away from society. Maybe mascarade as someone else, I don't know. I just don't want to be treated as some sort of celebrity or world hero, much less like "the half-esper". I just want… peace, quiet and…" She gaged before saying it. It was a simple, three letter word that started with Y, but she didn't dare saying it as she stared into his eyes.

"To step away from the past, cut any links with it and just live a normal life, huh? I'd love to do that." Of course, Shin didn't say anything beyond that as the mere spelling of the words he said caused both to awkwardly laugh at the "coincidence in their goals".

You could almost feel the electricity that coursed in the air, but it didn't ever "manifest". It lacked the spark. And that infuriated Jecht.

"Fine, secret weapon time!" He exclaimed, a plate of Spaghetti on his hands as he personally strode in.

"Jecht? The hell?" Shin asked as he slammed the plate in the middle and took away the fork and knife for a pair of Chinese chopsticks.

"I'm the chef here bud, this spaghetti is specially seasoned, and you're going to eat it like I tell ya to. 'Kay?" He asked, Shin and Terra just slowly nodding, they had no idea of Jecht's cooking 1337 skillz anyway. "Good, now see ya lovebirds, have a nice dinner date." He said, leaving both to blush deep crimson at the mention of what they were exactly having… albeit slightly forced.

They looked at each other and Shin shrugged.

"Might as well try it out, huh?" He asked as he picked up the chopsticks. Terra nodded, the color dissipating from her cheeks as she began to pull the spaghetti in.

"Okay Jecht, what did you put on the pasta?" Lightning asked, obviously worried about the seasoning.

"I didn't drug it. I went Disney on their asses!" He exclaimed, smiling evilly. "There is only one strand…" A collective "oooh" came from the on looking crowd as that was the last dish before desert. And so, they looked on.

It was worrying Shin just how the strand he was pulling was so gigantic. He bit down on it just to pick it up again and again, but it never ended.

"_Wait… there's something familiar about this. It was something about a lady and a tra- WAIT!"_ He stopped pulling the strand at the very moment where he felt there to be an opposing force to it. Looking forward, he saw his eyes closer than ever to the violet orbs on the half-Esper, both of them staring at him with the same disbelief as he was. As whimsical and artificial as this was, as used as he had been, the situation he found himself in was exhilarating. Now, as any whipped young man, any glace he took from her lips was quick, but long enough for him to admire how unusually red and "appetizing" they looked. _"Oh, what the hell, here goes nothing!"_ He told himself, throwing caution to the wind and moving in for a kiss… that never came.

"WHAT?!" Jecht shouted, only to be silenced by an equally surprised Cloud. Leaning against her chair, right hand covering her mouth and eyes as shocked as everyone else, Terra stood, her eyes slowly watering.

"I… I can't do this… I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, knocking her chair down as she ran out of the restaurant, tears streaming from her eyes, leaving a heartbroken young man behind.

"What… what did I do wrong?" Shin wondered, slumping into the chair. "I guess I was really out of my league, wasn't I?"

"You didn't do anything wrong." He heard a familiar voice say. Suddenly Celes pulled up Terra's chair and sat on her place. "I had a feeling it'd come to this and I'm glad I came back." She told him, spotting the mix of curiosity and hopefulness of Shin's eyes easily. "It's hard to explain but… Terra was never "in love" before. So much so that she was completely oblivious to what it was to feel it. I don't blame her, I expected her to be immature in this kinds of things after what she went through, but it all leads to the same. After what she went through recently… she's afraid to create any new bonds. Go after her, you'll both regret it for the rest of your lives if you let fear cut this thread short." The entire group on the kitchen was speechless. Celes giving relationship advice? ON TERRA?

"I-I'll go find her then. Celes, thank you…" Shin stuttered, still in shock at how Celes was blatantly telling him 'Go get her, boy!'.

"HOWEVER!" She exclaimed, raising her finger once Shin was off the table and rushing towards the exit. "One. Single. Complaint. From Terra and you, my good man, will wish you were one of our enemies." She was dead serious about this and Shin already knew it. He still gave her a nod and a smile before rushing outside. Celes sighed and shook her head. "She's in good hands." She admitted, turning back to the ones on the kitchen and asking. "What do you say we go watch?" She didn't have to ask twice.

* * *

><p>Of course Terra had flown away, but Shin didn't let that get the better of him, no sir. If he had too, he would turn this city upside down as he looked for her. Asking Shinryu for an exception in power usage, he soared to the skies in his now fully incorporated wings and draconic body. While his visual search yielded close to no real results, after a few minutes he felt something. It felt like Terra's energy… but different. He still went for it of course, finding himself landing on the edge of the lake outside of Caelum. Then he saw it, on the midst of the pristine waters, there was a pale body of a person, weaving around her body pure white flames that resembled the aura she passed around herself. Shin knew that it was Terra but the energy, the aura around her was so… calm and harmonious. Formerly, Terra's trance made her energy go out of control, even when Terra herself was controlling her form, Terra's magic was much like a riot, always shouting and yearning to be heard. This one was closer to a symphony.<p>

"Terra?" He called out, the sudden halt of the figure's actions signaling him that he was right. "Terra, can we talk?" He carefully asked, as he walked closer to the water, close enough to see her reluctant expression. Still, she slowly nodded, drifting on top of the water with her delicate feet, leaving small waves but never disturbing the lake more than so, it was mystical to see someone so naturally walk on water. Soon, she arrived at Shin's side, who signaled to take a seat on the shimmering grass. She nodded again, not sharing a glance. "Terra I…" He began, a sharp and low:

"I'm sorry…" Wandering into his ears.

"No, if anything, I was too forceful…" Feeling that she still needed some time to cool off, he tried to talk about other things. "What were you doing here?" He asked her, the words for conversation coming out quite a lot faster.

"I was… just trying to test something." She explained, the silence hinting her to go own. "Ever since I returned that I… I felt like my magic was much tamer. It didn't yearn to get out, my destructive instincts, they vanished, it was all… calm and harmonious. I could close my eyes and make music with my magic. I wasn't feeling it as much as I was listening to it. I have no idea what prompted this, if it was returning from the dead, my new body or the fact that there no longer two souls in one body, but now, more than ever, I need like my magic is not a tool, it's an extension of my body. Even my aura became calmer, more beautiful. Most of all, I feel like I am this close of being able to push it to be something "more", but I don't know how yet." She explained, Shin listening to every word. "But there are other things. When I trance I have these… impulses. I feel like my fur needs a washing, my tongue almost begs to do it. I constantly and unconsciously scratch my cheeks with the side of my claws and I become hungry by seeing Stella's pet hamster. Still, I accept it and all that comes with it… it's me. Truly just "me" this time." This confession though, made Shin blare out a short but hearty laughter. "What's so fu…" Terra began before having her entire body tingle in pleasure.

"Oh, your instincts were really right." Shin told her as he scratched the upper part of her back, ruffling the fur and scratching the skin. She displayed all the instincts of a feline, normal for a Raijū Esper like herself, but the fact that she shared sweet spots with cats amused him to no end.

"That's… cheating…" Terra said, taking in a deep breath before slumping over his shoulder, her body accepting what her mind didn't want to. And then… "Purrrrr…" She quickly covered her mouth in embarrassment and had her cat-like pupils turn desperately at Shin, who was as shocked at her.

"You just took cuteness to a whole different level Tewah." Shin told her, not stopping caressing her sweet spot since he could imagine what had just happened. As much as Terra doubted what she was experiencing, or how she felt the need to distance herself from him, she couldn't, her body just moved itself to cuddle into Shin for a few minutes.

* * *

><p>"You know, I think I may or may not need a paper bag for this. I'm about to hurl." Bartz said from one of the brushes that observed them, being smacked on the back of the head by Squall. He whined and looked to the side to see Aerith literally slobber rainbows. Huh, who knew Mako energy produced rainbows?<p>

_"Damn lizard thinks he can just waltz right in and take away my OTP…"_ They heard someone say, prompting Cloud to smack Luneth in the head.

"Hey! I didn't SAY any…" He was silenced by a hand in his mouth before he could say anything more and reveal their positions.

"Shut up and listen…" Cloud whispered as Shin suddenly stopped.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing?" He questioned, leading Terra to slowly lose her Esper form explain. She had been weaving water with her finger in the middle of their moment, slowly creating and freezing statue-like ice.<p>

"I've just… created my children. I feel lonely sometimes and just the sight of those statues makes me feel more… whole." She explained, melancholy tarnishing her tone as Leo formed on Katarin's lap for the last statue. "I just wish they lasted more than a day… ice is so ephemeral. Like life…" Suddenly, she felt a couple of hands touch hers and weave magic with her, the ice slowly glistening as it started to crack, Terra gasping as the ice broke, leaving behind another inner shell, this one made completely out of Shinryu's silver crystals.

"Some things can last forever Terra. And even if they don't, you can be glad you managed to experience them in the first place." He told her as they slowly made the arrangement of the orphans of Mobliz float into the shore, breaking magical contact with them. "Aren't you glad that you met Leo? That your father talked to you through his magicite? That such great kids looked at you as a mother and loved you as one?" Terra turned her head back to him and they again stared into each other's eyes.

"Yes but… I lost it all, everyone… I saw them die." She told him, closing her eyes and jittering her head to the side.

"I won't die on you." Shin said out of the blue, violet orbs again meeting with his. "Terra… you are the person in this world that I admire the most. Your life was filled with nothing but hardships, but you are still what you are. The sweetest, kindest, most selfless person I know. Everything you do is thinking of the others first, putting yourself on the line for their happiness, and that… is amazing."

"It's nothing like that. I just…" Terra tried to excuse, but there was no stopping the person in front of her.

"But you have to understand that you need, no, you DESERVE to be happy too. And if I can do anything to make just that happen, I will. Because Terra, I love you." And he said it. But this time, it felt different to both. This wasn't someone on his last breath pouring his emotions out. No, this was much more sincere and thought out. This was something Shin had planned, thought about and decided to say with no obligations or encroaching time limits. THIS was a confession.

And Terra had no idea how to react.

She slowly got back on her feet and looked away as Shin got ready for another rejection, but this time, she just…started talking.

"I knew that Shin." She confessed, slowly shaking her head, the shaking showing Shin just how some tears was escaping her eyes. "It's just that I… am afraid to latch onto things after what happened with Jenova. This past day, I kept telling myself that over and over again. But, the more I told myself that, the more of a coward I felt like. And after all I went through, it'd be appalling to everyone who put their trust in me to be like that." She turned back to him with a different, more resolute shine in her eyes, no tears, nothing.

"Shin, there was something about you the first time we met. Maybe it was the situation you were in, I don't know… but I unconsciously kept making up excuses to be close to you, just to see what it was. And I saw what it was. There was something different on your approach of things. Yes, I did need to help you in your amnesia and you did lean on your friends, but when you found out about Shinryu… you powered through it with an unimaginable force of will. You instantly told yourself that you had had a horrible past, but you worked to make up for it. Maybe it was how "young" you really are, but I can't deny how jealous I was of you." She did a double take on her choice of words. That was so not what she meant.

"Not jealous… I admired that about you. In your own way, you inspired me to try and let go of the past more and more. And you understood me also. We were both "different" and that helped you relate with me and me with you. Then it just… happened. I found myself just being happy while I talked with you. We started enjoying the same things, we made the same friends. Before I knew it, everything I did was with you and I was okay with that. At first, I thought I had found a really good friend. But slowly I started to question it. I talked with Locke and Celes and it didn't "feel" the same way. I talked with Cloud and I even remembered Luneth and Vaan and it didn't "feel" the same. Then the backlash of it came. Denial. Then I thought you died… denial didn't work, did it?" She sighed deeply and looked back at Shin. "But here we are, aren't we? For all the things I lost… you are right, each of them were worth it. And I'm not going to live my life with any more regret." At this time, she simply throw her arms around Shin. "So yes, Shin, I do… truly love you back. " And this time, it was her to pull him into a kiss. And what a kiss it was…

One was a tortured soul that was still trying to find its place in the world and the other was a soul tortured by what he had done, but they both stopped worrying in that precise moment, because, for as long as they could make it last, they had a place, which was right next to other's.

* * *

><p>"Mission complete!" Bartz exclaimed in the lowest exclamation he could process. Of course, this was hardly sufficient as his partying broke the branch of the tree they were in, crashing into the brush bellow and revealing their presence to the Half-Esper and the descendant of Shinryu, who fortunately had just broken off their kiss and were just staring passionately at each other.<p>

"Bartz, are you okay?!" Terra asked as she rushed to the brush, Shin eying the Mime with death on his eyes.

"I'm totally okay…" Bartz replied, slowly cracking his neck. Until "it" happened.

"Bartz… Klauser…" He heard Celes whisper as she, Cloud, Squall, Luneth and Lightning grabbed their weapons. The ice mage was burning, literally, the grass around her was burning. "You RUINED it! Pray to whatever deity you worship because this will be slow!" Bartz squeaked and rushed to behind Terra's back, who ironically had his back.

"Celes! He didn't ruin it. He just gave us… an unexpected ending. I still said to him everything I wanted to say… and I think he did too." The way Terra looked at Shin forced him to play along in rescuing the mime. One of the many times he would unknowingly have his free will slightly distorted.

"Yeah… Everything we set up to do tonight was accomplished. Let's just… go back, have some sleep and I'll take Terra on another, less chaotic, date tomorrow, okay?" He asked Celes, who simmered down quite a lot. She had set out to make Terra accept something she had seen so long ago, and she did… so the day was won.

"Fine... let's go back." She told them, hurrying back with Locke grabbed by the wrist. He knew he wouldn't get rest that night.

As the newborn couple watched everyone skitter away, Terra said:

"Life wouldn't be the same without them, would it?" She asked her new boyfriend, squeezing his right hand and locking eyes with him.

"No it wouldn't." He replied with a smile, the two rushing to catch up with the group.

* * *

><p><span>Back in Shin's room:<span>

"_Now THAT was a productive experience."_ Shinryu commented as Shin basically danced from the bathroom to the bed. _"I can give you privacy when you want it, can't I?"_ He asked, and indeed he was right. It was just that Shin… felt something missing when he sat on his bed. _"What is it now?"_

"I… kinda wish Bartz wouldn't have interrupted that. I was looking forward to spending some time with her after I got that off my chest." He told the dragon, who scuffed.

"_You have an entire week! And besides, let her rest, she has been through a lot and I think a bit of alone time would benefit…" Someone knocked on the door. "Well, screw it… call me when I have a "grandson"." _He spat, vanishing from Shin's thoughts.

"I'm not that hasty…" Shin told the now gone dragon, standing up from his bed and running to the door. "And who knows, maybe it isn't… Hello Terra." That sure was one way to shut down his theory. On the other side of the entrance, in her pajamas with painted moogles glory, was the Esperkin he had confessed barely more than an hour ago. She brought with her a very happy but dormant puppy on her lap, and had let her hair fall down naturally over her shoulders.

"Can I come in?" She asked, Shin just signaling her to come. After she laid Chocolate on his own bed, she turned to him and apologized. "I'm sorry it's just… it's weird to sleep without Tina. I feel… alone. I was thinking if I could… you know…"

"Sleep with me?" Shin asked, Terra's crimson blush made him double take and clarify. "Literally SLEEP with me!" He exclaimed, the way he did and how clumsily he dismissed it bringing a giggle on Terra.

"Yes… that and, I wanted to ask you a question before Bartz "crashed" our date." Now that got Shin's attention, especially when Terra morphed back into Esper form seamlessly. "Answer me truthfully, do you think I'm…"

"You're beautiful either way." He retorted immediately, surprising Terra. "Just different… and I even enjoy your "quirks" while you are an Esper. It's enjoyable and I feel "unique" by having someone like you." He explained. Hearing this, Terra swiftly closed the distance and did something she outside of Esper form would never think of.

She planted a solid lick on his cheek, all the way up to his ear.

"Well, how was it? Different? Better?" She teased as she saw Shin's flabbergasted expression take a hold of him. But then, Shin's smile turned mischievous.

"Well, I don't know… let me take a closer inspection." And with that, he pulled her in and they shared a much different and to be fair, much wilder kiss. When they were finished Shin just shrugged. "I'd give both eleven out of ten. Solid." He told her, who simply laughed with him for a good minute before having it being broken by a long yawn. "Seems like someone needs her beauty sleep…"

"Yes… we still have a full week to make due of… us." It still felt awkward for both of them to admit it, but who were they to complain? They covered themselves with the sheets and turned off the lights. Even though there was more than enough space on it, Shin quickly found one pair of arms envelop him and pull him to the other side of the bed. He wasn't particularly surprised, Terra seemed to be a "cuddler". Nor did he mind it.

"Goodnight Shin…" She whispered in his ear before burying her head on his chest.

"Goodnight little Tewah." He joked around, getting a small slap on the shoulder before leaning his chin on her head, drifting to the most satisfying sleep he had had on his life so far.

_"Excellent…"_ Someone, not a villain by the way, whispered from the window.

* * *

><p><span>Next Part:<span>

_All good things must come to an end… so by that logic, we know that all bad things must end as well. As they journey deeper and deeper into territory previously taboo for the living, our heroes will not only find lost friends and enemies, but questions, answers, and, without a doubt, for better or worse, no matter what may happen they will find…_

Final Part: The End to the Struggle

Chapter 70: Highway to Hell.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>Post-Chapter Note:<span>****It's finally done! Terra's back... And I finally did it. This is officially a ship that I'm sailing. I have SOME crewmembers, not much as you would expect, but whatever. The week I gave between chapter 69 and 70 was for… "some people" which I'll not mention to have time to get creative.

Anyway, with this comes a poll for what the heck do I call this ship. So get voting. But not before leaving your positive, negative or constructive criticism on the rectangle riiiiight down there. This is the finale to an arc and something you DON'T see very often on my fics so… show some ShinxTerra love!


	70. The Highway to Hell

**Author's Note:** Happy Birthday Unending! And this chapter doesn't suck like chapter fifty! Joy to all! Let's jump right into what is the beginning of the end, shall we?!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

**Final Part: An End to the Struggle**

****Chapter Seventy****

****The Highway to Hell****

* * *

><p>"Terra! Shin!" Someone knocked on a door to a room. "Lovebirds! Get up!" Whoever was knocking did less than provoke rumbling on the bed. "Fine, fine, I'm going in hard!" Shouted the man, kicking door in. "Wake. The Hell. UP! IT'S NOON ALREADY!" He shouted from the entrance.<p>

"Oh shut up Zack…" Terra moaned, slowly opening her eyes to find that Shin hadn't moved an inch, even with Zack literally kicking down the door.

"Good thing it's us, because if anyone else was trying to sneak unnoticed… I don't think they'd have any hurdles at all." Cloud said from the entrance. Both him and Zack got the memo when Terra's hair flashed violet though. "Just get him up. You have less than an hour for the appointed time for takeoff." He said as he and Zack slowly backed away.

"_Shiiin._" She moaned rather flirtatiously. That sure opened a brown eye right in front of her quickly. "You still sleep like a rock…" She joked, cuddling a bit more before moving away from his arms.

"Well excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse me princess!" He replied, yawning loudly before cracking his neck.

"That wasn't funny in the Zelda TV show, and it sure isn't now." Terra quipped, going into the bathroom to change. She didn't actually need to change her clothes since she could just wave her hands and be done with it, but her hair was a different story. As Shin got out of bed, he took out a dog treat and gave it to the small puppy that began clawing his leg.

"Today's the day huh?" He questioned.

"It came faster than I would've imagined." Terra agreed as she brushed up her hair in the bathroom.

"Well, might as well get dressed!" He exclaimed, jumping out of bed and grabbing his ironed out clothing, stripping down to boxers before dressing up. There was a small yelp as he did so, prompting him to look back to the entrance to the bathroom.

"Don't mind me. I'm just enjoying the view." Terra said, smiling at Shin's bright red face.

"_She was not like this when you got your hands on her… or she hid it very well."_ For once, Shin agreed with Shinryu. She had really loosened up in the past months. Mission accomplished.

"You changed." He told her with a smile, having her take a less snickering and actually more worried expression.

"Not for the worse I hope…" She replied, her worries being quenched the moment Shin started petting her head.

"Not a chance." He assured her, scrubbing her hair, she instantly perked up, but she also slapped the side of his arm in irritation.

"Well thank you Shin, now I need to go brush it again!" She faked anger before returning to the bathroom. Shin began to dress and reflected a bit.

"This week was… crazy, wasn't it?" He asked, clearly teasing you guys about something.

"Well, yes. Bartz wasn't that bad though… and I did learn to control my powers better yesterday." She said, remembering the… somewhat disorganized excuse he tried to set up.

"You teach yourselves best." You aren't supposed to get what he said yet. Anyway, Shin got his jacket up and entered the bathroom, gave his hair a good scrub, brushed his teeth and was ready to roll. "Well, guess this is it, huh?" He asked Terra, who seemed to be thinking the same. Brown and violet eyes locked and Terra got on her toes to slide in a kiss.

"Yes. Let's be warriors one last time." She told them after they broke off. Any and all tension that came afterwards was broken by the squeals of a very jealous puppy. Terra giggled and picked him up. "Oh, you can be so envious sometimes Chocolate! Don't worry… we'll take you with us."

"I still think he shouldn't… be he refuses to eat if we aren't the ones giving him the food, so that's a moot point." Shin said, rubbing Chocolate's giant ears as he liked it. "Shall we, milady?" Shin asked, doing a much exaggerated gesture towards the door.

"Why yes Jarvis, indeed we shall." She replied with a fake haughty tone, giggling all the way. It was good seeing her develop a sense of humor, even if she only played along.

"Took you long enough." Zack and Cloud said as they waited near the door.

"You stayed there the whole time?" Terra asked, blushing profusely when Zack went:

"_Don't mind me. I'm just enjoying the view._" In the most girly voice he could muster.

"Oh shut up Zack! You're the last person to mock ANYONE about that!" Shin spat back, only to have Zack already prepared.

"Oh yes, please do tell how I get my girlfriends on my bed literally MINUTES after they officially got official with me." He threw back, leaving Shin speechless.

"He didn't ask for it, I did! I was still shocked for losing Tina." Terra explained, trying to stop the conversation before it got out of hand.

"So you were shocked for a week?" Cloud questioned. Even him?

"W-well yes." Terra told them without thinking.

"But you told Celes yesterday you were completely recovered. Edge was listening." Zack pointed out, proving Shin's nagging guess that someone had watched them the whole week.

"We were nervous and tired yesterday, it was just to calm us down." Shin told them, an apparition giggling from behind.

"It's normal for a new couple to be nervous… and tire themselves out. Bow chicka wow wow!" The couple turned and tried to slap/punch whoever was there, but to their despair, it was a ghost.

"Aerith! You spent WAY TOO MUCH TIME with Zack!" Shin bellowed, even if he was redder than a tomato dropped in a bucket of red ink.

"And it's not like that!" Terra surged, if only to be chilled at the response.

"Oh I know… I checked the sheets every morning…" Aerith said in the creepiest, widest stalkery smiled they had ever seen.

"Let's just… go…" Cloud said, even he and Zack slowly backing away from the deranged ghost before bursting into a sprint to the aerodrome.

* * *

><p>As they arrived, they saw a giant crowd congregated around it, all of them leading up to a large line to enter whatever they had cooked up in it with all those engineers. Of course, Terra, Shin, Cloud and Zack the last one with the help of Stardust, cheated and just entered it from the roof and made their way to the hangar. As they did so, entering from one of the suspended walkways, they gasped at what they saw. There was just one ship there, and it was massive. Not Lunar Whale sized, but close enough to house hundreds, if not thousands, of people. The design however, was more aerodynamic, closer to the Ragnarok and its successor the Lagunarok albeit with sharper edges and a main color that was gold, light shining silver on the edgiest parts. It made them associate the ship with a giant blade.<p>

"Ya like it?" Cid Highwind asked them, taking a smoke before smiling. "Got'er done in a week." He explained with a beaming pride, extinguishing the cigar.

"Well, what did you use? Weren't they low on parts?" Zack questioned, to which Cid scuffed.

"Aye, but we used the Lunar Whale, the Lagunarok and the Archadian airships and combined them into one. As massive and resilient as the Whale, as fast and mobile as the Lagunarok and as powerful and loaded as the Odin, that's what this ship is." He explained as they looked at him, shocked that they pulled this off. "Those dead _kiddos_and these guys helped on the tech department, we just made the plans." Said he with a slight embarrassment.

"What's the name?" Shin asked before he noticed a bottle of Champaign on his hand. He then looked downwards to see everyone looking up at them.

"We were just about to christen it. Want the honors?" He asked, throwing the battle right at him. Shin fumbled the bottle not once but twice, and if it wasn't for Terra's magic, it would be broken on the ground bellow by now.

"I have an idea, but may I?" Terra said, to which Cid just shrugged and said:

"Whatever, I was the one doing it and I'm handing it to ya." Terra nodded and looked at the ship. This was the successor to the Lagunarok, the Lunar Whale and the Odin… and the appearance just screamed the name for her. She took a deep breath and threw the bottle.

"May you fly for years to come… Excalibur!" She exclaimed as the liquid splattered all over the golden paint. You could hear Gilgamesh squeal in joy.

"I'd say that was tacky, but considering how we chose Gold to be the primary color… we can't speak. It fits good enough. Now, let's get down to USING it!" He exclaimed, literally jumping off the walkway and into the open door to the airship.

"All of you that that wish to join… I hope you have made your goodbyes and have prepared for any outcome. Just stand beneath the airship and you shall be teleported inside!" FuSoYa announced from the cockpit, most of the nameless soldiers that had volunteered doing the same, leaving the door to the "VIPs". Terra and the others just followed Cid, walking behind the man through the ship to see just how much it contained, it even had a casino (courtesy of a certain gambler). No matter what trip they took, they wouldn't get bored for sure.

As soon as they reached the cockpit though, FuSoYa was awaiting with the other eleven crystal holders.

"We need you two. Come with me." Shin sighed because he knew what was going to happen. A looooooooooong tedious walk towards the engine room. There WERE disadvantages with having such a huge ship, and it showed. Once they arrived, they saw a giant pedestal right dab in the middle, with thirteen holes in it.

"Isn't this overkill?" Bartz asked, remembering what happened when the Lagunarok used ONE crystal, damn near crushing them against the wall.

"Warp Drive consumes a LOT of energy. We barely have fuel for ONE Warp as it is." Neku explained from the side of the room.

"Warp wut?" Bartz predictably said. Neku just sighed and told him to watch Star Trek.

"Just lay your crystals here. It will bound with them so that if you de-summon the crystal, it will come back here to the engine. The ship runs on Solar Power, Fuel, nethecite, magic on the outside environment and of course, magic drained from crystals. The last one is the most effective, and we can only really achieve warp drive using that particular source." Neku explained, the whole group pretending to understand how it worked before doing what he asked. The crystals shone dimly, as if accepting the thing and they summoned and de-summoned them to confirm they were now bound to two places. Nodding in satisfaction, they walked back into the bridge, preparing for take-off.

"Here goes nothing… the Excalibur's first flight." Setzer said, quickly programming mumbo jumbo on the pad to his side (he learned fast when it came to airships) before taking the wheel. "Terra, want the honors? The control scheme is the same as the Blackjack!" He asked her, signaling the free wheel. This was very stupid, to entrust a near airship like that, but he did trust Terra to have some inherent pilot skills, and taking off wasn't as much of a challenge as actually landing.

"I named it… give Shin a shot." She said, pushing Shin towards the wheel. He looked back and saw her nod, even Setzer shrugged.

"Fine. I'll do it." He said, taking the wheel as Balthier handled the speed.

"Okay kid, ready?" He asked.

"As much as I'll ever be." He DID have Vaan's, Balthier's and many other pilot's memories, but he lacked the instincts, so of course he was nervous, even with Setzer a palm to the side.

"All systems ready for take-off!" Tron said from the speaker.

"Well, let's get this show on the road!" Shin exclaimed after everyone got a good, long, hard look at the crowd of people unfit for a battle, all of them waving goodbye to both them and the soldiers from their own worlds inside the ship. Noctis ordered the hangar to open, and the platform where the ship stood began to rise, rising above the walls of the building. "Time to leave them all behind!" And with that and an excruciating speed, they were off into their next destination.

* * *

><p><span>In SPAAAAAAAAAAACE:<span>

"Where are we going?" Terra questioned, having Shiki be the one replying.

"Use your memories… where did you Tina seal Kaiser?" She asked, Terra suddenly realizing just where they were headed…

"The Dragon's Den…" She said. She had no real memories of what had happened, those were probably with Tina herself, but she knew most of what had happened, just no details. That and she HAD beaten the sealed Kaiser before.

In mere minutes, the blue planet that aggregated her world with so many others came into display. She only wished she could really say this was a homecoming.

* * *

><p>"Well, I'm surprised the island still looks the same." Locke commented as everyone that had already been on the Dragon's Den plus the Crystal Bearers got beamed down.<p>

"Never thought I'd come back here…" Terra sighed, preparing to enter.

"Something wrong?" Shin asked her, only to have a slow shake of her head be the answer.

"It's just… I always felt bad here, it was nostalgia, but also sadness. It's not nearly as bad now, but that also makes me feel bad because I realize I only feel better because I don't have Tina." She explained, something warm squeezing her hand.

"Don't let that get to you, we're going to make this right." Shin promised just before Locke began to lead the way with the map he had drawn the last time they were there.

* * *

><p>It took more than an hour to finally reach the center (freakin' Dragon's Den), with minor annoyances from monsters long out-classed as they went, but they finally used the teleporter to Kaiser's former sealing room. They just had to tweak it to not need four people standing on tiles across the wall.<p>

The temple was just as Terra remembered it, just a simple but large altar, now quite damaged, along with the walls, and the tiled ground was now both melted and crushed.

"I didn't remember just how much of a fight we had here…" Locke mused.

"Kaiser started the battle by setting the surroundings on fire. Your memory needs some care Locke." Celes shot down unceremoniously. He sighed and just told us to get on with it. As a matter of fact, the moment Terra, Cloud, Zidane, Prishe and Ceodore got up the altar, a pentagonal shaped glyph started shinning in the floor, disappearing along with the ground it was inscribed upon, it gave way to a pentagonal pedestal that rose from the hole that had been created.

"Well gee, I wonder what's gonna happen THIS time!" Prishe exclaimed before happily and carelessly smashing her crystal into her part, luckily not breaking anything. She was followed by the other four bearers and lo and behold, the pedestal seemed to connect all by streams of energy. Shin then felt unease inside him, but it was not of himself.

"_What is it Shinryu?"_ Shin asked, waiting as the pedestal seemed to be charging something.

"_Would it be foolish for me to expect my brother to have left some sort of message to me on his resting place?"_ Shinryu asked his _son_ in an unusually sentimental tone. Shin smiled, but shook his head.

"_No. It's human."_ Shin replied, having his father let out a bellowing laugh inside his head.

"_Well, I cannot say I dislike this… but it also does mean I may have less time than I thought. A decade was what I expected, but at this rate, it's closer to a year."_ He mused, noticing Shin's discomfort. _"Don't mull over it. I'm just sorry I can't watch over you for longer than a year. But I believe I leave you in good hands."_ Shin had a lot of things to say back at the dragon, but he felt it was better to just drop it. Shinryu seemed content with what was happening, and he wasn't about to ruin that for him. They still had months to go, far more than the mere two months that had passed until now. What happened next was weird. The rest of the crystal bearers suddenly saw their crystals just up and vanish from their hands. Neku told them to stay calm, and that this was expected.

"Shin… anyone… come in!" Shin heard from his communicator.

"Shin here." He answered, talking with Zack from across the line.

"Well, I just wanted ya to know that two giant breams of energy just collided in the sky. Heck, the energy is so bright that I think we'd see it even if it was daytime around these parts." He explained. Shin looked at Neku and he simply nodded.

"Neku says that it's going as expected. Just wait a few more minutes and I'll get back to you. Shin out." And with that, he broke off the communications. As he did so, the altar seemed to shine with a newfound power, the ground trembling beneath along with the entire cave.

"Well, it'd be best for us to create a barrier." Neku announced, completely uninterested as he signaled everyone to get closer. He lazily pulled out a pin and enveloped everyone in a cool green glow just as the pedestal seemed to turn into a giant death ray by shooting a massive golden beam upwards, destroying the ceiling, causing the cave to collapse on top of them, any and all rocks getting deflected by the barrier. Once all had fallen though, with a simple push they could now watch what their efforts had wrought. The pedestal's ray of light extended through the night's sky and into space itself, seemingly in the way of a giant concentration of energy in the night sky. As soon as it hit though, the entire skies exploded in an Aurora of energy, blinding everyone in the vicinity before showing something for the first time in eons.

"What is _that_?" Terra gasped, seeing as the Aurora had given way to a massive, translucent distortion in time and space.

"That's the gateway to the Otherworld. A bit flashier than you expected I'm sure." Neku explained, crossing his arms.

"I thought it was just gonna be some kind of giant door or somethin'." Bartz confessed.

"If it were, why would we bring a ship that size specially made for that?" Squall asked, and Bartz just shrugged, much to his dismay. There was just no getting through to him, was there?

"We affectionately call it… the Highway to Hell!" Shiki exclaimed prompting a Facepalm from pretty much everyone from an advanced world.

"Well, we're done here. Cid, beam us up!" Shin said, tingling as the feeling of actually being Kirk came over him. Maybe they should've named the Excalibur "Enterprise".

* * *

><p>"Okay then, what now?" Cid questioned as they materialized on the bridge.<p>

"Now… we ride right into it." Neku said predictably. "Feeling confident with Warp?" He asked Setzer, who just shrugged.

"I'll gamble on it." Dear god, they're all dead.

"We gave you as much formation as possible in a week. Just follow my lead." He said, pressing what seemed to be random buttons on the computer next to him.

"Why are we doing this again? The portal isn't that far." Cloud asked.

"Simple, because the portal does have a fail-safe against people that God hasn't blessed. The big G ain't answering, so we had to improvise. The dimensional space between the entrance and the exit is highly dense. And I mean black hole is a walk in the park dense. It'd compress anyone who enters it in mere… almost immediately, I can't say just how fast. Soooo… we go through it in Warp Drive, which works by creating a bubble of "normal" space around us and since it's faster than light itself, we should get past it before the pressure just crushes the bubble and the ship with it." Shiki explained, every word making everyone feel less and less sure about this. "Well, cheer up! Last case scenario, you guys won't even feel it!" Way to go Shiki. That's EXACTLY how you handle situations like this.

"Warp at 0.5." Neku said, the ship rumbling in response before stabilizing completely.

"Point six." Everyone just looked at each other, realizing it was too late to back out on this.

"Point seven."

"Well, I'm going to hell anyways, so I can't say this affects me as much as you goodie-two-shoes!" Jecht bellowed, laughing heartily. He's Jecht after all. He knew how to relieve pressure.

"Point eight."

"If we die from this, I'm demanding a place in like… the highest part of heaven." Zack said, his foot tapping away.

"To bravely go where no living being has gone before." Shin said… well, he HAD to, didn't he?

"Point nine."

"This is the part where everyone who hasn't confessed yet says "I love you", isn't it?" Zidane asked, making Firion and Lightning somewhat uncomfortable. Still, at least one of them gained some guts…

"Hey Light…" Way too late.

"Warp one. Let's go."

* * *

><p>And they were off, the ship leaving nothing but a blur of light behind as it sped right through the atmosphere, through space and traversed the portal boldly. Everyone felt their bodies get slammed to the ground as they did so, even if they were only in contact with the intermediate dimension for a fraction of a second. Then… they stopped.<p>

"Well… that was fast…" Setzer gasped, slowly removing his hands from the steering well. Everyone felt as if they had been squeezed out of their oxygen, directly at their longs. In the room, only Neku and Shiki were unfazed, but all of Class Zero, Orlandeu, Magus, Reks and Sho were the same. They belonged here after all.

"Well… we're literally in Hell now. Don't worry, this isn't an alien planet or anything. It does have oxygen, mostly because God wouldn't be stupid enough to allow a Gate to exist and then suffocate any living being that came here. Unless we used chemicals and not oxygen…" Now Neku was rambling. As he began discussing with himself just the reason for oxygen to exist in the Otherworld, everyone decided to simply look around as the ship slowly whisked by.

"I didn't know what I expected really." Zidane commented as he saw the giant barren wasteland that surrounded them through the windows. The skies were blood red with blackened clouds probably being the only haven for the guilty due to the blistering heat that came from the skies and earth. The only thing that interrupted this barren wasteland were deep pits that lead to lava, spiked pits, destroyed torture racks and just about everything bad you can imagine. That and even the mountains seemed aggressive, spiked peaks and jagged ledges all around.

"It's not supposed to be pleasant genius. At least, unlike your world, this one is straightforward about being shitty." Sho said from the door. "Aaaah, home sweet home!" He exclaimed as he took in the view. "Still, we got sent to the first ring, huh? Seriously? Cocytus is like… eight rings away." Before anyone could even ask what that meant, Neku took control.

"I should explain this. Hell is divided on nine circles, with you going down the worse your crimes are. Not going to explain them all, but here's the deal. If Hell is the same or worse as the time we were sent away, the only thing we can do is go directly to Pandemonium castle and ask Hades for a status update. This means we'll have to go through… eight more portals to reach Cocytus, the lowest ring." It was at this point that Locke spontaneously vomited. He was never good with rough voyages on vehicles.

"Well, for once, I'll say that exploring is overrated. The less time we spend here… the better. I don't feel comfortable here." Bartz said, receiving a "no shit" look from Sho.

"Very well. Let's… wait, what is _that_?" Balthier asked as he sat on the controls, staring intently at the radar. On the very edge of it were several pings, some big, some small.

"Strange… all forces should be around Pandemonium. We should investigate, we can outrun everything we find, but there's a chance that they are allies." Neku began, brainstorming what they should do. "Okay, the Excalibur will be on standby. It's way too big to hide itself if they turn out to be hostile. Instead, you'll go." He told the bearers.

"Us? How? Only three of us can fly and Stardust can only carry two at most." Terra replied, lighting up a grin on Cid's face.

"Well, we have these!" He exclaimed, pushing a single button to his side. Suddenly, fourteen hatches opened, seven on each side of the bridge, each of them had a number from I to XIII and a large S on them, making it obvious who should go in what. "Jump on." He told the group, who just stared at him after taking a quick glance of the hatches. "Just do it before I push you inside one by one!" He shouted.

"Well gee, you didn't have to be so mean about it. I'll go, I'll go!" Bartz exclaimed, being the first to jump, Zidane and Prishe trailing behind. Sighing, the rest of the group just surrendered themselves to make a leap of faith into the holes. They went down through the a giant tube, sliding around faster and faster until, when they thought they'd just squash themselves against the wall after this rollercoaster stopped, they saw a light at the end of the tunnel, literally, they saw the magical light of a Slow-infused energy wall before going right through it, slowing down exponentially and falling right on top of floating object that wobbled up and down before stopping. Each and every one of them found themselves in a small private hangar, fourteen holographic screens being projected into their vision range, all of the others on each of them plus one for Cid.

"Cid… I love you man!" Bartz exclaimed, wobbling up and down on his still suspended Rheaird.

"I have to admit, this was a pretty impressive way to set us up. Should be useful for getting in and out quickly where the ship can't go." Lightning agreed, testing her ride.

"Well, we had thirteen of 'em just laying around, so I just asked myself, why not?" Cid told them. Wait… thirteen?

"And I got a stinking chocobo!" Luneth whined, getting pecked on by Stardust in outrage for all to see.

"Don't complain kid! That girl may very well be the fastest means of transportation we have... that and you couldn't reach the controls from your seat." And of course, he was ridiculed for it. All in good fun of course. "Still, the Rheairds now have a GPS incorporated in them, as well as radar and a connection with Tron. Go track'em!" He exclaimed as all fourteen lids opened from the Excalibur, the noise of the Rheairds slowly ramping up.

"Take-off!" Bartz exclaimed, prompting everyone to speed off at maximum speed from the ship, seven from each side, joining up above the ship before shooting into the unknown, Stardust taking the lead just before Terra whizzed right past her due to being a speed maniac. Shin just sighed and followed suit, even if he felt he was going to need a parachute for it.

* * *

><p>In less than five minutes, the radar told them that they'd be in vision range soon, and sure enough, they were. What they saw was a couple of dozens of people fighting a group of quadruped Omega look-alikes. Four Omega-lookalikes. They resembled his MK XII form, but were much more "technically advanced looking" as they bolstered a full-blown canon on their back with other miniature on its paws, being black steel instead of rocky and finally having the head connect to the body. And despite having some of soldiers flying around with their wings, they weren't doing that great.<p>

"What are THOSE?!" Terra questioned, making a full stop with her Rheaird.

"Shinryu, are those…" Shin gasped, stopping the Rheaird besides his girlfriend as the others started to flock.

"_They look the part, but they cannot be Omega. Still, be cautious, their movements, structure and attacks seem similar. That and they are four." _Shinryu told him, not really saying anything new. They certainly didn't FEEL like Omega, and Shin doubted there were enough shards of the Crystal Primo flying around to do anything, but still… it was pretty intimidating.

"Okay… guys, let's not get carried away here. We should call for backup." Luneth suggested, trembling in Stardust, who seemed to look back at him in shame.

"It's the most sensible course of action." Hikari agreed.

"Tron, Cloud here. We seem to have located what could be allies, but they are under attack. We need back up. Fast." Cloud stoically said, watching how two of the angels got shot down by one of the silver machines.

"Roger that. Do not engage. We shall be there in minutes." Tron assured, cutting the conection.

"You heard him. Now we wait." Lighting said.

"But…" Terra began, not wanting to just stand and watch. Then her eyes almost bulged out. "I WON'T!" She exclaimed, tapping the Rheaird on the capsulizing button. Out of all people there, only Shin caught up with what she was trying to do.

"Terra, wait!" He shouted, capsulizing his own vehicle and pleading Shinryu for his power, gaining his mane, knight-like armor, wings and tail. He saw Terra burst into her Esper Form and divebomb towards one of the Omegas, which was about to stomp a couple of soldiers and their eyes met as they descended. They were going to give it a shot. "Fine, let's do this!" Shin exclaimed, feeling something Shinryu's power intensify as he pulled out the Final Fantasy. "Spellblade…"

"Riot…"

The Omega turned too late.

"Almagest!"

"Scythe!"

In a simple slice… they cleaved it in an X-faction, the being then exploding into various tiny pieces due to the aftereffects of the Almagest. Not only were the soldiers completely stumped, but also our heroes, the omegas… heck, even Terra and Shin couldn't believe it as they landed on the ground, creating two small-sized craters for good measure.

"Guys… I'm feeling it now!" Bartz exclaimed, flaring up with the same white blaze as before, albeit weaker.

"We all seem to be." Squall said, nodding for Bartz to do whatever he wanted.

"Well, let's clean house!" Zidane exclaimed.

"Way ahead of you!" Shouted Bartz, crashing on top of a second Omega with a goblin punch.

"No fair! FLY AWAY!" Zidane blared, trancing to create a tornado that hurled it upwards.

"Take this seriously!" Squall shouted, slicing it straight into two.

Cloud, Vaan and Luneth destroyed another by using the Anastasia and Ultima Weapon to pry it open and have Luneth blast it from the inside. Lightning and Firion were much less subtle, as Firion pulled Omega into midair with his hopes, letting Lightning spin it around with a tornado of blades of her own, the thing getting finished as Jecht took the scene with a giant meteor to its face. Finally, Ceodore crashed on top of the last Omega, stunning it for enough time for Prishe to drop kick right through him, leaving Hikari to hit the core without resistance.

They were still shocked at just how they had decimated an army of Omegas in mere moments…

"I would thank God for your arrival, but I know you yourselves brought yourselves here." A voice greeted from behind, a voice oddly familiar to Firion.

"Minwu?!" Asked Firion, turning to see just that, the White Mage that had sacrificed himself to give him Ultima. "It's… so good to see you friend!" He exclaimed, vigorously shaking the hand of the White Mage. It was then that he saw what he had above his head. "You do…"

"Yes. It's quite unnecessary in my opinion, but halos are tradition. Not as useful as wings, but I do not complain." Minwu explained, talking about the floating golden circle hovering above his hand. Terra and Shin just watched, smiling as Terra began to hold his hand, but then, one of the soldiers that were about to get crushed began talking.

"Are you two well?" The voice questioned. Terra froze. Shin wondered why she had suddenly almost broken his hand with her tiny but mighty one. Terra slowly turned back and suddenly let go of his hand to hold them both in front of her mouth as shock and awe filled her expression.

"General, do you not know that?" The man asked, the general turning to feel a bit estranged before he slowly reached the realization of what he was seeing. He had never seen this side of her, but the description and the look in her face made it impossible to miss.

"Terra, is that..." The man began before getting tackled as tears shone in the path Terra had taken to him.

"GENERAL LEO!" She cried, her Esper form dissipating to reveal herself in her Black and White dress holding onto Leo's jacket tightly. She could barely think, she only knew she had to apologize now, something she had to live with for years now. "I… I'm sorry for what I told you before you…"

"Now, now Terra. I know you did not mean it. And I did deserve it." He told her, trying to pry her from his chest, to little avail. "This is hardly the time for apologies though. It's a time for happiness." He told her, now managing to pry her off.

"I AM happy! It's just like… a week ago." Leo rose an eyebrow at that answer, but before he could ask for anything, the Excalibur appeared in a flash of light, hovering right above them.

"We need back up they said! We can't blow them up in seconds they said!" They heard a very disappointed Zack yell from the microphone.

"Just beam us up. I think there are some here in need for medical assistance." Cloud yelled back, the bluish light bathing everyone. Moments, there they were, at the medical wing, tens of medics and white mages ready for assisting them, which, for less than thirty soldiers were more than enough.

* * *

><p>"You seem well enough. Good." Neku greeted as the group entered the conference room with Minwu and Leo in tow. "You were rash, stupid, but it worked. Just don't do it again and we'll be fine." He admonished.<p>

"Still as bluntly uninterested as ever I see Neku." Minwu commented, receiving little more than a shrug. "But this isn't why we're here so soon, is it? Well, I'll tell you what those things attacking us were. They were Omega Mark XIIIs."

"What?!" The group shouted, even if they felt that they were like Omega, he was a far cry.

"But he's…" Shin began.

"Weaker, yes. The materials are worse and they does not possess a shard of the Crystal Primo toning their power considerably down, even if they are technically superior. Masamune was also a better smith. Our main problem is how these can be mass produced." Now that was bad.

"How many of these things are there?" Lightning asked, only for Minwu to shake his head.

"Far too more to count. For this reason only we lost Hell. The entirety of it."

"NO!" Neku shouted, slamming his fist of the table. "Where are they then?!" He asked.

"The ones with Uroboros? Last we knew, they were assaulting Arubboth to enter Heaven. Not that we'd heard of them ever since the Gate closed, we cannot communicate with anyone outside of Hell if we do not open the Gate ourselves now. They may be upon Elysium already for all we know." He answered darkly, starting to walk around the table where everyone was sitting. "The Heaven's Vanguard left a division in hell before pursuing after them, that included us and the men you rescued today. We were to wait for you while they secured a clear invasion route for Pandemonium in Cocytus. Of course, we were discovered, but you reached us just on the right time." Minwu explained, everyone nodding slightly.

"So what you are saying is that we've been given a scrap of the main army to conquer back Pandemonium, which is being protected not only by deranged monsters whose sins sent them straight into the final level of Hell, but also mass produced Omegas? You're totally bonkers!" Prishe exclaimed.

"It is not like they left many behind. The bulk of their army used the Pandemonium's gate to access purgatory as we need to do now. We know for a fact only one stayed back." Leo explained, taking a deep breath. "Chaos stayed back."

"Well, our chances just went bad "why does this only happen to us" bad. Exdeath? Cloud of Darkness? No! CHAOS! Seriously… why Chaos?" Bartz whined, but all of them were thinking the same. It just… didn't make sense at all. Why would them send Chaos to act as a gatekeeper instead of bringing him on the main attack force? Maybe they were more worried with them?

"Either way, we cannot stop now. We would have had to fight Chaos sooner or later. We should consider ourselves lucky to find him isolated from the others." Terra said in one of the few times she used a more authorities tone. "Let us focus on the now, not in what there could've been. Sir Minwu, General Leo… how much do you know about the structure of the Pandemonium?" She questioned, Minwu being taken aback, but Leo smiled, pulling out a map.

"Here's the map for Castle, and I do have the map for the ci-" He began, but Shin signaled him to stop.

"I don't think we'll need the map for the city if Terra is thinking what I'm thinking." He turned to Terra and she smiled back, nodding.

"And you are?" Leo questioned, examining thoroughly for the first time.

"Huh… I'm Shin." Shin had completely forgotten just what that name could do to him.

"So you're Shinryu's reincarnation, hum? Are you absolutely sure we can trust him Terra?" He questioned Terra, a sudden realization coming to both. How were they going to tell him about their… status?

"I'd trust him as I would trust anyone in this room." Terra assured him, leading Leo to slowly assess Shin before letting up.

"Very well, do tell me all about your plan."

* * *

><p>After the meeting was over… what, you wanted the plan? Well, it's here… on the next chapter. Sorry, author's orders. Anyway, what happened next was a very tedious eight hours for Shin. Not tedious… uneventful. The hours you'd spend on the training room with Zack and a few others trying some last minute strategies. He'd stay with Terra, but there was this "aura" around Leo that just pushed him away, so he just told Terra to catch up with him, and maybe put in a good word for him without telling what happened last week, because Leo clearly saw him as Shinryu, much to Shinryu protest.<p>

"This is hilarious!" Zack exclaimed as they met in the center of the ring.

"Far from it! I like my head in my shoulders!" Shin blared back.

"The first shred of family you encounter of her is more aggressive towards you than he was to people like Magus! Oh, you're so screwed!" He exclaimed, getting punched in the belly by Shin.

"Whatever, this is a war; we don't have time for that kinda stuff." Shin shot back, spin kicking the back of Zack's neck as he had done more than two months ago, face planting him into the ground. "And we're even now."

"Keep telling yourself that. You should practice on Leo. I don't think meeting the parents will be easier than meeting the Godfather…" Zack explained, slowly getting back to his feet. "Well, it's time for dinner. Give it some thought, Cocytus is still half a day away, once we really get into the fight… you may not have another chance." And with that, he left. Shin stayed for a few minutes more, mostly asking himself what to do before resigning to go have dinner. Alone of course, if got anywhere near Terra's table, he feared he would get shanked faster than she could talk to Leo. Whatever was the case, he then headed to his room and waited… and waited. Two hours to be precise.

* * *

><p>"Took you long enough." He groaned when Terra entered the bedroom.<p>

"Grumpy, aren't we?" She asked, even if she had a guilty expression.

"Shinryu is not a good company when he spends the time mocking me for being afraid of my girlfriend's Godfather." He explained, crossing his arms and pouting.

"_Considering how he is human only makes it funnier."_ Shinryu quipped.

"Well, Leo's still a sweetheart. We caught up and it was marvelous. He even seemed to soften up towards you…" Just as Shin's eyes began to boggle though. "Just a bit. He still trusts Cid Lufaine more than you." Well... that hurt.

"Well then, I'm doomed if he ever sees me even holding your hand." He sighed as Terra sit beside him.

"Don't be like that! Just prove that you're one of the good guys at Pandemonium and you should be fine." She told him before changing to Esper Form. "I have a theory. Shin… doesn't my aura remind you of the aura the crystals projected onto us?" She questioned, and now that she mentioned it…

"Yeah… Maybe your whole change in Esper Form was due to Cosmos?" He asked.

"_It IS possible. But what would that mean for her evades my knowledge." _Shinryu admitted.

"I think so, but I don't know what that means. I feel there's something… there for me to grasp. But I don't know what." She shook her head. "I'm overthinking it. We should get some rest for tomorrow's battle." She said, turning to the side to prepare the bed. "Hey!" She screeched as Shin tackled her onto the bed. "Shin! _Stoooop_! Not there, I'm not a pet!" She exclaimed while Shin held her down against the bed and scratched her cat-like sweet spot just below her neck.

"You're not being very convincing. Just give me a small…purr… shit." He then slowly pulled himself off Terra and raised his hands into the air. "This isn't what it looks like." He told Leo, who was standing just at the door Terra had forgotten to lock due to his rant, staring with a mix of disbelief and bloody murder.

"Well then, do explain! Because I think I just saw you pinning down Terra on the bed and whispering words that I'd rather not know the meaning. As a matter of fact, forget the explanation. Nothing you can say will stop what I'm going to do to you after what you did to her, you darn lizard. The last thing she needed was a lecherous… dirty bastard sneaking into her room and assaulting her." He said, getting calmer by the moment, walking towards Shin, sword in hand. It was then that Terra dropped the bomb.

"General Leo… I'm dating Shin." If there it was possible to see the world like you see a computer, you could see the hourglass spinning right to Leo's side as he tried to process just what had been said.

"What... ? Pardon…just... what?"

* * *

><p><span>An hour later, on the deserted living room:<span>

"So let's see if I understood it correctly." Leo said, sipping on a mug of hot coco before taking a deep breath. Shin and Terra sat on an opposite couch, hands intertwined to lend more credibility to their claims. "A week ago…he confessed to you after he gave his life for you and you Terra, had legitimate feelings for him." Both nodded. "Your Esper Form gives you cat-like instincts that he takes advantage to show affection and nothing more." He nodded vigorously. "And you two just sleep together ever since with nothing happening?" This time, Terra nodded vigorously. "I… Can I have a word with Terra, Shinryu?" A glare from Terra made him realize his mistake. "Shin I mean." Shin nodded and got the HELL out of the room. He still felt like the blade of Leo rested on his neck after that entrance at the worst time possible. "Terra. Once more, is this honesty? Because he I can help you if he is blackmailing you for his help." This was the last drop.

"General Leo, with all due respect, but I'm getting tired of the way you treat Shin!" She shouted, standing up from the couch. "What did he ever do to you? I've already explained to you how different he is from Shinryu, and while you could be suspicious or wary, he was just here, you talked to him, everyone you talked to said nothing negative about him. WHY do you act like this?!" For once, General Leo Christophe had been left speechless. Terra had just yelled at him. TERRA had just yelled at him for not trusting her boyfriend… Shinryu.

"You ask me to trust someone like Kef-"

"Stop being hypocritical. If Kefka returned to what he was, I'd love him like the brother he was to me instantly. And you would too. You were like brothers. Same for Shin, he can change from what he was when he was Shinryu. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. And not because he saved my life from Jenova. No. Far more than that. He CHANGED me! For the better. We grew from each other. He understands me and I understand him. From the start, he accepted what I was without a second thought, even more, he made ME accept what I was. Don't you understand general Leo? I. Love. Him. I just want you to see him for what he is NOW, not what he was!" Terra had just insulted him and he had just got TOLD. Leo was in shock. He sat there for five minutes at he and Terra exchanged looks. He then stood up and slowly headed towards the kettle with the hot coco. He poured some for him and one in another cup and handed it to Terra.

"I was projecting Kefka on him. Maybe I'm overprotective of you after feeling that I failed, maybe Kefka's betrayal just destroyed all my sense of trust, I do not know, but please, send him in. I want to talk to him. He'll be back at your room in shortly after, I swear." He told her sincerely, receiving a small smile from the Esperkin and a peck on his cheek.

"Thank you General Leo…" She whispered, leaving him alone for a few moments.

"Terra in love, huh? I've seen it all." He mused as he saw a very terrified Shin slowly walk in. "And to that person of all people…" He coughed and shouted. "Stand straight Shin!" And he immediately did what he said. "Where's your spine? She didn't say you were a coward! What's that jittering all about?!" He shouted.

"Well I… I just don't know what to say really. You already wanted to see me dead the moment you knew who I was and I don't have that much experience on this kind of stuff. Last thing I want is to open a rift between you and Terra, that's it. I could care less if you torture me, I deserve it really, but Terra WOULD care and she wouldn't forgive you for it. And I don't want to spark a fight with you either, Terra would be thorn about it. That's why I avoided you and why I didn't want to come here." He explained, showing a side of him he didn't really want to show in front of Terra. Leo, again, was taken aback by this. Were his people reading skills deteriorating THIS badly?

"_I've probably judged__ him wrong."_ He admitted to himself after seeing the fervor of Terra and his reason not to stand up for himself. "Shin, I just called you here to ask you this. Do you love my goddaughter?" He asked him bluntly.

"Huh? Yes! Of course!" He exclaimed awkwardly, shaking his head.

"Well, that is good enough for me." Seeing his surprised looks, he smiled. "Normally it wouldn't, but boy… you're going to have to go through Maduin eventually. That is enough for me." Shin's blood ran cold as Leo handled his cup. "Still, make her happy, there's no better way to prove me wrong. I'll trust you to have my back and you can trust me to have yours tomorrow." And with that, he left, leaving the couple to sip on their mugs alone.

"I suppose you don't know how your father was." Shin asked, even if he knew the answer.

"We'll just have to be honest…" Even she wasn't certain, praying Maduin wasn't of the overzealous defender kind of father… as if.

* * *

><p>"Heaven… Never thought I'd step into these hallowed land really. Gods are finicky in their judgment of "good" and "evil"." The younger of the Xehanorts commented, Lezard and Kefka in tow.<p>

"Meh, overrated." Said Kefka, but Lezard had other plans.

"Say, Xehanort… we're alone and you still have not told us, just what are you planning to do with the Crystal Primo?" He questioned, removing his glasses to wipe them.

"Oh, you do not know?" He asked, a giant shadow, much different from the Guardian, no, this one wasn't dark… this one was there, but it was not there. "Simply to break it." He told them, vanishing from sight.

"OHOHO! That should be fun!" Kefka applauded.

**Crack!**

"Huh? Whazup Lezzie boy?" He asked, seeing blood drip away from Lezard's hand as pieces of his glasses cut into his skin after he crushed them with his hands.

"I must take my leave." And he did, vanishing into thin air.

"And so… the games begin." Kefka said darkly, vanishing himself.

* * *

><p>Dark and damp. The only thing that could describe whatever the place Lezard had used to keep Tina chained, still on Terra's body. Still, she knew he was there, even in her human form she could see easily in the dark. The moment he appeared, she asked:<p>

"What's it now? A whip? A sword? A worm?" She asked sarcastically, liking her wounds the best she could with her shackles stopping most movement from her arms.

"I have a proposition that may be mutually beneficial to both our causes." He stated, right to the point. Tina let out a giant grin.

"Who do you want to betray?" She asked, to which Lezard was honest for once.

"All of them." He said with a mad chuckle.

"I like the way you think… just watch your back." She replied, playing his game just like he wanted her to.

"Oh never worry… my back is always my priority." He told her, summoning a new pair of glasses and covering his eyes with them. "Now… shall we discuss your role?"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

"_Wait… just what formerly genocidal dragon are you again? Am I lost?!"_

"_Hope…does not exist."_

"_Cosmos lives on! In each of our hearts!"_

Next Chapter: God in Fire: A Harmonious Dissonance

* * *

><p><span><strong>Post-Chapter Note:<strong> Yay for the pseudo-calm before the storm! In both fighting AND Shin's encounters with Terra's family. Leo is Easy Mode. But is he ready for SMD? Shinryu Must Die mode? Well, that's coming… eventually. Anyway, it's the fic's B-day, you know what to do. It's down there!


	71. Into the Edge of Madness

**Author's Note:** Please… please don't murder me. Two months. A whole two months. Inexcusable, I know. I just had a writer's block so big I had to create side-projects to clear my mind. One of those is AUS related, you can see it under "Draconic Light" if you want some more of the characters. As for this chapter… I split it into two, maybe three, who knows. I wanted to get it out for you guys and not have it be too overwhelming… I can only expect it to be on par with what I wrote before I had the pseudo hiatus.

**PS:** Oh yes, and a thank you to TheJadeDragon37 for betaing it when I was too insecure to just post it.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

****Chapter Seventy-One****

****Decide! Part 1:****

**Into the Edge of Madness**

* * *

><p>"So, I heard one of the big dogs is coming to meet us." Zack said as he and Aqua accompanied our favorite couple to the bridge. The Excalibur had been docked on the shade of one of the mountains of Cocytus. The frozen wasteland was as unforgiving as one would expect from the lowest and harshest circle of Hell, the one where the most inhumane, corrupted, ghastly and generally horrible people lived the rest of their afterlives.<p>

"What do you mean by that?" Terra questioned, her curiosity picked.

"One of the big guys on the God Generals. Should be like… in the top three or something like that." the SOLDIER explained just before the time for the reveal came. They entered the room, expecting a high and mighty officer on full armor, light exploding from their figure and having everyone kneel before them.

Instead they got Merlina.

Ah yes, Merlina Magus. Quite the piece of work she was. They were looking at a slender, curvaceous and just-the-right-height woman. She wore her long, pink hair in a braid, falling over her right shoulder, touching her waist. She wore a matching robe filled to the brim with details of violet and gold. To match her medieval feel even more, she was wearing a gold tiara with a small ruby on the center, one that branched out on the back of her head. She smiled mischievously as the eyes opened up and some mouths gapped at the rest of her features. You see, the most endearing about her face were not her sky-blue orbs. No, her ears were pointy as an elf or Elvan. But even then, that was nothing compared to what lay on her head. Two small, pure-white, folded angel wings sprouted from it, one on each side. They looked as real as it could get and seemed truly attached to her head… that was not something you saw every day. Nor was what came next.

"SOOOOOOOON!" she screamed, literally leaving Neku and Leo in the dust and tackling Shin through the open door and rolling down the hallway. Terra squeaked and ran after them, the rest of the crew simply staring on while Neku sighed, as if he had expected this to happen.

Now, Shin was still a man… for the most part. And for that, he did appreciate a bombshell basically rubbing herself unto his body… but not only was he in a relationship, but there were at least three people that would downright murder him if he hurt Terra AND this woman was probably thousands of years old. SO for, that, he tried to push her away. To limited success.

"I'm… not… your… son!" He exclaimed, trying to pry her off his body, again, limited to no success.

"Wait… just what formerly genocidal dragon are you again? Am I lost?!" He did feel something probing his mind. Before he could get suspicious though, he was spoon fed the answer.

"Hey, what gives?!" he shouted, the woman simply caring nothing for him.

"Be quiet honey! Grandma and Papa are talking!" she exclaimed, confirming how she was, in fact, talking to Shinryu, yet that only served to make him question what did she mean by:

"Grandma? Wha-"

"_It would seem she was the one that gave life to Masamune's creations, me, Omega and Kaiser."_ Shin did a double take at the information he was giving. This goofy looking, smiling and crazy woman was… his creator?

"Shin, are you alright?!" Terra inquired once she managed to get near the two persons, eyeing the woman quite fiercely for her standards. Merlina, as we know her and they shall get to, simply covered her mouth and jumped up. She then started shaking all over and let out a giant squeak of joy, jumping and down. They could only stare at her wide-eyed, awaiting for a reason for this to happen.

"MY BABY HAS A GIRL!" she screamed, starting to run around in circles before stopping, giving Terra a thorough look while scratching her chin for a few seconds before giving her two thumbs up and a wink.

"Mer… if I may, don't you remember? We are running out of time. Let's discuss the plan now and, while we mobilize it you'll get enough time with your "baby"." Joshua told the God General who pouted like a little brat, but complied, snapping her fingers to bring the entire group into the bridge, displaying a brilliant control over magic. "Thank you. Now, let's just do a quick introduction here so that we clear some doubts, shall we?" Joshua asked, moving to the center and pointing at the woman to his side.

"This person over here is Merlina Magus. She is one of the highest ranking people in Heaven and was the only God General to stay behind for Hell's retaking. She also worked on the Alpha, Beta and Omega project as the lead magical weaver, which would make her the reason as to why Shinryu, Kaiser and Omega were actual living beings and not simple machines." Joshua explained, not missing a beat. Needless to say, while people had been warned she was one of the big dogs, this was a lot to take in. So much their expressions gave them away.

"Why are you guys so surprised? I mean, I'm, officially and without boasting, the greatest, bestest, awesomest mage in all of existence!" She exclaimed, spinning around and covering her right eye with a V-formation for her fingers, posing quite ridiculously as she did. Everyone looked on to Joshua, who simply confirmed:

"That she is. No one can control magic as she does. Not even her grandfather, Merlin," everyone could only stare at the woman and admonish themselves for not listening to the creed of creeds. Looks can be deceiving.

"Aaaanyway! I know your little plan missy Branfordy and it. Is. Awesome! I mean, it's risky, it's…"

"Stop talking like it's something out this world and get on with it. It's nothing genious." Neku told Merlina, the woman pouting and continuing.

"Fiiiiiiiiiine! Okay, here's how it goes. We are following this… but I NEED you guys to get everyone on this ship assembled somewhere." She told them, pointing at everyone in a circular fashion. This of course lead to a collective cringe and several exclamations asking for why, to which the mage only replied with: "No fun in telliiiiiing!" as whimsically and childishly as it could get, her wings fluttering in her head once she covered her lip with her finger. Noticing the doubts on the rest of the crew, Leo stomped his foot and ordered:

"We agreed that as of now and until this operation ends, SHE is our commander! Now do as you are told!" he roared. Now, no one would want to mess with Leo, mostly for how he had treated Shin a few days ago, so well, they tucked their tails beneath their legs and did as they were told, agreeing on joining everyone at the hangar.

"Now, there, Branfy, can you stop right there? You too, totally-not-Shinry," Merlina called, Shin and Terra stopping in their tracks. Merlina seemed slightly more serious now than before. Slightly. "Okay, Branfy. I've been watching ya for a very long time. No. You don't want to know how much, nor how much did I watch, but considering how you're still a vi-"If stares could murder, even Merlina would be dead… again. "Oookay, I get it! TMI! But seriously, I've watched you for a long time and I'm about to…" she summoned a chocolate cigar and continued with: "an offer you can't refuse." In a horrible mafiaesque accent. She then ate the cigar. Don't question it.

"What do you mean?" Terra inquired, her curiosity picked, even if she didn't feel very SAFE near this person.

"I've decided to make you my first student!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air while the other two could just stare at her in shock.

"You… do realize we aren't dead AND we're not going to take a pleasure cruise through heaven, don't you?" Shin told her, not knowing how could someone "teach" anyone in what he thought to be a matter of days. Merlina just laughed.

"Oh, that's cute! You think you're gonna catch up to them so quickly? Listen kid, they were above the second ring of Heaven before we were sent down here. You know how long it will take for you to FLY there? Yeah. One week. In this ship. And we still have to catch up to them, so, as far as I'm concerned, the timeframe from this week to the possible two months or more until we reach Elysium if we can't catch up to them before that is MORE than enough to make her, and maybe even you, understand what the heck Spellfusion is all about." She explained before turning to Terra tipping her head to the side and questioning: "You in?"

"I… guess. I'm not sure why you would chose me, nor am I sure if I deserve the honor to learn after the most blessed mage in creation, but I can't thank you enough for what you are doi-" Terra was speaking from the bottom of her heart…up until Merlina grabbed her cheeks and squeezed them like a granny would.

"Oh, you are so ADORABLE! You take good care of her for Granny, will you?" she squeaked, skimping away without appearing to have a care in the world, even though they were basically marching into a battle against a very "not-nice" Demi-God and some of the worst criminals the universe had ever seen. Oh well…

"D-did she forget to tell me what she called me for?" Shin questioned, the silence only proving him oh so right. Shin and Terra looked at each other, sighed, shrugged and ran after the mage to the hangar.

* * *

><p>It took not a minute over fifteen to get the entirety of the smaller than wanted army into the hangar, where Merlina waited on top of the metal bridge that was used for announcements.<p>

"Guys, guys! Control yourselves! I'm taken!" she exclaimed once she saw some of the men gawking at her, her completely relaxed persona seemingly taking over again. She giggled at the "ooooohs" she got and then put her hands on her hips, yelling: "Alrighty guys, I'll get straight to the point. Ya see, right now, you can't fight, you can't even help us." Ignoring all the questions and statements they indeed could, Merlina continued: "The reason is that anyone, living or dead, to enter Cocytus without God's permit get... chilled. You see, Cocytus is a "cool" place and all, but it can give you the "cold" shoulder if you just want to "chill"." She seemed to barely contain her laughter about the whole situation. Still, she responded to the outrage by raising one finger: "BUT! And this is a big but. I can give you something that cancels out the winds of Cocytus." Before they could ask anymore, Merlina was involved by a radiant glyph of light and twirled in it, as if she was dancing, before chanting: "Shield us, flames whose heat shall bring all of creation to ash! Garb of the Remnant Sun Prison!" which amounted to… absolutely nothing it would seem.

"What's a little dance trick supposed to do?" Jecht called her out on sitting with his legs crossed and yawning. Merlina chuckled and threw a rock at him. He was flabbergasted as it burned into nothingness before it touched it.

"I just coated every single one of ya with the single strongest protective spell in the universe. You are now cloaked in flames so hot they can't even be seen by mortal eyes. They project around fifteen million degrees Celsius to the outside while keeping the inside as it is and the only reason the ship itself ain't melting is because I'm maintain a similar shield on it. Normally this would last for several days BUT… Cocytus is so remorseless you will be lucky if it lasts two hours in there," she explained, the looks she got at the fifteen million a mix of skeptical and surprise, but oh well, they had seen a rock vanishing by being even NEAR Jecht, so they wouldn't disprove it. "Anyway, fifteen million should barely cover it. You should still feel the equivalent to around minus twenty Celsius. And don't give me that bullcrap about the absolute zero being minus two-hundred seventy three. That's in the mortal world, not here." Not gonna argue that. "Now, go and start this ship while I chant some air spells. The oxygen in here should be almost burning up with all this heat," only when told did they fully realize how hard it was to breathe. In fact, if Merlina didn't start chanting right then and there, some would start losing consciousness.

"Well then, we have a place to be, don't we?" Bartz asked the rest of the crystal holders, them snapping out of the giant amounts of info being sent towards them and nodding. Merlina finally added a:

"I did the same for your rad flying bikes and the bird. Just don't worry about touching each other. The garbs will simply meld if you do, you won't disintegrate each other." While none had thought about it, they were suddenly relieved by her foresight. "Now go on, I have a show to give!" and she vanished into midair as the ship started to rev up. Terra and the others simply gave up on making sense of her actions and went with it, going towards their Rheairds and into their objective.

* * *

><p>Terra stood now atop a mountain to the east of Pandemonium. The entire group was there, but they had scattered throughout the mountain to avoid drawing attention by having a large group of people in it, which left Terra as the one at the summit. She sat there as the sound of scorching air crackled on her ears.<p>

She looked upon the frozen landscape, the destroyed city whose ruins were left unrecognizable save for the castle Firion had banished back into the other world and could only shake her head in realization. All she had done up until now… it dwarfed what she had fought against. She had thought about it before, but it was there that she finally convinced herself of where she was.

"So this is where I will spend the rest of my existence… soon enough," she told herself as she looked upon the last circle of hell.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Terra jumped up from the rock she was sitting on, only to find that Shin wasn't someone that would just wait away from her. He sat by her side the snow and ice melting immediately atop the snowy mountain as two flames sat instead of one and simply urged: "Well?"

"Shin, you must understand that… no matter how much you accept me, no matter how much you and the others care for me… I've done something far worse than any of the ones we are fighting, except maybe Lezard, ever did. I brought down the sword that ended most of human race." Shin started to retort, but then was completely silenced when she expressed what really disturbed her: "I killed my children! Who I had failed to protect before! I was the bane for more lives than most, if not all, of our enemies combined! Not only that, you saw me, you remember me when I was out of control. Everything that happened to my world is also my fault. All the people I've murdered… all the wars I've been the cause of… and all the ones that suffered from the one I drove insane. People have come here for far lesser reasons. This is where I belong." She motioned to her surroundings. "Don't worry Shin, I won't leave you out of guilt for what I've done. I will live my life as best as I can, maybe even with you, no regrets… but then I'll take the blame." She expected to hear him scream, protest, call her out on her choice… she did NOT expect laughter.

"And here I thought I was gonna be alone on this," he seemed to joke, meeting Terra's surprised eyes. "What? You want to compare my track record with yours? Shinryu has been around for much more than even he can remember. And he went rogue against his creators, better known as, the ruler of the universe. That coupled with Dissidia and all the incidents Shinryu… does give me quite the mountain of reasons for me to freeze in here, don't you think?" Terra for once didn't doubt how Shin was being so lighthearted talking about something so serious and instead took it to heart.

"That was not your fault! Shinryu did it, not you!" she exclaimed, Shin smirking in response.

"And you are saying it was yours?" he questioned, his face turning serious. "You saying that it's your fault some crazy clown went insane and became god? That the Ghestalian Empire started a war? No Terra. You were the CAUSE, not the one at fault. There's a BIG difference there. You could not even control your mind by then," he shushed her. "Also, your body losing control? God's fault by the whole Tina fiasco. Again, not your fault. And finally, you are going to say that you were in control when you killed Dwayne and Katarin, along with the others, right?" she could only nod, questioning how Shin knew so much about how she was thinking. "Well, don't. You were forced to do it. For the greater good. You were forced into all of these situations Terra. If you are going to attribute the blame from the disasters others caused using you, or the dire consequences of you fighting for what is right, then why shouldn't I be blamed for what my ancestor did?" he stood up, only to kneel down next to Terra, laying his hand on her shoulder, both her garbs fusing.

"You did nothing wrong Terra. You are the victim here, not the culprit. The heroine, not the villain. You sacrificed your children for the world. That's noble, not monstrous. Please Terra… let it go. You've suffered too much for you to be haunted by it…" He almost begged, laying his other hand on her other shoulder. Terra felt tears trying to move into her eyes, but she repressed them, instead hugging the person that best understood her in an act of relief and gratitude.

"I'll try…" she whispered, her worries and self-blame drifting away with the crackling flames.

* * *

><p>"Alrighty then… seems like we're all set!" Merlina mused from the top of Excalibur as it took off. Slowly ascending, she saw the tall gates to the inside of the city loom on a not-so-distant horizon and smiled like a child. Giggling, she slowly raised her arm in its direction as the only one accompanying her, Noctis raised a brow.<p>

"Anything you got planned?" he questioned, as the whole plan was to simply drive above the gate and drop the soldiers in a surprise attack. Oh was he about to change it. He simply watched as Merlina imitated a gun with her hand, pretended to cock it and said:

"Bang."

Every single living being in the area felt their heart skip five heartbeats as those words echoed. The gate was hit by seemingly nothing at all, but all the same exploded into thousands of boulders that fell down onto the city, crushing the bystanders inside. No incantation, not even a name. And Merlina was just laughing over it.

"And the game is on!" she exclaimed, giggling all the way. Of course, the ship didn't move, people were still too shocked for it, which made Merlina get the entirely wrong impression. "Oh, you want to enter when they are distracted? Oh, sorry about it, here let me create one!" Noctis didn't know what she meant, but she didn't seem to wanna hear it as she summoned a staff. It was about three quarters of her height and was composed of a golden junction between the red oak shaft and the azure orb that served as the head. As if that wasn't enough, five wings sprouted from her, not six as a normal seraph in religion, five, three on the right side and one of the left. And then she actually chanted:

"From the land of the living…" And she stopped, putting her finger on her lips. "Wait, that doesn't make sense, we are not… oh screw it!" a sweat drop rolled from Noctis' side as he saw the woman question her incantation.

"Tewah! Watch and learn!" she shouted, somehow getting the girl's attention, even if there was no way her voice traveled that far. "From the land of the living, I call upon thee on the land of the dead to unleash thy fury of thunder! Let's get started, Indignation!" As she chanted all of this, she was twirling, as if dancing, glyphs shining below her while a cone of energy formed around a large group of s she chanted all of this, she was twirling, as if dancing, glyphs shinning below her while a cone of energy formed around a large group of enemies inside the city, who had barely even recovered from the explosion of the gate. Two streams of lightning rode around it, slowly but surely rotating nearer peak at the top

"Nuclear explosion in three… two… one… BOOOOOOOM!" Merlina counted down the exact time until the lights converged, giving birth to a massive lightning that crashed into the ground with the strength and power of a million, melting the seemingly un-melting ice on the ground and exploding in a dome of brilliance so great it blinded everyone but the caster. "Kay guys, gogogo! They are distracted!" Merlina urged, jumping up and down in excitement, Setzer groaning at the wheel after massaging his eyes but still complying. As they flew, Merlina could only smile as she saw a few dots in the distance. "I love it when a plan comes together."

* * *

><p>"Cloud, Jecht, you know what to do!" Squall exclaimed as the Warriors of Cosmos loomed ever closer to the walls of Pandemonium. Both of their heavy hitters nodded and stood up on their Rheairds while pressing the "return" button. They jumped forward as soon as they became capsules, Bartz moving onto grabbing them. Preparing their weapons and timing their swings, they synchronized a devastating blow onto the side of Pandemonium's wall, completely destroying it, leaving a hole big enough for two Rheairds to go in at a time. As soon as the entire crew managed to pass into it Terra turned back and, with Bartz's and Luneth's help they sealed off the entrance with ice. Terra coughed for a moment, but hid from the others, even if she had no idea why she suddenly felt so much difficulty in pulling from her powers.<p>

"Just on time…" Firion said as he saw the flames around him for the first time, moments before they vanished.

"Yes, the Pandemonium's spells almost took down our protection before we sealed off the entrance." Ceodore acknowledged, looking around. Everyone but him knew of the near organic interior to the Pandemonium, in its pulsing walls, shining tilled ground and filled with traps all over. What he found strange was the complete absence of any threat. "Why would…"

"Chaos is Garland after all. He loves nothing but combat. Why would he try and diminish that rush by weakening us?" Hikari asked, turning to Firion. "Lead the way." Firion nodded and lead them through the turns and curves of the giant castle, in such a fluid and doubtless way that they easily arrived at the giant door to the throne room in a matter of minutes.

* * *

><p>"Just like I remember it," he said, nodding and psychologically patting himself on the back. And then he actually felt a hand patting his back.<p>

"I'm impressed," Lightning said, with the tinniest smile on gracing her lips. That was enough to send Firion into near hyperventilation, much to the amusement of everyone there.

Of course, that hardly lasted, as, without any notice, the gate were suddenly flung open towards the inside of the room, a hot, disturbing wind flushing through it, Terra suddenly feeling sick, almost falling to her knees if not for Shin grabbing her shoulders.

"You alright?" he asked, pulling her up. Terra's eyes glazed for a second, but she slowly nodded.

"I'll be fine…" of course, this didn't inspire trust enough in Shin. It WAS CHAOS after all.

"Terra, stay back. You won't be of any help like this." He told her, looking deep into her eyes, only to see a glint he had thought never to see again shine against them. Animalistic, violent… terrifying.

"I'm going…" she snarled threateningly, entering the room by her lonesome. Worried about her, Shin ran after her, followed by the rest of the heroes, only to find themselves on the crystalline floors of the Pandemonium, Terra standing facing the "God" of Discord, who had predictably called the throne to hell his.

"Greetings… oh Warriors of Cosmos," he greeted, his crimson eyes diverting from the girl and focusing on the crowd surrounding her. "This is… quite nostalgic, don't you agree? I see we have some new additions, but that will only make it more glorious." He mused, delight, confidence and depreciation in his echoing voice.

"Chaos! Or should I say, Garland? Why did you leave yourself in this place instead of following the others?!" Hikari questioned, standing in front of the group before his arch nemesis. Chaos laughed a bellowing laugh, almost… happy. Or was he really in bliss? You could not tell due to how the laugh resembled the torture of souls.

"Do you not understand?" Chaos questioned, shaking his head. "You truly believe you will reach Xehanort's group unscathed? Not one tired, injured or, might I guess, dead?" he questioned, the entire group being at a loss of what to answer. They didn't, but why would he be questioning it? "NO! You shall not! And for that, I stayed behind. For you see… I, Chaos, Garland, have spent most of my existence in an endless cycle of discord versus order. My only goal in life had been… to win said war. To escape the realm that Shinryu had entrapped us both in had faded into my mind. But then I was born again as Garland in Cordelia. I was overjoyed with my freedom… until I realized how empty my life felt. It REQUIRED conflict. And so… I stole away Princess Sarah, knowing that the Warrior had reached my world at that time and set up another time loop. It lasted for… five cycles and those five cycles were wholly unsatisfying. I believed that I would NEVER taste the sweetness of conflict ever again as I sunk into the abyss. Until I was rescued by Lezard," the god of Chaos crossed his arms, closing his eyes as he leaned his head forward.

"He told me everything. About how he planned to bring all worlds together. About the crystals you were using. About how Cosmos still lived. That was where I knew what I had to do. My purpose. I had to truly finish this conflict! Not for their plans. Not for reason. But because that is who I am!" he exclaimed, his eyes jolting open and energy so chaotic and powerful you could feel the discord taking over your thoughts. "I am Chaos! God of Discord. My purpose for eons was to fight Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony! I joined them just for that. Just for one chance, one measly chance of truly putting to rest this battle! I have known nothing else in life. I am unable to know anything else. And now, you stand before me, the paragons of her power, the wielders of all that is "just" in your worlds. The stage is set for my final curtain to fall. I care not for anything else but this battle!"

"Such a sad existence…" Hikari admonished, the existence of such being both disgusting him and wheeling him up with pity. Chaos laughed yet again, the amusement on his voice truly disturbing the heroes.

"Says the one whose only purpose in life was to fight for Cosmos. I was the King of this eternal chess match, you were created as a pawn. How can you insult my purpose, when you were created to serve it?!" he questioned, being responded by something hardly ever seen or heard before. The laughter of the Warrior of Light. He shook it off in mere seconds, but it was still there, unbelievably so. The warrior's face returned to his stern outlook moments later as he explained:

"Be that as it may… the purpose given to us is not the purpose we must follow! We follow the paths laid down by ourselves. You, on the other hand, surrendered yourself to the designs others, for weakness alone!" the warrior exclaimed, his Knight armor appearing in a flash of white flare, blazing light surrounding him even before the transformation. Shin's eyes suddenly shone golden, someone else speaking through his tongue and mouth.

"Chaos… I once believed it to be like you said. We had the path forged for us ever since our birth, but these humans have showed me something. It is something we that proclaim ourselves as Gods do not have. The naiveté to believe they can surpass any obstacle, to forge any road. Time and time again, they walk outside their bonds, and they may be punished for it, but they eventually do whatever they believe they can do, for there are no limits in the world besides the ones you create. This is why I side with them. And that is why you cannot let go of the purpose you had for so long. You do not believe, you do not even try, you just content yourself with whatever you have. That is the reason why you and I fell… and that will repeat itself over and over until the end of creation!" Shinryu told Chaos as the Warriors of Cosmos all summoned their crystals, all their powers taking form in their most powerful forms and their white blaze.

"So… you say you live by the hope of escaping your cages? Hope… does not exist. And even if it did, it'd be nothing but venom slowly poisoning your mind until it broke! You will not sway me with your dreams, for beyond them… even chaos… TEARS ITSELF APART!" the god stood up from his throne and spread open his wings, a blaze of energy throwing most warriors backwards, only Cloud, Hikari, Shin and Terra managing to stay standing. They looked on to see how around chaos floated thirteen dark versions of their own crystals. Seeing their bewilderment, Chaos mocked:

"It is okay to be surprised… but truly, did you believe that your crystals were the end-all be-all of existence? There is no light that doesn't cast a shadow. As your crystals expended power to protect the worlds from the chaotic storm that is the Rift, those energies were tainted, twisted, turned into something else. Through eons, the energy expended by the crystals to keep the Rift and Omega at bay slowly turned into these. The dark crystals, made of purely unbridled energy, chaotic if you will. Mateus' theory brought it to light in the 13th cycle, as did you Jecht!" Chaos exclaimed, Jecht cringing in disgust as he stood back up. "The counterparts to yours… I simply had to find them in Rift, take control of them through sheer power. Subject their Discord into my own. As you proved yourselves to your powers… I proved myself to mine. All for it to take place again. This. The conflict between Order and Discord. The endless cycle of conflict!" He proclaimed all of it as the crystals slowly began entering his body, the energy leaving the being simply frightening. To the point where even the ones on the outside felt its influence.

"And now… we mark but one more chapter in it! Our chapter in this story that shall never end! Let us be once again be a part… of this endless conflict!" he boomed as one more a wave of discord blew past them. This time, all of the warriors got shoved back… all but one.

"I will stop you!" Terra screamed in a distorted voice, her thoughts deteriorating by the second as she charged towards Chaos, body exploding into her Esper Form which she had kept in check until now. She jumped towards Chaos and placed clasped her hands, firing two consecutive Meltdowns moments after. Not stopping there, she roared wildly, the word "thought" no longer truly describing what was in her head. She wildly fired a varied forms of her Riot Energy, all of which seemingly hitting their target. All of which going nothing to stop the claw from nearly breaking her neck as it emerged from the fumes.

"Not you Terra… not you. A mindless beast is not what you are now. Inside, I can still feel your powers being suppressed… Cosmos lives inside you. What better way to battle you than when your own mind corrupts itself and Cosmos? Or shall you defy all odds and finally cleanse yourself from the discord from which your powers feed, effectively becoming nothing more than a shell moving by the strings of Cosmos? What will you do? Turn the powers of Order into nothing but a raging behemoth? Or discard yourself to embrace said Order? That is why. As either the herald of order, that slain herself for its glory or as the one who slayed it for power, it shall be nothing but ecstatic!" he exclaimed, all the while some of his energy seemingly making its way inside Terra. The girl slowly lost consciousness and stopped squirming as her friends ran up to the fight scene, screaming her name desperately. Chaos boomed a resounding laugh and threw her over the edge of the crystalline throne room, into the nothingness below.

"TERRA!" Shin yelled, changing directions to try and meet the falling girl, only for crimson energy to appear in front of him, giving birth to the God of Discord, whose crimson blade descended upon his chest, the armor he wore from Shinryu cracking instantly, along with his ribs, as he was sent back into Cloud's and Squall's arms, who slowly straightened him up.

"As I said… she will be last. For now, Warriors of Cosmos…. Let us go… into the Edge of Madness!"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"You are not my vessel Terra… you were never meant to be."_

_"I do this not for Order, nor for Discord, but for the people I love!"_

_"All must end... in disorder..."_

Decide! Part 2: A Harmonic Dissonance

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><p><span><strong>Post-Chapter Note:<strong> Again, I just hope this was enjoyable as my writing pre-pause. This was mostly build-up and me introducing our favorite not-so-sane mother-figure into the picture, but oh well, next chapter we'll see it all escalate! Soooo, you know how it goes. Please, tell me what you thought of it! Do I still got it? Or at least a part of it? Whatever you liked, disliked, or your rage against the pause… I'm here to take it!


	72. A Harmonic Dissonance

**Author's Note:** Hehehe… Hey guys! How's it going? Cool? Good… good… Look, if I live, you get the chapter. Pokémon took over my mind and I made a special exception on the schedule to give someone a birthday chapter sooo… I hope it was, like Gabe Newell would say, worth the weight.

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

****Chapter Seventy-Two****

****Decide! Part 2****

**A Harmonic Dissonance**

* * *

><p>"Press forward you dumbus! We're useless if we can't even take the plaza!" Merlina shouted as the forces seemed to have come to a halt. As much of an optimist as she was, this was clearly not going as this intend to. If they got pushed back, they'd be locking the crystal bearers into a pincer attack from Chaos and the rest.<p>

"Their forces have no fear of death. They know that if they "die" they will simply get sent back to Yenma's," Neku explained, creating a massive blast with his Bahamut pin as he did so, clearing the area around him.

"So we have to attack their motivation in another way, right?" Ramza pointed out as the three fell back on each other. Thinking to himself, he quickly found a plan: "Commander, can you-"

"Just Mer hun," Merlina told him, helping a faraway squadron by reversing gravity of their enemies, sending them skyward.

"Very well… Mer. Could you do your best to find and finish their commander? Their organization and morale may go down the train if you do," Ramza told her, him and Neku stepping forward: "We can hold our own until you do." He assured, Merlina nodding in agreement.

"Alrightio. Be back in a jiffy!" she promised, spreading her wings and taking to the skies. "Okay, okay, now to find the lea- uh oh…" even she cringed at the sight in the west wing of the plaza leading up to the clock tower. "That's a pretty substantial amount of bodies…" she told herself as she landed near them. She was shocked to see them completely shriveled and decrepit. "Bone dry… so the leader is a vampire, huh? Dracula probably. What IS this? Castlevania?!" she spat, fury coming through her humorous dialogue. She waved her staff to call upon the winds and appeared right atop of the clock tower immediately. "Alright, the jig is up Drac! You either get here and get whipped like a man or I'll have to call Simon Belmont here!" she exclaimed, not bothering to search for magic signs, Vampires had no such thing.

A low chuckle came from above. Merlina quickly looked to the top of the clock tower's peak to in time to see the man laughing maniacally. Wearing mostly yellow with shoulder-length blonde hair and a headband, coupled with the quite… "bizarre" posture, Merlina quickly noticed she was dealing with another kind of Vampire.

"You thought the leader was going to be Dracula but it was I, Dio!" the vampire shouted from the top of the tower. Merlina shook her head and smiled.

"It doesn't really matter. I've learned that the only way to beat a Vampire… is to BURN IT!" she exclaimed, spinning her staff around to create a glyph: "Fire and Light! O ever-throbbing pulse of destruction, set thy steadfast hand upon this heart! Blazing Hearts!" she chanted, both light and blaze converging in her hands before erupting in two streams of blazing rays that shot towards Dio.

"Useless! THE WORLD!" the man exclaimed, suddenly draining all life from the surroundings, converting everything in monochrome while their movement was stripped away from it. "Time has stopped…" he said, summoning an equally yellow golem in front of Merlina. "Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! Useless! USELEES!" He shouted, the incarnation raining down a barrage of blows into Merlina, whose body did not move, even while being hit. Meanwhile, the vampire just jumped out of the way of Merlina's spell. "And time flows again…"

"Wha-"Merlina said before her body felt like it was exploding. She had felt nothing at first, but her body was just now registering the fists of the assailant, damn near pushing her out of the building if not for a barrier created by her mere thoughts. She gasped for air as she coughed blood, checking herself magically to realize how she had quite a few ribs broken and a muscle or two thorn. Nothing internal though. "Time Magic?! On an undead?"

"As expected, you didn't go down at the first try but to find the source of my power so easily… impressive. Oh well, it doesn't matter in any case. I've placed you into Checkmate!" the man exclaimed, reaching for his pocket and retrieving tens of knifes which he fawned like a fan in his hands. Seeing this, Merlina opened her wings and tried to fly upwards, high above the clock tower to escape… like she could. "THE WORLD! It's the end!" Dio blared as the world once again stopped. He proceeded to throw all of his knives with pin point accuracy into Merlina's vital points, which stopped just before hitting her, the time freezing magic catching up to them. Dio milled smugly as he turned his back, closing his hand, the colors of the world returning and time starting to flow as he said: "Hardly a warm-up…"

The colors of the world inverted yet again.

"W-what… I… I can't move… What is happening?!" Dio gargled, for all his experience with Time Magic he found himself barely resisting whatever had just happened. Behind him, from his shadow, Merlina rose, whispering:

"I stopped time. You think you'd pull off the same trick twice against moi?!" she said, touching him and chanting a spell. Dio exploded into light and reformed just where Merlina had previously been. His eyes boggled in terror as Merlina mercilessly said, her tone as cold as ice and eyes amber and hollow: "And time flows again," causing the vampire to suddenly be transfixed by a rain of knives, blood splattering all through the tower as Merlina watched on. With a sickening thud that made the knives plunge deeper into his body and a disgusting splash, the body fell into the very top of the clock tower, impaling itself on the on it.

Merlina shook her head and turned around, ready to head back, but suddenly, a large "WRYY" sound called her attention, along with the sound of metal breaking: "Stubborn… Ice and Wind! O frozen world, awash in the purest white, rain down the final chill curtain to lay these wandering souls to rest... Blizzard!" Merlina said. Her hands shone in two different lights while she chanted, the mage bringing them together and then turning to point at the one that she knew to be coming. Dio tried his best to go through the storm that came upon him, but his mouth was instantly frozen, stopping him from casting anything. His movements were slowly bogged down once his body started to freeze. Extending his hand, the finger touched Merlina's cheek just as he was completely wrapped in ice. Merlina shook her head and turned back once again, shaking the bit of ice from her cheek and leaving behind the statue. "And for good measure… here! Have a Steamroller!"

… And she let a steamroller fall on top of him. Talk about overkill.

"Alrighty, we're on a good track! What about you?" she questioned as she looked upon Pandemonium.

* * *

><p>The answer was… not very good.<p>

"Shin!" Bartz exclaimed as he saw his friend being hurled through two of the crystals in the throne room, crashing into the third one, remaining motionless inside.

"Everyone, deploy! Bathe in the Light!" Hikari ordered, assuming the leadership role he always seemed to try to assume. Creating several pillars of light with his blade, he forced Chaos to dodge to the side, but the Manikin-called-God was faster than he imagined, bouncing on one foot and lunging at the Warrior. "Light!" he cried out, creating a circular shield of luminous force.

"Light will never purge darkness…" Chaos said, one of his fists breaking through the barrier and piercing through the warrior's armor, breaking more than one of his ribs and clubbing him on the back of the head with another of his four fists, throwing his helm away and grabbing his neck with a third limb, the last one summoning a sword. "Drown in despair!"

"Hands off!" Lightning blared, slicing the blade in two with her Zantetsuken. Chaos grunted in distaste and annoying while sending his free extremity, the tail, to wrap around her neck and whip it down, slamming the woman into the crystal floor, the shattering shards digging deep into her skin.

"Thunder is naught but a child of discord!" The God mocked, his foot ready to crush the skill of Valkyrie, and it would've, but thankfully Firion's ropes entangled around it, the Liegemen and the man once called Phantom using both their body's strength to cause a full stop on the body.

"Hey ugly!" Prishe exclaimed, appearing right by the leg. "Open your eyes!" her Auroral uppercut founds its way into the chin of the foe, momentarily whipping the head of the beast upwards.

"An aberration cannot find solace in… ORDER!" Chaos roared, Prishe barely seeing the red glint of his eyes before the dark, broken fangs of Chaos found their way onto her side, biting mercilessly into her right shoulder. As she cried in pain, Jecht and Firion took a more offensive approach and rushed into to save her, dodging Hikari as he was thrown at them. Not one to just stand there as he was besieged from all sides, Chaos instead took to the offensive, stomping the ground with such force it broke under the pressure, exploding in Firion's direction, snarling: "Your nightmares will be dark…" as he slashed at him with his right claws. Firion may have hampered the blow with his lance, but he was taken aback by it, the other two claws hitting home, tearing him diagonally.

"Sunuva…!" Jecht cried out in rage, his hands turning ablaze as he started to wail away on the God of Discord. With each fist a giant blast appeared to singe the skin of the beast and he seemed to be losing ground. He then BACKHANDED Chaos extra hard, throwing through a couple of crystals and jumped upwards, red energy forming between both hands. "Here you go, Jecht Shot Mark Who-Gives-A-FUCK!" he shouted as a gigantic meteor appeared on top of Jecht, which he proceeded to sphere shot INTO Chaos, causing a crimson explosion to boot. "What now bro? Still think you can take the heat?!" Jecht shouted at the smoke.

Laughter. Deep, booming, twisted laughter.

"I find comfort in your bestial instincts!" Chaos boomed from the inside of the blaze. Suddenly, a giant, faster than comprehension column of fire collided with Jecht tethering him back. "Eradication!" Chaos let out three more of the flaming columns, all of them connecting with Jecht's body, sending the ace barreling into a giant crystal, his shoulder being impaled in it and having him hang by it.

"Pride, go!" Zidane ordered as they the monkey-boy speared into Chaos with his weapons in tow, aura covering his body. Chaos grabbed him easily but quickly realized that was just a trap: "Your arrogance will be your undoing," he told Zidane as the god and the money vanished from the crossfire of Ragnarok Blade and Blasting Zone. Appearing atop of the battlefield with no one to realize where he was, Chaos grabbed the Genome's neck and plunged downwards with him at blinding speed, slamming Zidane into his best friend Bartz with a sickening thud, instantly followed by a crash as both of the young men got squashed against the ground. Slowly rising Chaos looked down on the two knocked out friends, shaking his head.

"The mortal desire for power knows no limits," he said, not even looking to the side as he grabbed Squall's Lionheart. "And no lion can crawl out of the abyss," Squall guarded against every possible blow from Chaos' arms. And that was his mistake. Chaos' spike tail hit him hard, gashing his abdomen and leaving him wide open: "Perish!" Chaos roared, slashing twice more at Squall, the man with the Lionheart falling near lifeless on the ground. "It is about time I end one of these lives," Chaos said, summoning yet another blade. "Goodbye, lion!" The fell blade singed the air with its descent that stayed true, but was hampered by a gleaming green white barrier created by Ceodore as he stood in the way between the sword and Squall. "You are nothing but a foolhardy replacement!"

"Ceodore!" The prince heard his name being called, staggering into his knees due to the amount of pressure Chaos was putting behind his blade. As his barrier cracked, Cloud and Vaan swooped in, Ultima Weapon and Wyrmhero Blade in hand and slammed them into Chaos' blade, Luneth following it up with a hail of comets to push Chaos back. Cloud then landed near the prince and yelled: "Get to the others! We'll be fine while you fix them up!"

Ceodore felt just downright insulted at Cloud's remark. He could do so much more than healing. He had trained all his life to be a knight, a dragoon, a paladin, all that and more. Why would he stand back?

"Please… Ceo," he suddenly heard someone say, one more hand touching his shoulder and pulling him back, Shin passing by his side. The area where he had been hit was still armor-less and mostly skin-less and each step he took showed a bit of a grimace on his face. Worried, Ceodore had to ask:

"Don't you need me to heal your torso?" he questioned, catching he attention of the dragon-knight, who simply turned back and smirked.

"I fixed the bones. The rest of the guys need it more," he assured, the glint of determination in his eyes causing Ceodore to take a dry gulp and nod. Not the most glorious way to battle, but everyone needed to make sacrifices and play to their strengths. He understood that now. "Alright everyone, let's go demon-hunting!" Shin exclaimed, the trio nodding and rushing at the now recovering Chaos, jumping him just as he managed to get on his feet.

* * *

><p>Flaming rage. Corrupting Madness. The blaze of hatred. The call of the wild.<p>

Terra could not think as she fell both down the chasm Chaos had let her fall into, but also into the depths of her own mind. No memories would go into her deteriorating consciousness, instead they flashed, and she felt the emotions. They all blurred together and clashed inside her, only increasing her unending want to… she did not even know what. Lash out? That's what discord does. It lashes out and creates more discord.

She then felt the cold water hitting her blistering skin. Her gaze was reddened, as was her will. Her claws hungered for something to unleash all this uncontrollable power in. The beast that Terra had become smelled the air and whipped her neck to the side, sighting her target. Terra herself, whatever consciousness she had left at least, watched in horror as the creature ran on all fours towards her prey, jumping like the predator it had become.

And then it all went dark again.

Terra's eyes fluttered open, her head and body seemingly back into the grasp of her own volition. Her violet eyes soon met Cosmos' sapphire like ones, giving her the shock of a lifetime.

"COMOS?!" She downright yelled, trying to leave her lap, only to have Cosmos hold her tighter.

"Do not move Terra… I cannot protect anything other than the throne," Cosmos whispered, her eyes drifting and Terra's following them. To her shock, there was something clawing at thin hair mere centimeters away from her. It disturbed her more than anything walking on this land.

She was staring at her greatest fear. A creature of a size eerily similar to hers had just jumped back once their eyes had met, landing on four paws. It leered at Terra with hollow red pupils, the rest of its eyes an eerie yellow. Terra couldn't get a good look on her body, as so much crimson and dark energy exuded from it seemed like a spawn of Chaos. You could not see the real body, the one Terra knew the shape off as the aura almost seemed to take the form of a demonic beast, ready to jump its prey. Its aura seemed to form two demon-like wings, also possessing a whipping energy tail and finally two horns, one broken. The only thing she could distinguish from her body were its darkened white fangs and the yellow claws. She knew what Chaos had tried to do to her…

"I was left with no other choice Terra. This is why I still exist," Cosmos told her softly, knowing Terra would not lock eyes with her. "I gave my life to make you whole again, but I refused to leave you without doing everything in my power to make this right. I took every shred of my being that still remained after the spell and I infused you with it. I had originally intended to fade away into nothingness as you slowly began to understand the powers I had gifted you with but… seeing you fall so deep into madness, I had to intervene," she explained, gaining the eyes of the girl she had saved. Terra was speechless. She suspected Cosmos had left some power in her, yes, but a part of her being? She had denied the peace she deserved and willingly chained herself into her body?

"Cosmos… I'm so-"she began, but Cosmos shook her head.

"It is not a time for idle banter Terra. I cannot do much outside of removing yourself from your Esper side. You must conquer it if you are to help your companions in the battle they are facing!" Cosmos exclaimed, images of Shin and Cloud breaking through crystals while Vaan struggled to stand up, Luneth down for the count, filled Terra with despair.

"But Cosmos… my strength, it all came from my Esper side. I… when I lost I felt weak… useless. How can I fight something as powerful as it?" Terra asked, the comforting hand of Cosmos passing through her cheek.

"We are inside you. This is not a battle of strength, but will. Use my power to help you in your battle and tame your Esper, only then can you wake," Cosmos told Terra, who soon felt a warm, serene sensation entering her body. No rest could be taken as Terra's berserk Esper side roared in such a way even the mental representation of Order's sanctuary began to break apart, water around her becoming dark and muddy, fissures forming volcanic ridges randomly through the area, some even spewing lava. "Terra, you must defeat it. You'll then be able to use the remnants of my power to transform your chaotic power into a controllable one," Worst of all, the sphere around Cosmos seemed to crack. Filling herself with every scrap of determination she could muster, the will to save her friends, the will she inherited from Cosmos and most of all, the will to finally put her inner conflict to rest, Terra stood up, Ultima Weapon in hand.

"I'm going," she told Cosmos.

"I'll be here, watching you bloom," Cosmos assured, making Terra bite her lip of a moment before shaking her head and leaving the bubble.

The Esper stopped roaring. It just stood still for a moment; as if it was incredulous Terra was not trembling. Instead, there was a bittersweet expression in her lips as she trailed towards her, stopping once there was barely a body of space between them. She looked downwards into her own self and smiled.

"I knew someday it would come to this. I had just hoped it would be just between the both of us, and not a fight steered by Chaos. But I understand that we're not going to change it now. I'll show you how I'm worthy of our power!" Terra stated, creating the beam saber and taking the first step as her Esper lunged at her soon after.

* * *

><p>As Terra had seen, our heroes weren't having the best of times against the powered up Chaos, and while they managed to get a strike in here and there, it was obvious who was wearing out faster.<p>

"I truly expected more from you, Warriors of Cosmos," Chaos mocked, crushing the left leg of Vaan under his clawed feet. The Sky Pirate groaned but did not cry. "You cannot even walk now. Do you still wish the skies?" Chaos asked him, suddenly teetering forward as something exploded on his back. He turned his head to see Luneth, clad in his Sage outfit, with his staff pointed at him and charging.

"I g-got more w-where that came from!" Luneth shouted, doing his best to not appeared as terrified as he was.

"Little fool, you're shivering!" Chaos mockingly exclaimed. "But I shall give reason to that shiver! Vanish!" the god roared, jumping in midair and descending diagonally in the Onion Knight's direction.

"Got you!" Luneth replied with a smirk, waving his hand to reveal a massive amount of formerly transparent gravity-spheres. "Going up!" commanding the gravity spheres to shift, they bolted upwards like canon-balls, managing to not only stop Chaos but to project him into the sky, where Cloud and Shin were expecting him.

"The Omega treatment?" Shin asked rhetorically, Cloud nodding as they both started ravishing Chaos with their steel, each blow faster and more powerful than the other, vanishing and reappearing much like the duo had done to Omega. With a triumphant cry, both delivered the final, explosive blow that covered the battlefield in ashes.

"Did we get him?" Luneth asked while Cloud and Shin looked into the dark smoke. Only to meet two glints of red.

"Take this!" in mere moments, they were besieged by uncountable shockwaves that cut through them as Chaos spun around in a whirlwind of carnage. Shin got shot down of the air, but Cloud managed to remain, losing altitude but still beating his wing, standing defiant against the god of discord. "You think yourself determined, but I can see the weakness of your heart!" Chaos exclaimed, vanishing from Cloud's sight and reappearing behind him, kneeing him in the back so hard Cloud spat blood like a canon. "Watch in Awe!" vanishing again, Chaos appeared on top of Cloud and slashed with his claw downward. "Pathetic pawn!" this continued to happen for almost a minute, any conscious person only able to watch as he was shred over and over again, blood flying like rain. "Drown in your dreams!" and then, all four of Chaos' claws penetrated Cloud.

"CLOOUD!" Shin roared, lunging at Chaos while it dropped his companion limp on the floor.

* * *

><p>Terra was faring better, but not faring well. The Esper moved much more fluently and faster than she was ever able to, twisting, turning, lunging, retreating, all like a true felyne, but one that had access to powerful magic. Terra cringed once her other self's claw missed her neck by only millimeters, even if she had jumped back to avoid the attack. She did note of a strange hissing sound coming from the blow she dodged though. Once she landed on the now boiling water though, she felt something strange in her neck. Her palm became crimson at the mere touch. Moments later, she began coughing blood.<p>

"_S-she made the air vibrate… with a just one swing of her arm," _Terra concluded while jumping in the air to avoid another lunge. She quickly did her best to fix up her throat with a Curaga, thanking god the wound was not a deep gash, for that'd need a giant amount of energy. The rampaging beast looked up towards her prey and groaned, swallowing hard before letting loose a massive torrent of flames from its mouth. "Her magic manipulation skills are far more developed than mine!" Terra exclaimed, whirling around the torrent and only barely summoning a wall of ice to block the pair of claws that came from above as she did. The beast even seemed able to teleport!

"_Only if you believe it to be…"_ Cosmos resounded on Terra's mind as the girl struggled to keep the creature at bay. _"You have her power plus mine. She is simply you. You are one and the same. Calm yourself and show her how powerful your will is!" _Terra knew Cosmos to be right.

"_She's just as strong as me… whatever chaotic power injected in her is, I have Cosmos watching my back. Her's just comes naturally… but I cannot give up! They are fighting without me. They are waiting for me. I can't let Shin… everyone… I can't let them fight our fights without me!"_ Terra's soul cried, her vision suddenly shifting. She could see it all. Every strand of magic on her surroundings had gained shape and color. The Espers was nothing but a tightly sewn tapestry of strings. Reaching out to touch one of the flying strings, Terra heard a faint sound. "I… understand now!" she exclaimed, weaving her hands in the air as if she was pulling the strings. "I can hear it. I can see it. I can feel it! I can use it!" she mentally pulled the string that she knew to be wind, an explosion of wind slicing through both the Esper's aura, the ice and drawing a small amount of blood, but most importantly keeping it back. "Winds and Flames become one! O flames of hell, bring unto them the wrath of the lord of fire... Flare Tornado!" pulling on various strings at the same time, Terra's ears heard the raging sound of a violin as the wind caught fire and began to rotate, carrying it's victim into an ending blaze of whirling winds.

"I knew you could do it…" Cosmos told Terra as she landed on the darkened water, water that was purified by her mere touch, a little of the Sanctuary's former shine reappearing in the girl.

"I still have a long way to go," Terra replied while she looked into the whirling magic. She was not surprised to see it suddenly explode, leaving only cinders to dance around the Esper. Terra's Espers seemed more… aware now. Her eyes seemed more focused and she was assuming a standing, more human appearance, even if she was flying. She bit the side of her mouth violently, drawing blood, which evaporated after contacting with her aura. Opening her palm, Terra saw the Esper create something she both hated and had accepted as of now. A scythe of pure Riot energy. She gave a slow chuckle and shook her head: "I guess… I really am a reaper," and so did she summon the very same weapon. Her soul called out for the strings and her vision changed again. Pulling another with her mind, the water beneath her feet rumbled. "Flood…" she whispered, the torrent of water shooting her towards her destination.

Groaning in surprise, the Esper blocked it with her own scythe but was still pushed back. Terra took this opportunity to spin around, delivering another strike to her opponent, this one connecting as it screeched in agony while flesh met energy. However, she quickly reacted, by grabbing onto it and injected crackling lightning into it, which spread too fast for Terra to even dismiss the weapon, the pain of the shock numbing her whole body, but especially her hand.

The Esper then wildly swung her own scythe, barely missing Terra as she purposely lost altitude. Spinning in midair, the Espers used the spin to have her energy-made tail collide with the side of Terra, the energy being enough to severely burn the girl, even if she felt no impact from mere aura. Not giving Terra any time to rest, she enveloped her into a gravitational bubble and threw her down into the ground. She thought of giving chase, however she soon found the spell had turned against the mage as she felt HERSELF go down. Terra had manipulated ice to create a handcuff that connected them, and for that they both crashed.

Starting to stand up, Terra shook her head again. "For a moment there… it was as if I could see into your thoughts. I… I think I felt what you are feeling," Terra suddenly said, surprising both the Espers and Cosmos. The Esper took this stop as a sign of both insult and fear and roared at Terra, getting back on all fours and lunging at her. "Don't you see? It's useless. I know everything you're going to do," Terra explained, blocking the beast with a barrier made of the same energy she used on her sight. Again, something strange happened though, it was like the Esper KNEW what terra was about to do, and had teleported behind her, only to find a barrier also stationed behind. "But you also know everything I'm going to do…" Terra explained before turning and firing a shot of Firaga onto her opponent, who surprised herself by dodging a point-blank attack. "Strange, isn't it?"

She felt… weird. Too calm. Was this Cosmos power? Or her own? Maybe they were one and the same at this point. She summoned a column of lighting on the Esper, which barely dodged. She could feel what the Esper felt, even if it was just a mess of emotions as it ran towards her. She dodged the predicted claw slash and jumped out of the ground as the Espers made it break down with magic.

It was then, in midair, that she was hit with an epiphany. She could hear the voices drumming on her head. Voices of what she once thought to be the solution.

"_Tame it."_

"_Control it." _

"_Purge it." _

"_Ignore it. _

"_Destroy it."_

"_Conquer it!"_

"I was so wrong…" the Half-Esper said, dismissing her scythe and lowering herself to ground level.

"Terra, what are you doing?!" Cosmos screamed in tandem with the roar of the Esper.

"I don't have to hurt it…" Terra said, closing her eyes and opening her arms as the Esper jumped at her. "I know how it feels…" she suddenly stepped forward and threw her arms around the flying Esper, who clashed with her at a force her body would not stand for, throwing them rolling across the smaller and smaller water streams. They soon stopped and the Esper was the first to take action. It tried to pry herself out of Terra's hold, but it was not to happen. Seeing this, it pulled and prepared to dig her fangs into her other selves' neck.

"I'm scared too…" Terra told the Esper and sit stopped, locking eyes with her human self, as if expecting to hear something more, hoping even. "Anger and hatred are there, but it's much more than that. You're confused… sad… afraid. You don't know what you are, you will never meet anyone like yourself and… you don't even know if you'll just cease to be," she pulled her into her chest, the aura burning and churning her skin, but she would not let that stop her. "I've lived all my life like that," Terra explained, the Esper's eye opening wide. "I know what you are. The personification of my instincts. Chaos must have given you just enough power for you to appear. And, in many ways, you seemed to be everything I ever feared. A heartless beast, who thought nothing of hurting others and cared only for destruction. But once we linked, I knew it was not like that. You're... just like me,"

"No. You are me. I do not have do hurt you. I do not have to control you. The one thing I need to do is… accept you,"

And, as if Terra had spoken the magic words, the Esper's cloak of aura vanished completely, Terra's Esper form not shinning as the light returned to the shrine. Terra's Esper pulled her head back and looked into Terra's, asking an unsaid question.

"You will not vanish. You and I are one and the same. We'll both live on," Terra told herself, releasing her other self and slowly standing up, the center of her body and her two-piece burned to tatters. "Now… shall we go? Our friends need us…" Terra said with the warmest smiles and watched as the Esper's eyes began to turn violet, water forming on their edges. It did not take her hand. Instead it jumped into her arms and pulled her into one last embrace.

"Thank… you…" Terra and Cosmos were shocked that the Esper even managed to understand speech, much less talk. But it was one of the most heartfelt thank yous she would ever hear.

"I should be the one saying it, "Terra replied as she pulled her head back, smiling at the Esper as it completely returned to the normal trance form. With one last smile, two became one once again.

Terra had no words to accurately describe what she felt. It was such an overwhelming sense of happiness, fulfillment, hope and… acceptance. She felt whole. For the first time in her life, she felt like one person. One complete person.

"Cosmos…" she said, her tone much more mature and serene. "I know how to use your power… my powers are chaotic by nature. To use your remnants to pacify it would make me unable to be me again. No. I'll not control my power with yours. That is my task alone. I will use your powers to direct it. To stop it from taking over me," Terra explained, knowing that to change her essence would be the ultimate disrespect to herself and everyone who ever cared for her. She only needed a way to channel that power without having it go haywire, a way to use it fully without fear of repercussions. And by the look on Cosmos' expression, she had got it.

"You've grown out of my protection Terra. Go! There is no time for goodbyes. They need you! Awaken!"

Eyes wide open.

* * *

><p>"I expected more from you, Shinryu!" Chaos boomed, kicking Shin in the stomach. The knight barely managed to keep on his feet after getting projected backwards by the blow, but he somehow managed to stand firm. "As much as I am enjoying this battle, I must confess even I am finding this to be foolish. You can barely stand and I am barely harmed. Just sit back and wait… I'll let you watch the spectacle to come," Shin's eyes shone once again at this comment.<p>

"**She's not some cattle to dance for your amusement!**" Shin roared, enchanting his blade with Almagest and slashing at the God, effectively causing a deep gash across his sternum. Chaos paced back, hands on the wound and eyes filled with disbelief. "**I will-**"

"**Die for your petty hope!"** Chaos boomed in a voice reserved only for gods, shaking the souls of even the ones outside the palace. "Face the ultimate!" Before Shin could react, the ground around chaos, him included, erupted into magma and sent him upwards. "On your KNEES!" Chaos then showered him with a rain of red spheres of flame. Shin tried to block them, but they were too many. "FEAR ME!" Chaos boomed, creating a massive sphere, easily three times as big as Shin, between his arms just as Shin staggered from the onslaught. "This is the end!" he finished as he threw the finishing strike at Shin. At the same moment, an eruption of violet energy erupted from the side of the room, from the void Chaos had dropped Terra into. "Too late…" Chaos mocked.

"For who?" the voice he was only half expecting to hear asked, far closer than he imagined her to be.

Just by Shin's side and holding his final fireball stood none other than Terra, her body shinning like never before in her Esper form. Her aura had changed to a pure flame that crackled calmly as it surrounded her entire body. On her back, her aura intensified, forming two ethereal wings around her, much like the ones in Cosmos' symbols. The phantom wings majestically moved as if they were alive, even though Terra did not need them to fly.

"How?! Your magic… it feels the same, yet you are sane. How could you control it without Cosmos subsiding it?" Chaos questioned as Terra landed with Shin.

"I accepted it and it accepted me. With Cosmos' power helping me channel the power, I have nothing to fear. My magic is neither Cosmos symphony or the disturbance it once was. It became something else… Cosmos called it an Harmonic Dissonance," Terra told Chaos before looking around. "But I am not here to talk. You are beyond reasoning. Let's put an end to this… CHAOS!" Terra, defying any expectations from Chaos, took the innovative, viciously throwing the sphere at Chaos, which exploded in crimson. Chaos' own power had turned against him, and for the first time in the battle apart from Shin's desperate slash, he felt threatened and hurt.

"Riot… Scythe!" from the fire, Terra suddenly appeared, cloaked in Cosmos' blaze.

"Impudent…" Chaos groaned, vanishing from Terra's sight. "You are weak!" Terra looked up to see Chaos preparing a blade to throw at her. "Cease to exist!" he roared, Terra taking a deep breath and chanting:

"Riot… Boomerang!" as she threw her sight, which then changed shape that she called for. Not only did it cut through the blade, but it also cut through the side of Chaos. Knowing this would happen, Terra had already teleported behind Chaos and arrived just in time to receive the energy she had just thrown, revering it into a scythe and slicing downward.

And it hit.

Chaos barely managed to escape with his life as his horn was cut, but the scythe had lodged itself deep into the side of his body because of it, as he had only managed to get the head out of the way. Terra's vision once again changed to her magical senses and she grabbed onto the strings that were originating from her own body, remembering the same sensation she had felt during her fight with Jenova.

"Father… give me strength!" she cried out, a more vivid violet energy congregating between both claws as a screeching sound began to be heard by everyone in the vicinity. "Chaos… WAVE!" she chanted, deploying a large violet wave of energy at point-blank range, engulfing Chaos' entire body and moving erratically diagonally crashing onto the crystal throne, destroying it completely.

"S-She did it!" Luneth exclaimed… again. The little boy started to run it towards Terra as the others still stood dumbfounded at the display of overwhelming power.

"Don't!" Terra tried while landing. It didn't take less than a moment for everyone to realize why. As a massive, twisted roar crossed the room, Vaan, Cloud, Shin, Bartz, Zidane and Terra knew what was coming next. They just knew it.

A figure started approaching from the smoke, Terra noticed it was as she had predicted. It was on all fours.

Feral Chaos.

"All must end...in disorder…" the thing spoke, an improvement over the last one, which only made it all the more terrifying.

"Everyone! Get up, we need to-"Shin shouted until a voice talked over him.

"No Shin. Everyone needs to rest up. I can take him on for now…" Terra assured him. Now, you can imagine everyone's shock when Terra…

Stood on all fours.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

"_Sorry for the wait old man!"_

"_To the Edge of Fantasy!"_

"_Brionac!"_

Decide! Final Part: God In Fire

* * *

><p><span><strong>Post-Chapter Note:<strong> Finally I have engaged to the "complete badass" mode on Terra that I've been building up for all this time. She is finally one with her Esper now and things are going to get hectic. Don't worry, the others will catch up to her, at least somewhat, eventually. Can't have her be the only star… unfortunately.

Shin: HEY!

Shut up. Anyway, after this, you can call it hiatus even, what did you think? Come on, you know how much I appreciate the presses on that little box of text down below! Tell me all about your anger and such!


	73. God In Inferno

**Author's Note:** Exams, Christmas specials, university, Pokémon. There. Those are the reasons. Won't give some speech about them. I'm back and I'm sorry. Without further ado, enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

****Chapter Seventy-Three****

****Deicide! Part 3****

**God In Inferno**

* * *

><p>"Commander!" one of the soldiers exclaimed as he made his way to Ramza's side, wheezing and puffing.<p>

"How is the situation on the outskirts of the town?" Ramza questioned as he got his arm fixed after the battle.

"We've successfully routed most of the enemies… but some of the cloaks started to fade," the soldier explained, turning to the ship. "We evacuated everyone to the Excalibur who showed signs of extreme cold or frostbite, but I'd reckon it's just a-"

"Twenty-three minutes." Merlina interrupted, snapping her fingers to teleport the man back into the ship. "My cloak has twenty-three minutes left. Which means that's as far as we go now… we have to get back to the ship and wait for the best."

"What about the ones inside the castle?" Ramza asked back, finally realizing where that constant breeze was coming.

"Oh don't worry…" Merlina said, looking in the distance to see a small dot of yellow running down the street. "I sent someone just in case that they needed na extra boost!"

* * *

><p>"Terra… you aren't going to-" Shin began, the memories of the last time she had gotten on all fours… okay, let me word it better, the last time she prowled like an animal, not being the best, or in that vein, least painful memories he ever had.<p>

"Don't worry everyone… I'm in control," Terra answered even though her aura seemed to betray it. It was flaring outwards from the body, hiding it nearly completely under its grasp. The violet lightning seemed to be as wild and untamed as Chaos' feral flames, but they did feel different. While both felt, wild, brutal, chaotic, their bodies… didn't feel the need to step away from Terra. There was a certain calmness around her that just assured them it was going to be okay. Like someone you knew very well was handling a horde of tigers.

Feral Chaos roared in destruction and rage, the hot air pushing everyone but Terra back. Instead of doing anything to the Esper girl, it only pushed the "unnecessary" parts of her aura back. The more distorted, wilder parts of her aura were blown off by the roar, leaving something that was slowly gaining shape. Terra's slender and frail frame seemed to give birth to something much larger, much more threatening, something that looked like it was born as an avatar of the very same power she was harnessing. It took the form felyne creature brimming with power, its features distorted by the energy's ephemeral nature, it looked like it was really a tiger made of lightning. Fitting considering Terra's Raijū ascendency.

Both the creature and Terra then pumped up their chest full of air and boomed a roar of defiance back at Chaos. The roar was a strange one, on one hand, it was bombastic and full of power as one would expect from a large monster, but on the other it was sharp, cutting, shrill, the air barely vibrating at enough speed to make it listenable. And this did not just push the Warrior's back. No, this knocked them off their feet and HURLED them through the air while the very space around the Esperkin was cracking under the shrill vibrations mixed with the bellowing burst of the girl's roar. Chaos himself was being taken aback by the roar, hell, for him it seemed to be even worse, his expression was contorted in veritable pain as the Esper's roar seemed to have been somehow directed in it's full to him.

"Yeah, I'm sitting this one out." Luneth said, shaking his head to get rid of the annoying lingering crackling the roar had left. Truth be told, he wasn't exactly fine with doing it, but after that "foreplay" to the battle, he knew his usefulness would be clearly negative.

"I know what you must be feeling at this point, however, in all honesty, I'd say you'd be more of a burden on her as of now." Hikari told Shin, blocking the path between him and the measuring duo.

"_He's right, you know?"_ Shinryu added, mentally highlighting Shin's still broken ribs and less-than-stellar muscle state right now. _"If anything, wait until Cecil's kid heals you up before jumping in. She has more credentials at Godslaying than you or me really. I just scared gods, rarely actually killed one."_ Shinryu added for emphasis.

"I feel horrible about it but… you're right. Let's help Ceodore." Shin nodded, taking up Cloud's wounded body over his shoulder and heading towards Cecil's child. Another roar claimed his attention.

Feral Chaos had apparently decided to break the stare down on his own accord, the roar signaling the start of its offensive. The massive beast hurled its entire body through the air, claws vying for Terra's body and crimson energy covering its entire body. A wheezing sound was heard and the Esperkin simply… vanished. It wasn't just for the Warriors of Cosmos, Chaos himself seemed distraught for the few moments he knew not where she had gone to. Its powers quickly adapted as the gigantic body displayed unspeakable agility by turning from ventral to dorsal position immediately to meet the newly reappeared Terra on his back. Shin could only wonder if that was magic or simply speed. No matter, Chaos had been too late to catch her on arrival, her clawed hand was already descending upon its face. Chaos' instinct kicked in and it drove his head back, narrowly escaping the swipe. The battle then completely turned its direction.

A screeching sound resembling the sound of nails scratching a chalkboard amplified a thousandfold brought Shin to his knees, his ears crying for mercy and his eyes barely keeping themselves from shutting closed. Glad he was that that didn't happen as he could see firsthand as Chaos got the even shorter end of the stick. Even though he had CLEARLY dodged the claw swipe, his face exploded in a crimson liquid and his body was slammed into the glassy pavement headfirst, the shockwaves multiplying as his body went deeper and deeper into the Pandemonium's floor. He formed a crater twice as big as his size just with that one, seemingly dodged blow. Shin looked on in shock as a small rose-like darkened crystal rolled into his knees.

"Lightning's crystal?" Shin gasped, grabbing onto the jewel. "No… this one is Chaos' dark crystal. Did she just…" another few seconds answered the unasked question by themselves. Terra propelled herself from her position and midair and landed with all four claws stabbing into the wheezing Feral Chaos, causing yet another screeching shockwave. The Goddess' Magicite then appeared to be shot into the air, landing right next to Luneth's feet.

"She's beating the crystals straight out of Chaos!" Luneth exclaimed. "Go Terra!" the kid exclaimed, his childlike purity enabling him to snap from the shocking revelation the fastest.

"Terra had this much in her all this time?" Shin asked himself as he lay down Cloud near Ceodore, who was working on fixing Firion's injuries.

* * *

><p>Back in the crater, Chaos, now removed of all the initial shock, prepared its counter-attack. Grabbing the Esper girl's sides, he heaved her upwards and threw her straight into the air. Getting back on all sixes, Chaos hit the ground with all of his paws to spear upwards into the sky, sharpened wings cutting the air in a spiral as he spun. But again, just as one of the wings was about to hit Terra, another screech broke out and she was gone, reappearing sliding on the ground on all fours.<p>

Grunting in displeasure, the God of Discord pulled back his deformed leg appendage, charging it with energy momentarily and unleashing a barrage of semi-circular waves of flame towards the girl. Still on her fours, Terra swiftly maneuvered herself through the barrage, weaving, ducking and jumping away from the blazing projectiles on her way to Chaos' position. Seeing her shot once the barrage came to a halt, she used all the power she had on her hind legs to make a spearing jump towards the manikin. It wasn't until it was too late that the Esper descendant saw Chaos' wings arch backwards and flap with all of their intensity forward, unleashing a cyclonic stream of burning hot winds that ensnared her in the storm. For the first time, Shin saw Terra show pain.

"Don't even think about it kid." Jecht warned, not even sitting up to stop Shin. The older man was still receiving treatment himself, which meant Shin was still on queue for it.

"Terra…" Shin whispered, wishing Ceodore would hurry up and heal him for him to jump back in action.

"Not… yet!" Terra screamed suddenly, her tiny body pulling all the air it could and storing it deep within it. For a moment, all her aura ceased. Moments, later, the very air around her broke down with her ear-raping roar, the vibrations so intense and plenty that the ground far beneath her cracked open, along with parts of the wings of Chaos. Her aura then flared back open and, with a sling of her claws, a veritable maelstrom of wing formed around Chaos, sucking the would-be-god in. "Riot… TOMAHAWK!" she cried, creating the very same weapon with her violet energy, with it slamming down the god of Discord. A replica of Prishe's crystal and Tidus' flew off him as he impacted on the ground.

Dismissing the weapon, Terra landed once again on all fours. She did not move, almost as if she knew what was coming. It didn't seem to faze her as the creature devoid of reasoning leapt out of the smoke, blazing in anger. She simply gracefully dodged the claws, driving both of her own into the monster's stomach, both creating yet another screeching shockwave and sending Zidane's crystal flying from its back. This would not be the end of Chaos though, as his top right claw swept down at Terra's neck, even the now seemingly untouchable girl barely managing to stop in its track with her own clawed hand. The left one did the same, barely surprising the young woman, whose other hand just easily bragged on to it. Forget she did about how many arms Chaos possessed. Mere moments later, Terra felt claws pierce through the sides of her torso and abdomen, locking her in place as blood seeped down from her ribcage. Cringing in pain, one could see the terror in her face for the mere moment she was able to see Feral Chaos' infernal maw opening up a clamping up on the girl's entire shoulder.

A tidal wave of blood accompanied the blood-curling scream crossed the air. Terra's body squirmed heavily in agony, each movement only causing the several knife-like teeth of feral Chaos to sink more into her flesh. Terra's neck bent backwards due to the pain, her eyes losing focus as her aura wavered and with it her consciousness.

"TERRA!" Shin exclaimed, throwing caution to the wind and running haphazardly towards the grim sight of his lover. "Let her go you bas-"

"Shin…" he heard, stopping in his tracks to see a small reassuring smile resting on Terra's lips. "Stop… I can…" as she spoke, her now fanged teeth slowly started to lose its white glow, slowly turning more and more violet. Her eyes also seemed to have woken up. Shin's mind told him to stop, but his heart urged him to keep running. If he had to stand for more than a moment, he'd have dashed again. But he didn't. "Do this! Riot…" Terra's aura suddenly exploded again, the imagery of the beast of thunder wreathed in violet lightning appearing once again, this time with maw wide open. "FANG!" Shin watched in shock as his girl bit Chaos back in the shoulder opposite to hers, to what seemed to be little more than an annoyance. It was surprising her fangs had pierced its skin, but it wasn't doing any damage… or was it?

Suddenly, Feral Chaos let go off Terra, who fell managed to flip in the air and land with all but her bitten arm on the ground. Between its grunts of dissatisfaction and blind clawing, Shin realized it must've been truly in pain. It only intensified with time, only seconds passing before his very skin starting to crackle and break under an unknown power. With another roar, this time one of pain, Feral Chaos' skin exploded in a violet light, not one, not two but THREE crystals, Squall's, Cloud's and Bartz's flying out of the agonizing monster.

"What did you do Terra?" Shin asked as he rushed to her side. Terra was busy licking her wounds much like an animal, her saliva glistening with the same light a Curaga spell would emit. Her shoulder, at first appearing to be lost for good had only superficial wounds now, which were quickly closing mind you. Leaving the wounds to apparently treat themselves, Terra turned back to Shin and made her aura vanish, shaking her head.

"I injected my own energy into Chaos. Without me keeping it in check, the energy made quite a riot," She answered with a half-smile, eyeing the creeping shadow left out on the explosion. "Now go to Ceodore Shin. Chaos is my opponent. I owe that much to Cosmos." Terra told him, motioning him back, suddenly turning back to the eruption of violet energy.

"Destruction…" growled Chaos for the first time ever since the transformation. A moving pillar of flame exploded from where Chaos was, Terra barely dodging with an instinct-filled sideward jump. Then, she saw another one. But this wasn't even heading for her.

"SHIN!" Terra screamed, vanishing from her position and standing in-between Shin and the blast. "Cover your ears!" not one to question Terra in a situation like this, Shin did as he was told. He watched again as Terra's small frame sucked in air, her aura flaring, encompassing him with its wild warmth and apparently shielding him from the distorting sound, the screech sounded to be far more far away than it actually was, something Shin would complain nothing about, that kind of sound point-blank would do permanent damage.

As the warmth faded, so did his awareness. Around him was nothing but glass-shards along with a crater to the endless darkness for he and Terra stood on a small circle of the remaining ground, the one thing to have survived the lines of destruction Chaos' Via Dolorosa had created. He could see his savior still standing, wheezing slightly at the effort, the wild hair losing some of its gleam before lighting back up.

"Shin, go to Ceodore, please. I can't protect you for much longer." Terra's calm and honest words hit Shin like a harpoon.

"I… I'm sorry Terra. Just tell me, how?" he asked while he waited for his wings to materialize, sluggish was the word for their speed at this point. A small comforting giggle came from Terra.

"Sound." She replied as she vanished again with the same screech, leaving Shin to ponder.

"_Sound? Is that the true form of her power?"_ Shin questioned himself and Shinryu, the dragon inside's thoughts as confused as his were.

"_That would be far too simplistic for this display. I'd keep my eyes peeled if you want to capitalize on it during the battle. If we have no need for it, just ask Terra like the pet you are after it."_ The dragon said, adding the very last part for some really out-of-place spite.

"We don't have time for this," Shin snapped back, opening his wings and flying back to Ceodore, who was nearly done with Cloud, leaving only him.

Looking back he saw both Chaos and Terra trading blows repeatedly as they vanished and reappeared in the positions that they bet would give them the advantage, explosions of shock and fire being left behind every time their animalistic blows clashed. The once outmatched Feral Chaos now glimmered in a vibrant red, his manikin core fully exposed due to his own power corrupting and withering its composition, yet he moved faster, his blows resounded tenfold and Terra's blows didn't seem to hurt him nearly as much as before. Such a dangerous and saddening monster he had become.

"_One would need to ask why she's fighting like when she went berserk too."_ Another fair point by Shinryu, wouldn't you agree? But at least it seemed to be working. Terra's reaction time, speed and close quarters combat were at a level never imagined before, to the point where she had rarely used her signature magic powers in this fight and still seemed to come out on top of the exchanges.

Suddenly, Chaos' claw found its way into Terra's neck. And they were gone.

"Terra?!"

* * *

><p>The girl had been in here before. The realm of Chaos, the Kingdom of God, Regnum Dei as Garland had called it as he had faded away in the final cycle. It was nothing but fire. Hellfire as far as the eye could see. The ground was ablaze, the crackling flames extended as far as the eye could see, nothing else. Perhaps an allegory to Chaos' perfect world, perhaps something deeper. Both things Terra hardly had in mind right now. Channeling her magic through her claws, she flash-frozen Chaos' claw for the sole reason of escaping their clutches.<p>

Landing on the scorching fire was not a pleasant experience, she even wondered how one would LAND in fire, but again, no time for that, Chaos had already taken to the offensive again. She could feel her senses dull and her muscles less responsive again. She was used to it, this realm was meant for Chaos and Chaos only, everyone inside it would be brought down to his knees or killed by the sheer pressure it brought down upon the body. While she was far beyond that stage, she was still very hindered by her stay here, and she honestly didn't see a way out outside of going through Chaos' heart.

And she had just the idea how.

By this time, Chaos had melted its hand and taken upon himself to screw our heroine up, making a mad dash completely unhampered by the shift in dimensions. Terra knew she could only dodge right now, and not even that well, as she did not emerge unharmed from the flurry of claw-swipes that came from the maddened beast. Finding an opening in his assault, the Esperkin jumped away from the Feral Beast, leaving him a goodbye present in the form of a halberd of her own Riot Energy. She was not surprised to see her attack come much weaker than it'd have done in the normal world, hitting Chaos straight in the neck yet not piercing his diamond-like skin. She had managed to avoid fatal injury, but not only had she proved unable to nullify his assault, as she had been unable to damage him back.

"_The air around here is also much harder to use…"_ Terra told herself, contemplating any sort of offense she could have against Chaos. The different air in this dimension also rendered her newly gained powers nearly useless. Her physical capabilities had been halved at best, and the magic she created was so weak it didn't even leave a lasting impression on Chaos in this form. Her eyes gleamed as this last thought crossed her mind. "Maybe I can't create… but I can…" nodding, the girl left her poised positions on all fours and slowly got up, her aura slowly changing into a more defined tone as she did. She wasn't surprised when Chaos took this "opportunity" to charge his power, sending a trail of explosions in her general directions.

She managed to move out of the way by going the one way the tidal wave of bursts didn't come, skyward, yet she landed right into Feral Chaos' claws. The dark lifeless eyes looked into hers with a sense of twisted enjoyment before they slammed her back into the ground, disorienting her senses with the impact. Finally, he grabbed her neck and pulled from the ground, holding his prey in a way Terra remembered far too well. Vaan had been killed by the very swords that spawned from this attack. However, she wasn't about to die this day. In fact…

"I was… banking on this…" she managed to say to Chaos between the pressure of the claw and the massive effort her mind was having right now. While she wasn't sure if Chaos understood her words, it seemed to understand what was happening. Terra's magical vision had kicked in and she had gazed upon the tapestry of fire threads that was this dimension. And pulled from all of them. Grabbing Chaos' arm, she felt the very fabric of the dimension Chaos had created tremble. "If I can't… hit you with my magic… I'll use YOURS!" in a moment, Chaos saw the fires of his own dimension collapse on him. "Fire and Darkness… Single Cremation Blade!"

A burnout inferno.

* * *

><p>"This as good as I can do with my current mana," Ceodore warned Shin, dismissing the light on his palms.<p>

"Thanks Ceo. The only thing I got left are these tired muscles," Shin reassured, cracking his neck and hands to reassure himself everything was in place. He knew far too well that his ribs were still not fixed, but the cure had at least numbed the pain on them enough for him to hold on.

"Hey, hasn't it been too long since Terra got pulled into that thing?" Luneth pointed out, the small Onion Knight taking a deep breath and gazing upwards to the place where Terra had once vanished. And he saw a spark. "Wait what is-"

The sound of shattering glass heralded the thundering inferno that came after. The very place whence Terra and Chaos had vanished into erupted into a storm of crimson flames and red lightning that covered the entire "sky" of the throne room, taking a katana-like shape before combusting into an even bigger explosion.

Four small clangs hit the ground near the Warriors, who found Hikari's, Firion's, Luneth's and Ceodore's crystals spinning around in the floor beside them. Two much bigger silhouettes then made themselves visible as they fell from the explosion. Knowing exactly what they were, Shin immediately deployed his weaker, phantom wings and headed for the smaller puff of smoke, emerging with Terra's un-tranced body in his arms. Shin was as shocked as one could be to see that Terra had not suffered any life-threatening injuries just from that explosion, even if she did look like she had just gone through hell…

"Are you alright Terra? What happened in there?" Shin asked Terra, still worried about her and especially about what had happened to Chaos. A pretty large crashing sound answered that last unasked question. Chaos lay on the ground, returned to his normal, saner form, both horns broken and body charred and battered.

"Chaos… played with fire… and got burned," Terra replied in-between deep breaths. "You can put me down… that spell just took a lot from me, nothing else." She added, squirming to get out of Shin's grip.

"Nuh-huh. I'm not letting you go that easily! You're going to get Ceodore to check you and you're gonna like it!" Shin teased playfully, flying back to his companions with a smile.

"Terra!" just as they landed Terra was immediately assaulted by an ogling Luneth, the rest of the crew slowly coming forth to join their companion.

"You did it." Cloud congratulated with a hand laying on Terra's shoulder.

"Thank you Cloud but... have you all gotten the replicas of your crystals?" Terra questioned, turning around to see everyone flash their crystals back to her. "Wait…" then it clicked to her. She was missing hers.

"Perceptive, are you not?" With her crystal in his hand, Chaos sat up, a taunting grin coming off his burned and broken teeth. "As you can see, you've neglected me for too long. Long enough for THIS!" the god then swallowed the crystal whole, erasing all damage from himself, his body once again glistening in the same crimson energy that had cloaked him when the battle started.

"Pft. You sure talk big for someone who just lost twelve out of his thirteen crystals! I mean, you may have been all high and mighty with thirteen but c'mon, now you're little more than a wuss, ready to get bullied!" Prishe shouted, slipping on her gauntlets and cracking her knuckles. Chaos boomed a somber laugher.

"Tell me then girl… had my power diminished as I fought the Esper? I lost my crystals gradually, did I not?" that sure shut everyone up.

"But that… makes no sense…" Prishe shook her head and roared: "You're bluffing! You said the crystals gave you power!"

"Oh… but they did! However, the very same crystals that you extracted are hollow, powerless, are they not?" Prishe took another look at her's and what she thought to be a side effect of being a side crystal started to take on another appearance. "Their lack of brilliance is not of their dark powers, but of their lack of them! As they left my body, I simply transferred their power into the remaining ones… and now, all of their powers are concentrated in one! I can truly utilize them to their fullest now!"

Dark energy covered Chaos, Terra's senses anticipating what was to come, barely managing to gather enough energy in time to call upon a violet barrier.

"Get down everyone!" she yelled, compressing the barrier to increase its strength. Winds of discord took a hold of the entire room, covering its walls, floor and seemingly endless ceiling, cracking the barrier in its wake.

"To the Edge of Fantasy!" Chaos boomed as his body disintegrated to the winds. Ruble began flowing through them, breaking our heroes' vision of anything outside of a palm's radius of the barrier minutes. When they stopped, they couldn't believe their eyes.

* * *

><p>They now stood in a small circular platform of dark colors, cracked many a times by red intrusions. A throne rose at their front while a giant staircase descended on their backs. The horizon was bleak and full of erupted magma, with comets descending on the distance.<p>

"This is… the Edge of Madness!" Hikari remembered it far too well from their final battle. Whether Chaos had transported them to World-B or simply recreated the it, Chaos was obviously way too strong to NOT be a massive problem. This only intensified when Chaos' voice nearly broke their eardrums.

"**THAT MUCH IS OBVIOUS IS IT NOT?!**" Chaos boomed as he towered over the arena just like it had a year past, in the thirteenth cycle. Besides his massive size wherein his waist was as tall as the platform, his skin had been painted yellow and he wielded four massive broadswords as big as he was. "**WHAT BETTER PLACE TO WREATH IN THE FLAMES OF OUR FINAL CONFLICT… WARRIORS OF COSMOS?!**"

Wasting no time after the question, Chaos heaved one of his blades skyward and brought it down swiftly, wanting to end said final confrontation swiftly. The blade was stopped cold in the face of a white flame. Terra's glimmering figure managed to grab onto the sword before it was too late, much to Chaos' amusement.

"**AH YES! I HAD HOPED YOU WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO MY ENJOYMENT! BUT WHILE YOUR POWERS ARE UNLEASHED, THEY ARE GREEN IN THE FACE OF MY OWN!**" Terra bit her tongue once Chaos made his threat true, pressing her further downward with his blade. She cried out for every ounce of her power remaining, her wings flaring back into her back, but she was still slowly descending.

"Everyone… move!" she cried out. Everyone did it on instinct, thinking they knew Terra's plan.

"Okay, now get ou-"

CRASH.

The entirety of the Edge of Madness suddenly got split in two, with no signs of Terra having dodged the blade.

"**SUCH A PITY… NOW ONLY ANTS REMAIN.**" Chaos said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Y'know, that's the first thing villains say before getting broom'd into the closet!" a strangely familiar voice taunted from inside the crater.

"Hey… you're fucking with me, aren't you?" Jecht said out of disbelief at the mere sound of the voice.

"Well, blame it on yourself!" the voice replied just before a yellow blur erupted from the crater, Terra under his arm. "Kept you waiting, huh?" Tidus asked, landing on one knee to complete his obligatorily overblown entrance.

"What the hell is going on here?! You're supposed to be dead!" Jecht exclaimed in the fakest anger the manliest of men managed to express.

"Well, old man, thing is, I AM dead!" Tidus deadpanned, pointing his finger over his lumbering halo on his head. It would feel bittersweet if he wasn't encrusting everyone with his pacing. "Not like death stops us or anything, right?" he took a look around and saw how everyone was either on their knees or shocked. "Wait, don't tell me you guys were about to give up! We already beat this guy once, get your asses back up and let's do an encore!" Tidus exclaimed, swinging his sword skyward. His crystal seemed to resonate with his attitude, as the star Blitzball player's Brotherhood soon became Caliburn, as well as the cloak of white flames taking a hold of him.

"He has a point," Squall nodded, standing back up and summoning the Lionheart. "We already got him down once. We just have to figure out a way to do the same."

"Damn straight!" Zidane and Bartz said in synchrony. Before you know it everyone in the Warrior's side had their weapons out, ready for the taking.

All except Terra.

"**HOW IRONIC THAT I WOULD THANK SOMEONE LIKE YOU… VERY WELL THEN, I SEE YOU STILL HAVE SOME FIGHT LEFT IN YOUR BONES. SHALL WE EXTRACT IT?!**" Chaos began, taking a large swing off another blade, forcing everyone in the platform to require jumping over it and or flying over it.

"Shin, get to a safer place and see if you can help Terra!" Cloud exclaimed, receiving Terra from Tidus, who had started to run up the blade and giving her to Shin. "You're the best battery we got." He added as snidely as he could.

"Just… break a leg Cloud." Shin didn't say this as an expression. He truly meant what he had asked. However, he took his advice and swooped down the staircase and into one of the various floating rocks that swamped the river of magma bellow.

* * *

><p>Laying Terra down, he sighed in relief as she managed to sit back up on her own. "You okay Terra?"<p>

"I'm fine Shin… don't mention it," she replied, exasperated and tired. Shaking her head and looking at her hands she explained: "I think my body isn't used to the how much energy I consume while in full control of my powers… think I can…"

"Hey, you already used my energy to summon on your own. Feel free to take as much as you'd like… you're our best bet anyway!" Shin reassured as positively as he could, taking her hand as to give her a channeling point for the transfer. Terra stared at their now locked hands for a moment before leaning forward and kissing Shin lightly on the lips.

"None of us dies this time, alright?" she asked, pressing her grip on her hands further.

"Not like it matters, I mean, Tidus just popped ba-"

"SHIN!" Terra exclaimed, a mix of hurt and distress evident on her voice and expression. Feeling badly for joking about such a subject with someone so sincere and hurt, Shin's expression did a one-eighty from a pranksters to someone who was about to put his soul up for inspection.

"I promise." It was an empty one, but it was a white lie, and a needed one at that. Even though no one would admit, everyone fighting Chaos was doing it on the behalf of promises they were almost sure they wouldn't keep, either to themselves or loved ones, but that didn't stop them from trying.

"That is enough for me. You never lied… when it mattered." Terra had obviously lightened up just for the fact that she added that one remark at the end, but it was good enough for both of them. Terra then started to dive into Shin's massive energy reserve, courtesy of Godslaying Dragon Inc., noticing some of the flow was strange.

"Shin, your ribs…" she said, noticing how Shin's body was still far from perfect just by the flow of his mana. While Shin had no idea just how she had known, he was still going to say the same.

"Don't worry-"

"Why yes I do worry! You have a promise to keep! Now, I will use some of the energy you are about to give me to heal you, alright?" Like Shin could say no. Considering how much Shin lacked in the area of white magic, he hardly had the skill or technique to pull off a self-healing spell to mend so many bones broke in so many places, which lead Terra to have to pour some of her own mana back into Shin's body to fix it.

After a few minutes and various explosions, Terra knew this was being too slow. She remembered where Shinryu's power separated from Shin's normal reserves. While she'd never delve so far in for Shin's safety before, knowing how Shin was now close to fully the same being as Shinryu… she gave it a go. Deeper and deeper she went in the waters of Shin's mana reserves, the tapestries of magic becoming more and more intricate as she descended. Crossing the margin she had once been afraid of was overwhelming at first. So much power, so many memories… so many feelings. She half expected to see Shinryu himself waiting for her in there, but what she saw was equally mind blowing.

"Is that… me?"

Terra and Shin's bodies fell limp on the ground.

* * *

><p>"<strong>YOU ARE BECOMING A NUISANCE!<strong>" Chaos boomed, watching Tidus hang on to his giant broadsword after him have swiped it across the platform. Tidus was easily the freshest of anyone there, combining it with how hyper it was, I'll leave you to guess how fast he was going.

"That's the point!" Tidus exclaimed, hearing the cutting winds to the side going: "WHOA!" jumping to his knees and leaning backwards to dodge the looming claw of Chaos. Grabbing on to one of the fingers, he flipped onto the hand and started to run down his arm, all the while shooting the most playful of grins. "Catch me if ya can!"

"**PEST!**" Chaos roared, whipping his with enough force to break a mountain. He was sure that would shake Tidus off, and he wasn't completely wrong. Tidus was now flying through the air and the Caliburn had just found its way into his eye.

"I get that a lot!" Tidus exclaimed.

"KID!" the Zanarkand ace didn't even look. He started spinning, for he knew a Blitzball had been shot, impacting on Chaos' face heavily, enough to make him stagger. It bounced back, as expected, and right into his foot, causing the ball to shoot again into Chaos, staggering once more. "Nice, but can you keep up with the legend?!"

"I'll ask you the same!" Tidus shouted back at his father, spinning once again, as he did. In perfect coordination, father and soon landed the ball at the exact same moment as the other did, putting so much pressure into the summoned Blitzball it spontaneously combusted into flames, exploding in Chaos' face and sending him tumbling back into the rivers of lava.

"And that's a goal!" Jecht shouted, landing with his son back on the platform. "Not bad kid. Been training?"

"You betcha!" replied Tidus with a huge grin on his face.

"You two should calm down, he's not finished yet." Lightning stated matter-of-factly.

"We know, we know, but c'mon! Terra will be here in a couple of minutes and then… speak of the devil! Terra!" Vaan said before calling out to the ones climbing up the stairs. "Wait… what happened to you two?"

Shin and Terra were wearing completely different garments from before, well, at least Shin was. Not much, if anything had changes about his armor except the coloring. Where once was silver, now a light mixture of beige and gold filled the armor and where once was gold it was now azure. The armor stood completely repaired, and Shin's hair had even changed into a lighter hue.

Terra however, had changed a whole lot. She was back in her trance form and her ethereal wings were kept in the same shape and pattern, as did her skin. However, her hair was less wild, now closer to what her hairline would look like if it floated, much unlike the explosion of hair her trance normally ensued. But her biggest changes were even more apparent. Her aura, which had flared into that beast while she stood on all fours, now had formed another, completely different thing. A small skirt much like her normal ones, accompanied by a floating scarf that wrapped around her shoulders and floated in an arc behind her. Three rings clang on the side of each of the arms and, most importantly, a halo like ring on her back, filled with what seemed to be traditional beating drums. It was strange how… into detail her aura had gone into. Her power seemed far more controlled and calm than her beastly form, albeit not as scary.

One last thing came to everyone's attention. Terra's right eye was violet while her left eye was golden. Reverse could be said about Shin.

"You two alright?" Firion asked, walking towards them. They looked fine. They were a bit… quiet, but their expressions showed no pain or distress.

"Don't worry about us. Nothing special happened down there." This wouldn't have been as deal breaking as one would think… if they hadn't said it in perfect and complete synchrony.

"I beg to differ." Lightning said in the last moments of peace they had. Like a thundering volcano, Chaos erupted from the magma, mirroring the blow that had floored Terra the last time. Now, every warrior of Cosmos was quick to evade by jumping off the platform. Everyone but Shin. Shin had simply drawn the Final Fantasy and held it atop his shoulder, completely halting Chaos' blade. The platform cracked before having its top erupting with the massive force that had been stopped right atop of it, but Shin seemed really indifferent to it. At the same time, while everyone gawked the sight, Terra manipulated her Riot energy yet again, or was it? This one was of a much darker shade, and more defined. It looked like the real thing, a real, adorned scythe, even though it was obviously made of energy.

"Chaos… SOUL REAPER!" the screech that came from the descending scythe felt like the wail of the air and space itself. It seemed to go through Chaos' blade as Terra did appear on the other side, but nothing happened for a few seconds. Then, again, much like in her previous fight, the screeching intensified thousand fold, and not only the slashed part, but the entire greatsword began to tremble, vibrate. Some parts were simply vanishing, the others separating, the others just exploded. In a matter of seconds, the sword was fully gone.

"**WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!**" Chaos asked, distraught for the first time since he had entered that form. Then, Shin appeared at Terra's side, and, gazing into their eyes, Chaos understood it. "**YOU CANNOT HAVE-**"

Shin and Terra then talked. Their mouths, their powers, their arms, they all moved in perfect fluency, like two streams of a river that had just joined. And with that, they both called upon a tsunami.

"Riot Deluge!" They chanted, their perfectly fused power bursting forth from their swords in a single, large amalgamation of violet energy, almost immediately darting towards the still staggered Chaos, gaining a more recognizable form as it flew. Before Chaos knew, his chest had been assaulted by the maw of a feline Raijū-shaped energy ray that almost seemed to move on its own legs as it flew. His skin was bubbling due to the extreme temperatures of being near the thing, but what scared him was hardly that, but how much energy was there and what would happen when it detonated.

And it detonated.

A violet explosion erupted on Chaos' chest. The bright flash of light came as fast as it went. It left no smoke, nothing. Just a very malformed chest of Chaos, the wound going in so deep that you could almost see the other side. Terra's crystal floated at its center.

"The crystal!" Terra and Shin exclaimed, darting towards Chaos but being dissuaded by a giant blade.

"**I… IMPRESSIVE!**" Chaos gagged, steeping back several feet, spitting lava as if it was blood. "**HOWEVER… AS LONG AS I POSSESS THIS CRYSTAL… I'LL NOT FALL DEAD!**" true to his words, the darkness seeping from the crystal clouded his flesh, quickly returning the bone and sinew, followed by the muscles and then the manikin's skin-like shell. "**NOW PERISH!**" he shrieked, crimson energy covering his body and blade while he brought it down with unseen force. Terra and Shin teamed up in grabbing it, but their eyes showed how unprepared they were. They were shot down from the heavens and into the remainder of the platform, cracking it heavily, but still standing, holding on to their lives. "**NONE CAN ESCAPE DESTINY!**" With the last of his blades, Chaos heaved to the side and commended a sideward sweep aimed to hit Terra and Shin's side, cutting their resistance forever.

"Not one… but no one here is alone!" Hikari exclaimed, appearing in the trajectory of the blade.

"You won't cut through all of us!" readying their weapons, the Warriors of Cosmos stood their grounds, blocking the sword without budging even a millimeter. They could feel their bodies crying for them to stop, but it was do or die.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Chaos shouted, his shock multiplying tenfold once he found himself unable to remove the sword from them.

"You're not going to escape!" Shin and Terra exclaimed in tandem. Jecht laughed out loud.

"OH! I KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING!" the man shouted, turning into his final Aeon form. In that last push, everyone turned Chaos' blades against him, overpowering him with his own weapons and lifting high into the air. And of course, with a collective yell, they threw him.

"Everyone, your crystals!" Terra and Shin yelled. They didn't think twice. Summoning their crystals, they all concentrated behind Terra and Shin, attracted to Terra's part of Cosmos most likely. Their light shone upon the duo as they joined in a bright, golden light.

"Grace this world, spear to which Gods fall! BRIONAC!" In one instant, it was as if time stopped and skipped forward, for in the very next one, there was a single, golden light piercing the god and, while he had not understood it yet, Chaos laid impaled on the other side, the impact of the blow being so strong it cracked the dimensional walls, much like Omega did with its lasers, quite literally making him crash into nothingness. Soon after, the dimensional material behind him cracked, but he did not fall, for they were still impaled by Brionac. Instead, Terra's crystal fell, the spear setting it free.

The Edge of Madness' landscape seemed to take a hit with this, as did Chaos, as they were both regressing. Chaos returned to his smaller, normal form for a few moments before regressing even farther in, turning into the blackened, muscled man that was Garland so many years back. Same with the Edge of Madness. It appeared as if it was naught but a manifestation of Chaos' power, for as he regressed, so did it return to its former self, the Pandemonium.

* * *

><p>"I… I think it's over guys…" Luneth said, taking ample time to say that as to not jinx it.<p>

"I… I think you're right Onion…" Vaan told him, falling to his knees, exhausted.

"That just leaves… one thing… what happened to you two?" Lightning asked, turning back to see Shin and Terra in their normal clothes, looking confused and distraught.

"What… just happened?" they both asked, but this time, not in the eerie synch they had going a few moments ago.

"What do you mean "what just happened"?! You two were…" Prishe started.

A booming laughter shook their hearts. Everyone turned instantly, some out of fear some out of anger. Laughing in a pool of his own blood, was Garland, or Chaos, whatever you want to call him.

"Before you… bicker anymore… wouldn't stop and think… about how your time here runs short?" Garland asked, sending Tidus into a frenzy.

"OH, that's right! The reason I was sent here was because I had to warn you about the exit!" everyone looked back at him, wondering what he meant.

"What he means is… Hell itself will not last long… without its ruler. It had been growing unstable… ever since I ended him… and it's time has finally come…" one giant tremor came to a rise, one that shattered even the crystal ground. "With my death… the seal to the Purgatory is lifted…"

"And while the others can take the ship, we have to take the stairs behind the throne!" Tidus explained, throwing his sword against the throne in a way it was shattered, revealing a shining ethereal staircase behind it.

"Then what are we waiting for? We go!" Lightning said, her hand being held by Terra.

"Wait! Before we go… Garland, why do this? Why fight us alone?" the girl asked, a giant grin creeping on the man's face.

"I wanted to fight you all… nothing else. At your finest, with no one lost… once the Paladin fell, I knew I had to act fast. To finally resolve the cycle as it should be… nothing else, but the battle." Garland said with no regret or pain in his voice. He seemed to be in pure bliss. Terra shook her head but he stopped her from talking. "Save your words woman. You told Kefka once that you could find the meaning to our life on our own. Well… this is mine. To fight in the cycle until it is finally broken. A cursed existence fit only for battling. And you… you ended it."

"Garland…" Hikari began, but stopped himself. He had nothing he could say to Garland. He seemed at peace with what had happened and what he was. More than most could say.

"Do not give me those looks of pity! I have one last bit of information to give you!" Garland exclaimed, taking Terra's crystal dark counterpart and throwing it back at its owner. "These crystals, they are not copies. They're not evil. They are simply your own's missing half. If you truly mean to stand a chance against…" he coughed blood. "Whomever stands at the top… remember, the powers contained in BOTH are the key… You're not fighting for Order or Discord anymore, but for existence itself! Use everything under your power!" Another tremor came, creating numerous fissure.

"We have to go!" Firion exclaimed. Garland barked more laughter.

"Yes! GO! Go and live, for that is the destiny of the victors! You broke my cycle, now forge your own path! A path that spreads through the horizon and beyond!" suddenly, a chasm opened right dab beneath Garland, the Knight plummeting down, grinning all the day down. "Warriors of Cosmos! That was… truly… fulfilling!" were the would be god's last words, his eternal life of misery ended in a fitting but inglorious conclusion.

The tremors multiplied, leaving no time for anyone to pay their respects. They felt no hatred towards Garland now… thinking back, he was just as much of a victim as everyone. Humanity, Shinryu, themselves, all had pushed him THIS far.

"No time for this! Let's g-"the floor beneath Lightning broke down, as did all of the throne room. However, she had it worst, her platform was completely vertical. She had no footing.

"Claire!" Firion shouted, jumping after her. Everyone tried to give chase, but someone stopped them.

"I'll get them! You have to get to the stairs!" she told everyone.

"But Terra!" Shin shouted, grabbing her hand. Putting her free hand on Shin's she smiled and said:

"I can fly. Just go!" she assured, jumping down after them.

* * *

><p>"Firion, what the hell are you doing?!" Lightning barked while Firion slid down the floor, his hand reaching out to hers.<p>

"Not letting you die!" he simply said, grabbing her hand forcefully, pulling her to him in a way he had grabbed her by the waist and throwing his knife to one of the safer platforms. The rope arced, pulling them from the falling one and into the wall, the strong impact pushing Firion a bit too close for comfort.

"So… what now?" Lightning said, obviously trying to dismiss the fact that a man had just grabbed her waist and saved her life just like a textbook damsel in distress.

"I… didn't think that part out yet…" Firion admitted, completely out of his mind by the proximity.

"Thank God someone did," Terra noted, grabbing the chain and pulling it up. It was hard on the girl. She felt completely drained, and her flight abilities failed thrice, much to the heart-attack of her "passengers", but still, they managed to get to the broken throne just in time. "Alright… let's hurry!" Firion and Lightning nodded, the trio starting their mad dash upwards.

* * *

><p>Minutes passed as they climbed through the staircase. They left the palace in moments and were being treated to a panoramic view of Hell itself collapsing upon itself. Terra remembered seeing her world collapse months ago. It was eerily similar. And all of this by the same, twisted person…<p>

Terra's legs failed once, causing her to trip and lose some terrain to Lightning and Firion. She assured them she was fine and to keep going, but she knew she could barely move.

Crack.

Looking down, her heart froze. The stairway, it was cracking. In one last ditch effort, Terra stood back up, closed her eyes and just beelined up the stairway. She didn't look back. She could hear the stairway collapse, but she wouldn't look. She wouldn't let it get to her. She concentrated on going forward. She could not die here. Not with all she had gone through, not with all she had gained. She wished she could fly, but she completely drained. This continued for what seemed to be an untold amount of time until she entered a dark space. The staircase glimmered azure, the end of it just in sight. A small opening in the dark void. The light at the end of the tunnel.

"TERRA! BENEATH YOU!" she heard Shin yell. The sound was closer than ever. She saw the stairs beneath her feet start to break. Pushing onwards as fast as she could, it had become a race. Terra versus the stairs. She was slowly losing… But she kept going. She knew she was just a step away from salvation. She neared Shin, who was the only one standing through the opening, hand extended out to her, and then she felt it. Her left foot lost its footing. She had only one way out. A leap of faith.

She jumped, she could hear her heat beat slowly as her hand reached out to Shin's. She had barely jumped more than a normal human, but she was so close… so close to his hands.

So close yet so far.

Shin's screams and tears fell into deaf ears, Terra could not believe her finger had just grasped his. That was, until a larger arm appeared of what seemed to be nowhere and grabbed on to her hand. Shin looked upwards, shocked, but not as much as Terra. Her eyes had to get accustomed to the light yes, but she saw a silhouette. One that she wouldn't believe. It was too much. It was… exactly who she thought it was. She could see it clearly now. Her eyes saw past the light. Nothing else passed through her mind outside of this single word.

"Papa…"

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"The wonders of the afterlife…"_

_"I honestly have no clue… I think Jihad is your best shot."_

_"Hello young man. Took long enough for us to get some "alone time"…"_

**Meeting the Parents**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Post-Chapter Note:<strong> Mini-Climax for what begins the final arc. Zero questions were answered and many more came to fruit. Aren't I just a nice guy? The answer is no. Now, Terra's second design was something I was having some difficulties with, but after Michael broke them down with a well-placed piece, well, I finished the chapter on the very same day, so props to him.

Sooo… after this frenetic blast of (what I hope is) awesome, how do you feel? Confused? Hyped? Excited? All of the above? Or even disappointed? Do not be tame, your opinion belongs down there!

**PS:** Here is a small hint as to the true nature of Terra's powers. E=mc2

Hope you had a nice read! Hasta la next time!


	74. Meeting the Parents

**Author's Note:** And here we are! I now have officially passed one million words on this site! And what better story for this landmark than my very first one? I just want to thank you all, especially the select ones that have read every single word I have ever put to writing, like Jade or Michael, and hope for many more to come! Without further ado, Unending!

* * *

><p><strong><strong><span>An Unending Struggle<span>****

****Chapter Seventy-Four****

**Meeting the Parents**

* * *

><p>It took only moments for Terra's body to fly off the rapidly dispersing space, as she, Shin and her "Papa" fell backwards from the wooden structure where she had been pulled out off. As they fell, Terra realized that the structure was but a drawer in a MASSIVE table. Suddenly, two large, thick arms wrapped around her and she saw the world flip before having her fall stopped short. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Shin landing on one knee to her side, which could only mean…<p>

"It's been too long my Teenie-Star!" Maduin said with a grin as large as a mountain, the Esper looking down on his daughter with both the happiness and melancholy bottled up for years. Terra was barely able to bat her eyelashes. Her hand slowly reached at her father's check, meekly making contact as her eyes become heavier and heavier. "It's alright… you should rest,"

"But I want to-"Terra tried to argue, even if her whole body was already shutting down.

"I won't leave your side Terra, I promise." Maduin said, leaving his daughter to fall asleep on his arms.

"Is she going to be alright?" Shin asked Maduin as he slowly approached the duo, a much wilder, fiercer look coming from the just-now-docile Maduin, now eyeing him with scorn.

"I appreciate you have gone to such lengths to try trick us into believing you care Shinryu, but you can drop the act in front of me, I've seen your true face." Shin was left to look on as Maduin just floated away with his girlfriend in his arms, not even sparing him a second glance.

"_I do believe he will classify as problem of sorts,"_ Shinryu teased from within his mind.

He'd have followed him yes… if his legs could move any longer. He was almost as tired as Terra had been before passing out, difference is that, without the adrenaline that came with fighting for his life, his strength was depleting as if he WAS as tired as her. He fell unto one knee as his vision began to blur. He was sleepy… oh so sleepy. They'd find him, he was sure of that. In fact, he could hear his name being called as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

><p>Crossing the destroyed wastelands of the third ring of heaven, Lezard looked around like it was his masterpiece. Omegas still crossed the vast landscape of former gold and blue, looking for any survivors as the sky itself turned bloody red. A certain dark laughter rang behind him, destruction being the tune to which the heavens now danced too. He smiled at knowing the jester wasn't hot on his trail. Kneeling, he laid his hand on the ground and chanted a spell. In moments, a large glyph appeared on the ground and shot countless arrays across the ground, lines if you please. After a few moments, he smiled.<p>

"For betrayers and betrayed, they truly are too trusting… or perhaps too conceited to see a threat," Lezard mused, shaking his head in both satisfaction and an empty taunt before heading into what had been the palace of the one ruling the third ring of Heaven. He had noticed that, while it took them less than a couple of days to take the last two, they had taken a full week on this one, which meant his calculations were correct, the higher they climbed the more and greater heroes they would encounter. A smile formed on his lips. The more "accidents "could happen, right?

Navigating through the ruins had become hard, as the castle was basically a giant piece of rubble, fitting for who had been dispatched there. He wondered only if she had performed as she'd preemptively boasted before. Dispatching the last few rocks from the entrance to the throne room, he smiled as he saw it empty and destroyed, all except for one woman sitting on the decrepit throne. With bare legs crossed and cheek resting on her hand, Tina smiled back at Lezard. Her outfit had changed ever since she had become a full existence, now wearing a red, undecorated leotard while violet shoulderguards and chestplate combined to make her more combat capable. Her emerald hair was tied on a simple braid resting on her back, both reminding her relationship with Terra and breaking it. A final touch came in the form of plated combat boots, brown but soiled with blood.

"Is something wrong, boss?" Tina teased, checking her right hand for any traces of blood. When she found it on her thumb, she smiled as she licked it off.

"Why I do believe you were ordered to assault the keep with Exdeath in tow. Whatever became of him?" he played along, not even trying to check for any of Exdeath's leftover mana.

"He had to make like a tree," Tina began, her eyes encountering a certain piece of blue armor to her side. Her plated boots soon crushed it to pieces as she finished her statement. "And leaf."

* * *

><p>"I must ask you Esper, what drives you?" Exdeath questioned as Tina licked herself clean, mostly for the enjoyment of tasting the blood of the ruler of the third ring of heaven, Varian Wrynn. It was nothing short of… divine. And to think this was only the third out of the nine rings, it was only up from there.<p>

"Driving me? Well, only reason I'm alive and myself is Lezard, means I got a debt to pay," Tina commented absentmindedly as she approached the throne. Looking at it, she saw how the king's sword had hit the side of it. The sword was … destructive but beautifully so. It permeated righteous power, and waited eagerly for the right hand to bear it. The right hand to grip its red handle, adorned with a golden pommel and hilt. The hilt curved down along the handle, golden and spiked with subtle cracks in it. A red gem as red as fire sat in the hilt's heart. The blade was a standard steel color and jagged and rough, yet sharp enough to cut through bone as if it were warm butter. In the core of the blade was a glowing, red energy, flashing and radiating. A separate piece of metal was on the dull edge of the blade, connected by the energy of the red core. The blade seemed to be perfect despite the cracks that were marred in it. No doubt was a mighty sword made for heroes to wield. Not that Tina particularly cared.

"This'll do for now," she mumbled, plucking the now nameless sword from its resting place, the body of the king long since dissolved into golden feathers, just as any of the dead.

"Hur, hur, hur! Loyalty towards him? You will no doubt regret it Esper," Exdeath commented, turning his back towards Tina and into the opening at the ceiling. "For now, we have nothing else to do here. Shall w-"

Crash.

The sword Tina had picked up not even a minute ago now impaled Exdeath diagonally, from his waist to his chest. Exdeath did not bleed, he was a tree, instead the blade was covered in darkened sap, slowly being consumed by the red energy the blade oozed. The Warlock creaked his neck back slowly, a couple of eyes reddened by bloodlust mocking whatever was inside it.

"You're one to talk! You guys actually let him off his leash!" Tina taunted, pushing the blade further in. Exdeath began to mutter incantations but stopped abruptly, for he could feel parts of his body dissipating. He let out a booming laugh.

"You think to cast Banish on me? You truly are a mindless beast, I am one with the void, banishing me towards it will do nothing but strengthen me!" Exdeath exclaimed, not even trying to resist the spell Tina had cast on him anymore. Tina's green only grew, showing her now developed canines.

"I won't throw you into the Void, no, I'll make use of something special Terra learned under Jenova!" she exclaimed, her skin cracking violet, for once striking fear into the Warlock.

"What is this madness? I cannot feel the call of the Void!" Exdeath exclaimed, now truly feeling his body vanish away into an unknown fate. His arms and legs were now missing large blocks, his torso now lacked its right part, his helmet was quickly vanishing.

"I won't Banish you to the Void, I'll banish you into the Darkness Beyond Time itself!" Tina exclaimed, revealing a true nature of her Banish spell. It was not of a spatial source, but of a temporal one. Exdeath was not able to even react before vanishing into the crossroads of time. "Good luck navigatin'!"

* * *

><p>"I must say, you are more efficient than I gave you credit for and attract far less attention," Lezard complimented, maybe even impressed with Tina's performance.<p>

"Yeah, yeah, well, you know what they say, the party's only starting!" Tina said with a smile as she rose from the throne, throwing the sword she had gained as a spoil of war over her shoulder and walking past Lezard.

"To think this partnership would bear such succulent fruits. Very well then, our crusade is at its birth!" Lezard exclaimed, a mad cackle resonating through the empty halls of the castle.

* * *

><p>"<em>What is this?"<em> Shin asked, opening his eyes to see a glamorous citadel. He noticed his voice was not registered on his ears, hell, his mouth hadn't moved. No, his whole body was not obeying him as he raced through the stairs, foreign sentiments and sensations racing through his body, faint echoes of war entering his ears. _"Not again… I've been through this enough!" _Shin screamed deafly. He had already seen this scene not tens, not dozens but hundreds of times. He had seen them all. Yet, he could not wake. He was forced to see Rek's hike towards the throne room and subsequent demise at the hands of Gabranth.

He could experience everything. The worry on the climb, the despair and sorrow at seeing his king and comrades slain, the betrayal that coursed through his dying body as Gabranth twisted the dagger on Rek's chest, everything till Rek's loss of consciousness.

And it did not stop there. In what looked be to be years but at the same time moments, endless memories came rushing through, all speaking of death, betrayal, pain. His body felt every stab, cried every tear, drowned in every pool of blood, cried every scream of loss. He was trapped again. He did not know why, but once again, the ghosts of other's past clawed at his eyeballs from the inside of his mind.

Until it all stopped. His eyes trembled open, his mind nearly in tatters. The dark room he awoke did nothing to say if this was dream or reality. The industrial sound of clanking metal, spinning cogs, along with the near poisonous fumes came to him. His body started to move on its own again, if ever so slightly, informing him this wasn't reality yet. The bed was rugged, uncomfortable, rugs in taters, dust flying as the covers were put aside.

The body was shambling towards the window, the small glimpses he had of it showed only crust filled cuts and burns, no treatment given to them whatsoever. Worse yet, he felt nothing. No emotion came from this person. Not pain, not sadness, not happiness. It was just void. It felt like an empty corpse fighting to keep itself alive. Reaching the window, the person touched the prison-like bars, the warmth of the sun bathing the hand and the body. Shin felt the faintest glimpse of relief and happiness dwell somewhere within this person's body.

Then he recognized it all. The small, fragile and injured hand clasping the bars, the steampunk architecture, the sad excuse for a bed and…

"Witch, you're coming with me," was heard by Shin and the person at the same time. It was by then that Shin realized he was seeing it through Terra's eyes and mind, something he had subconsciously resisted as much as he could. Something bone chilling about it all was how little Terra reacted to the call. Both physically and emotionally, nothing changed, nothing even stirred. "Don't you ignore me bitch!" the nameless soldier shouted, pulling on Terra's already badly hurt scalp by her hair, the weakened body giving in and hitting the ground. Even then, Terra only seemed to have eyes for the window. She slowly lifted her hand towards it, at first scaring the soldier into thinking she was about to retaliate, but it was only a weak attempt to get back to it.

"You're really nothing but a broken doll now, aren't you? With and without the crown. Well, that's good enough for me, dolls are made to be used, aren't they?!" The guard said in a tone that sickened Shin to the core. He knew she had been tortured, but to the extent of nearly losing rational thought?

"Oh, but she's not your doll, is she?"

Before the guard or Shin's thought process caught up, the guard was lit aflame and fell to the floor screaming in anguish. Terra on the other hand seemed to break out of her emotionless trance… to something equally as bad. Shin's mind could barely handle all the pain, fear and despair that came flooding in at one moment. Terra's head didn't even produce thoughts, just emotions.

"Why hello there lassy, I'm back early!" Suddenly, it was as if the cell became furnace of agony and fear. The girl screeched in sheer terror and scrambled unto her feet, running and tripping towards the window where, much to Shin's shock, she cleanly ripped the bars off with her hand cracking violet all the way.

"Where are you going kitty?" Kefka's voice echoed again, inciting Terra's frenzy even more. She broke the glass with her own hands, the shards cutting into her skin and, with no care about her own life, she simply jumped off the window. Shin assumed she could fly yet, but she wasn't even trying to fly. No, she was freefalling. She screamed again as soon as she felt her right foot being grappled by what could only be Kefka's hand. "No sirie girlie! You only die if I say so!" he exclaimed, pulling Terra back to the window. She shrieked, fought back, kicked back and grappled at any metal she could find as she was pulled up, gashing her hands and breaking her nails, leaving streams of blood behind. But in the end, it was all in vain. "Come home to papa!" Kefka exclaimed in the midst of her screaming.

Last thing Shin saw was Terra being pinned down on the ground.

* * *

><p>"Shin, wake up!" honestly, whoever was trying to wake Shin up was making a futile attempt on both the accounts that it didn't work and Shin did not need it. Shin's dreams catapulted him out of the bed, his head colliding with Cloud's forehead. Needless to say, it was a few moments before they got themselves back together.<p>

"Sorry for that…" Shin cringed, shaking off the pain.

"Don't worry, more importantly, you got yourself together now?" asked Cloud back, stumbling back into position.

"Yeah… I think. But why were you in my room?" Shin asked Cloud, to which he shook his head, replying with:

"You were screaming like a madman and I'm your roommate in the hospital. Needless to say, I would have to either shut you up or wake you up," Cloud explained, prompting Shin to look around. They did seem to be in a hospital room, what with the blank walls, sheets, bright illumination and all. Shin then noticed how Cloud didn't move as naturally as one would expect, slowly sitting on his own bed. "It's been a week ever since we fought Chaos," he informed, most likely having asked the same thing himself. "Still sore though. Healers are rare and overworked, we got minimal care to survive with no repercussions. They still say we need to start organizing ourselves before giving chase, so we're gonna stay here for a while." Shin didn't like thinking that he was going to stay in Purgatory more than it was necessary, but the scenario where the troops were overburdened by the battle was a plausible one, that and joining with whatever troops the Purgatory had would take time. At most another week, he hoped for less. "So… what was that all about? The screaming I mean," Cloud asked, to which Shin tried his best to reveal as little as possible.

"Nightmares. Pretty severe ones," he retorted, the fake SOLDIER shaking his head, his mako filled eyes eying Shin in a way that he knew that Cloud was onto something. Maybe he had screamed proof in his sleep, he did not know. What he did know was that Cloud let the subject go. Just in time for the door to open.

"Oh, I see you are awake Shin. Can you walk?" General Leo questioned, entering the room.

"_He came here to tell you "I warned you" hasn't he?"_ Shinryu asked Shin, more akin to teasing really. Shin didn't ignore him, if anything, he hoped Leo would be the solution to his problems.

"I think I can," Shin replied, moving his legs and trying to stand, getting mostly positive results outside of leg fatigue and some morning grogginess.

"Good, because I got someone to take you where Maduin's family is passing their time here as I have to attend a war council soon, for now, I just need to show you this," Leo then passed Shin's attention to what he had on his right arm, a stack of photos. By giving Shin the first, Shin was treated by shock.

It was the photo of a room, one that had no one in it yet seemed to be in perfect condition to live in. What's more, said room was stock full of… what could very well pass Terra merchandise. There were entire cupboards with figurines of Terra made of various materials, from glass to ceramics and even jewels! The wall was filled with paintings of Terra, again, in different but still masterful styles, Shin could swear he saw the signature of Van Gogh in one of the most interesting ones. A collage of photos of baby Terra, child Terra hugging her first Moogle, teen Terra ridding her first chocobo in-between other tooth-rotting pictures took the space of the wall near the bed. There was then what could be called as nothing less than a shrine to Terra in the middle of the room, with a large photo of her softly smiling decorated with candles and stuffed moogles.

"This is Maduin's room," Leo explained, leaving Shin to stare blankly at him, as if asking what the HELL was going on. "He's overbearing," no shit. Shin didn't know what to think at this point. THIS was almost irrational, the sheer amount of love Maduin must have for his daughter was not only daunting, it made HIM feel insecure over his own relationship just by looking at his room! "And that is not all…" Leo continued, throwing a scroll onto the ground while grabbing the one of the ends. The school unwrapped itself to show what was more than 50 feet of school, all filled to the brim in tiny letters that he could barely distinguish. "And this is the pairing priority for Maduin. You may want to read it," a bead of sweat slowly trickled down Shin's forehead at the offering. Did he or did he not want to take on that paper?

Against his better judgment, he did.

"Okay so… Locke? Oh, this one's crossed. Guess I can see why," Shin said, not feeling apprehensive at all. He didn't expect being first or anything CLOSE to it, especially since this was Maduin. "Alright, next is… Cloud? I guess it does make sense thinking back at what happened in the thirteenth cycle. Vaan? Well, I guess it also does…" Shin bit his lip. He'd be lying if he didn't enjoy not even being on the top three, however, considering the look he had received from Maduin kinda foreshadowed it. He decided to just rush for his name at this point. He was at first shocked that CELES had been on the top 5 and Luneth on the top 10, but he just swallowed it. He passed from Setzer through Bartz to even Zell. They didn't even meet! After minutes, Leo sighed and took the paper for him.

"Here's your name Shin. Just below Satan and above Edgar." Shin didn't know if he should cry about his placement of laugh about Edgar's. He chose to hit the wall with his head repeatedly. "I wish you luck explaining to someone like Maduin that you sleep with his daughter daily." A veritable torrent of sweat was now flooding the room from Shin's forehead. Leo took this opportunity to just sit up, pat Shin on the shoulder and say:

"I'll be expecting results, Sir Knight in Glistening Armor," Leo mocked, leaving Shin with a teasing smile as the young man wallowed in despair.

"Look at it this way. At least your girl isn't a ghost," Cloud commented, something Shin had to commend but at the same time refute in the way that ghosts couldn't maim you physically, just psychologically. In theory at least. That was until the door was quite literally kicked open.

"Shinryu's descendant, which of you is it?!" Someone that looked like a young man said, Shin had learned to not trust appearances to help him one bit where he was. He was wearing a red jacket with yellow tinted cuffs and collar over a white shirt, along with jeans and white shoes, something far more normal than Shin would think anyone would wear in the afterlife.

"That's me," Shin began, the black haired person nodding in response.

"Alright then, Leo asked me to take you to your execution, follow me," the man told Shin, pushing him out the door and into the elevator without any other word. Pressing for the ground floor, the man then took out a par of chocolate bars, looking at Shin for a moment with his stern expression before smiling. "Yusuke Urameshi. Nice to meet you," he said, Shin being taken aback by the change. Still, he took the chocolate bar and opened it, eating it as he introduced himself.

"Shin… I really gotta find a surname," Shin replied, scratching the back of his head during the second comment. Still, he felt even more embarrassed when Yusuke just laughed at his expensive for about an entire floor.

"Hard to think that lizard reincarnated in you. But hey, who am I to judge? Most people don't believe I run Purgatory," Shin's teeth met his tongue. After a few moments to compose himself, Shin took a better look at him. He had indeed seen it correctly, this guy had no halo nor wings.

"You're an angel?" Shin questioned, to which Yusuke shrugged.

"Don't like that designation, but yes. Wings and Halo are out because I'm working incognito," he answered, the door opening up to show the entry hall for the hospital, filled with crowds of both normal looking people and soldiers that were just checking out. "Come on, I'll explain this whole system to you as we go," Yusuke said, pressuring Shin onward. As they left the confines of the hospital, Shin was shocked by what he saw as being the purgatory.

What he saw was an environment far more urban than he was used to seeing. Tall gray buildings were erected in all directions he could lay eyes upon, with the streets crammed with smaller buildings that seemed to be either shops or houses. People of all ages walked down and up the streets in all kinds of garments, from business suit to shirts just doing their thing, as if nothing happened. The sky seemed the same as in the real world, vast, blue and filled to the brim with clouds. The sidewalks were still permeated with trees though, leading to a much less oppressing urbanization than Midgar once had.

"Taxi!" Yusuke exclaimed, a yellow car with a checkered pattern on the side stopping at his side. "Get in," he told Shin, who complied. Sitting on the back vehicle, he heard his companion tell the driver something about "Hakusho street Number 43", probably the destination. The car rumbled before starting to head down the busy road at a very calming speed. The slow rumbling the car produced was even enough to grant some sleepiness to Shin's eyes. But he didn't dare to sleep now. "Surprised the Purgatory looks so… normal?" Yusuke asked, to which Shin shrugged, saying:

"At this point, I have no idea what is normal ad what's supposed to be special." Yusuke chuckled.

"Tell me about it. So, got time to burn. Anyone ever explain to you how this whole system works? Would probably help in telling you why this place isn't burn to a crisp yet." Yusuke offered. Now that Shin thought about it… Purgatory was between heaven and hell, and yet it seemed to be completely untouched. He nodded at Yusuke's question, knowing that the workings of the afterlife were things that would make mortals kill for.

"Right, so you know about the rings of hell, right?" Yusuke asked, to which Shin replied with:

"I know that there are seven rings to both hell and heaven," More like, Shinryu knows, but at that time, it didn't really happen.

"Ha, someone's been keeping up with info. But do you know how they work?" that, Shin had no idea. Shinryu wasn't exactly liked before he became part of him. "Ever since the new God came, like, ten thousand or something years ago, a new system was implemented. Sure, depending on your actions in the previous life you'd be assigned to one of those, BUT, now it wasn't final."

"_Ohoho. Innovation in the afterlife? Someone deflated the ego of the big G."_ Shinryu commented inside Shin's mind, to which he could only agree.

"What I mean by this is, if you proved that you didn't belong in a certain level, you would change. Either upwards or downwards. And as you can guess… going down is a hell of a lot easier than goin' up!" Shin didn't disagree with that, if it was equally as easy there'd be too much fluctuation and Heaven shouldn't allow any disrespect for others. "How it works is like this. By being honorable, trustworthy and generally a good guy in hell, you can ascend in the levels up until you reach level one. After a psychological analysis and some mental probing, you can check in to here, Purgatory, a dimension in-between Heaven and Hell, but not directly connected to them. Which is why they just passed right through us in their rush to reach Heaven. The fact that like, only me and a handful of other angels can even really fight at their level made them think they could just ignore us… big mistake!" Yusuke nearly swore, his hand glowing blue with the display of rage.

"So… how does one go upwards after leaving hell?" Shin asked. He was curious not just out of curiosity's sake, he KNEW he was going to need to know this eventually, with death and all.

"Well, let's start with Purgatory either from falling from up above or moving up from down below. When you reach Purgatory, you are given one of these," Yusuke held his hand up, a single white feather forming from blue energy. "These are the feathers for your would-be wings, you are granted one for each year of work you spend here, and you're told that you need one-thousand of these to get to heaven." Shin and Shinryu shot back at the sheer number. "Working here is just like in real life. You can be a teacher, a mechanic, a TV repairman, you name it. Only jobs that no one has here are the CEOs for most companies. Those are volunteered angels from heaven. Helps us keep everything in check and at the same time keep the economy going. I mean, who'd take time to BUILD a company in a place you're trying to ESCAPE from." Shin nodded.

"But… does that mean you always need to spend one thousand years here? Seems a bit steep, don't you think?" Shin questioned, watching the outside to see how even animals like birds lived in this dimension. They must've tried making it really similar to what could be called a "real world".

"Therein lies the trick," he lowered his voice enough for the driver not to hear. "You see, by performing exceptionally well at your job or by doing good deeds, you can earn more than one feather a year. Some of the residents of the working classes are also angels incognito, with their wings and halo removed, and they can issue and increase or decrease on the feather number at will at the end of the year. If you really became pure hearted, it's not hard to get over 100 in a year."

"_Sneaky… but fair at the same time. I guess no one is allowed to know about this?"_ Shin asked, voicing Shinryu's thoughts. Yusuke grinned.

"'Course not, would drive people like me out of business," eyebrows were raised. "If we told anyone we were angels, we couldn't bust them confessing about their crimes or even when they'd ask us to be a part of them."

"What do you mean?" Shin asked.

"Think about it. What's the best way to catch a criminal? To tempt them! You CAN steal feathers from others in here, but are you really going to try knowing that anyone can be an angel? Because if you do get caught… off to level two of hell you go! That's what we Spirit Detectives do. We sniff out the people that are doing this without truly changing. And beat them back down!" Yusuke seemed to have an almost sick joy at saying this, but knowing his rank, it was obviously a quirk.

"But what if someone is a master thief and DOES steal his way to Heaven out of sheer luck?"

"Heaven's zero-tolerance will eventually get them. If you steal in heaven once, it's back to Purgatory. If you kill, level four. In short, step the line in anyway and the punishment is most of the times not worth it. It means you either DO turn a new leaf or odds are you end up in hell in less than ten years. If that is not ironclad enough for you, levels 5 and 6 of heaven enter God's omniscience range. Meaning you instantly get discovered if you thread too deep into heaven. Speaking of heaven… want to know about that too? Still got a solid five minutes."

"Sure. I don't intend to stay in Hell anyway," Shin replied.

"Like the attitude considering who you came from. Okay, so each level of heaven tries to simulate life the best it can but it has increasing amount of commodities. First one just gives you free food and a small house to start with. You can buy the rest by working of course. Level two gives you a decent house filled with second gives you some material goods like TV and such. Same applies to the work. Third has a more advanced society built on the technological advancements all over existence. Fourth gives you a free pass to any and all material good you want. Fifth is more akin to a perfect society, what with God personally watching over it. Sixth is basically the same… but you get something. One wish." Now that got Shin's attention. "This wish can break the laws of time and space, it can be used for anything outside of reviving. Settle your last days among the living, bring your family towards the sixth level, you name it, god gives it to you."

"And how does one work up the ranks?"

"Actions of good will alone. Jobs just give you money to get extra material stuff… or to help pass the time, it IS eternity. Well, you can reincarnate if you're tired, but not if you are in Hell, can't have you pollute the living world, can you?"

"Earning the right to vanish… I'd feel sorry, but well, they are in hell for a reason." Shin commented, Yusuke nodding. "But what about the seventh ring?"

"Oh, that? Well, you can't access either seventh ring after dying. You have to have done something monumental, like saving the world as I did, to be placed there. Elysium is where God lives, that's a pretty big deal," he explained, to which Shin nodded. Guess that's one ring he'd never get to… Suddenly, the car stopped. "Well, this is your stop. I got some angels to round up. This house is where the Branford family has been staying ever since Maduin was sent down here to help with Leo and such. So yeah, see you later!" Shin flew out of the door, courtesy of the Spirit Detective, falling face first at the doorway of the rather large mansion.

He looked around as he was standing, mostly looking for a doorbell, but he found something more interesting. Standing at one of the windows peaking in was something that Shin's memories did not allow him to not know. Chocolate hair tied into a ponytail drifted at the breeze of the Purgatories' skies, her sure to be hazel eyes having all their attention on the outside. The mature woman wore a simple white top and a more elaborate red skirt, finishing it with matching heels. Shin slowly approached her, not wanting to scare the woman, he slowly reached for her shoulder. However, before he could react, she whirled around with inhuman speed, grabbed his arm, threw him over her shoulder and into the ground on his back, where she planted her knees forcefully on both his shoulders, pinning him down completely. A weapon exactly like Terra's sword that she had used during the cycles of Dissidia now touched Shin's neck, one swipe away from killing him.

"Talk," the woman ordered Shin, pushing the blade further into his throat.

"I-I'm sorry M'am… G-General L-Leo just sent me here to check on Terra." Shin blurted, trying to get the most he could in one sentence. It was so bizarre that this, of all people had this amount of combat preparation. And those hazel eyes… they were cold, methodical, almost cruel everything the opposite of what he remembered.

"You? But you are… never mind, if Christophe trusts you, I will too. Maduin will protect Terra if you try anything," the woman said, her gaze relaxing, the sword vanishing and Shin's shoulders being released. She stood up and turned her back, returning to her window. Shin just stared at her back, seemingly annoying her. "You can go now." She said matter-of-factly. Shin didn't want to take that as an answer though.

"You're… Madeline right? Terra's mother? Why aren't you inside with your family?" he questioned, the name and the question hitting the woman harder than any stone. Her hand slowly lay against the glass, melancholy seeping into her face and eyes as she voiced:

"I'm not worthy…" she whispered, laying her head against the window. "She's… an angel. She's perfect. The only thing I ever did right. And I couldn't protect her. I-I can't ever face her again…" tears trickled down her cheek as Shin got somewhat closer to her, seeing Terra and Maduin having a heated talk with their backs to the window, exchanging happy glances at each other that only seemed to carve a stake into Madeline's hear.

"Hey, don't be like that, every memory Terra has of you is the most caring person in existence! You were the perfect mother to her, I'm sure she'd be ecstatic to meet you!" Shin argued, snapping Maduin out of her depression… and into something much darker. Shin froze as a pair of dark, hazel eyes broke away from the window and held him still with just their mere gaze.

"Maybe… but what do you know of me before?" she questioned. Shin prodded on the back of his mind only to have Shinryu shake his head.

"_Sorry kiddo, she and Maduin were never warriors in the cycles." _He wasn't having anything.

"Has it ever occurred to you… that that was my penance?" she questioned, now eyeing Shin in the eyes, her will alone being nearly tangible, her small figure not making Shin feel any less like a rat in the face of a giant. "Do you know where I'd be right now if Maduin didn't use his 6th ring with one me? The first ring of Hell." Sweat began forming on Shin. The blade have reformed and was now up to his chin. "That was with the Esper Elder pleading my case and with me having various pardons due to the actions of my last years of life. I was told that had I died four years earlier, I'd have been sent to the fifth level."

"That's… how?" Shin asked, Madeline shaking her head and walking away. She took a deep breath and looked upwards.

"Shinryu. I have killed. I have maimed. I have tortured. All in the name of a false cause. All in the name of the Empire." Madeline confessed. Shin was stunned, wordless at the revelation. He kept repeating "impossible" in his mind, but her voice did not show any signs of lying. She was, indeed, an agent of the empire. Still, there was far too much sorrow in Madeline's voice for him to ignore. This woman was suffering just as much as he was. He had to help her.

"Tell me, please, what happened. Maybe that will help you face your daughter…" he offered, again reaching for her shoulder. Either not noticing it or having mercy, Madeline didn't break Shin's arm on contact. Instead, she sighed yet again and there was silence. For minutes they stood there until…

"There was once a Magi that fell into the whiles of a very powerful man. Her name was Katarin Branford. My mother. She was enthralled by a normal human's charm and riches, promised to have her every wish granted. She was too young to understand. She mothered me and was swiftly deposed off. She knew nearly no magic. She was useless to them. Only I was of use towards the goal of my father. That man's name was… Emperor Bolero Gestahl. My name is Madeline Gestahl Branford,"

"_Well, that's a shocker," _Shinryu said, Shin's mind being too fused out to produce a rational response.

"_Terra is… the Emperor's granddaughter? That… monster…" _he cringed, suddenly making the connection. If he had known that… if he had known that was his granddaughter…

"And so I was born. A Magi. The first one to harness magic in the Empire's large history. I was a walking Paradox. A magic wielding human that served magic less humans. A magic weapon of an Empire that claimed to hate magic. A Magi but… a Magus killer." A gun, yes, a gun formed on her hand. Its barrel was exposed and its' grip was covered in finely crafted wood. The metal around it seemed new, but there was something in the back of Shin's mind, something that reminded him of that gun. "A relic of the war of the Magi. A Thompson Contender. The bullets this gun shoots turn the internal flow of mana against the user, causing them to kill themselves with their own magic as soon as they cast a spell." Now it made sense. That was the kind of weapons the humans used against the Espers. And the Empire had gotten their hands one of them.

"I hunted the Magi throughout the world, capturing them, torturing them, killing them if they did not submit. Needless to say, none ever submitted. We tried our best to get information out of them. I was taught the most gruesome torture tactics yet nothing worked. They never sold Thamasa out. Then the war came. People were getting tired of the Empire's crusade. That was just the spark my father needed." Shin could guess what came next. "We destroyed the entire southern continent in less than a year. They could not do anything against magic, even less so when they deployed the only two Magi they had against me. Their magic destroyed more of their army than I did. Just like my daughter, I was a scourge upon the land. But all born from my free will. I felt in the right. I felt I was entitled to it. I felt like I was in the right."

"How could you?" Shin cringed, hands trying to stop themselves from doing something he would regret.

"Because, ever since I was little, I had always been told that Espers and Magi had caused the War of the Magi long ago to destroy the "inferior non-magical species". I was told that the Magi had escaped at wars end and the Espers had vanished into a hiding place on that very continent. That was all I needed to hear. I was a "hero of justice", striking down the ones conspiring against human race and "carrying the burden" of being one of the "villains of old". And so I killed. And so I maimed. And so I tortured. And I felt NOTHING but GLEE!" she spat, hatred and disgust for her own self permeating from her skin. "I questioned NOTHING. I was nothing but the greatest tool one could ask. One that was sentient and happy!" she cried, throwing her gun into the ground.

"But then… as I murdered the last Magi to leave Thamasa, I found a book on his cabin. It was their story of the War of the Magi. The true one. How the humans were to blame. How they drove the Espers into another world. How the Magi were slaughtered just for their instinctual magic. I refused to believe it. I questioned my father about this. He just smiled and told me not to be foolish and gave me his "great news". I was to be used in experiments to give the Empire access to magic. He said I would have to fight no more, as I'd live in the laboratory! He told me that with a goddamn SMILE!" the woman's cheeks were red and puffed, she was bawling her eyes out. Shin tried to comfort her, but she backed off, resuming her tale. "I checked the library that night. I broke into it too. And I was RIGHT. I was heartbroken, hurt, but most of all, disgusted. Disgusted with myself. With my father. With humanity. I vanished that day, but not before killing all the councilors. I waged war singlehandedly against the Empire for two years, slowing down their efforts far more than the entire continent ever did. But I was one. They were millions. They found me while I slept… I was sold out by people with a grudge on me. I do not know how I lived. Stumbling across the mountains, I thought to be delirious when I saw a doorway. I pushed it open and felt my consciousness wane. The rest is history."

For what seemed an eternity, Shin just looked on at the person whose hatred was all put on her own self. She had been monstrous in the past and knew it. She had contributed for the Apocalypse. And she knew it. Her daughter suffered due to her own actions… her husband died at the hands of the army she fought for. Yet… Shin had seen through Terra's eyes what she truly was. What she became.

"So, you still think someone like me has any-"

"You've been living in Heaven for the past two years, haven't you?" Shin asked, determined and unshaken.

"I do not see ho-"

"Haven't you?!" Shin demanded of her. The woman was shocked still, but admitted it.

"Yes. Yes I have."

"And yet, in the face of Heaven's zero tolerance policy. In the face of God's eye. You still remained in the highest circle possible for the entire duration." Shin stated. Madeline took a step back and finally looked at him in the eyes, shocked.

"Th-That was because…"

"Because people change. You changed. You learned the truth and became a better person. Does that delete the sin of the past? Not exactly. But they are shackles that you can break out off once you redeem yourself. As I see it, you have already…" Shin told her, understanding how she must be feeling.

"Shut up! What do you know about all this? How can you… know…" Madeline blurted before realization struck her. Shin was Shinryu… and he had to live with far more than she had to for his entire life. Even her own husband seemed to hate Shin for what Shinryu had done. Even her did. Yet, there he was psychologically trying to mend her so that she could meet her daughter. No malice, no manipulation, just true want to help.

"If you still insist on degrading yourself, I won't stop you, but please, don't make Terra suffer the effects of your self-wallowing. She needs you more than ever Madeline. Come on, let's go meet Terra!" Shin exclaimed, trying to smile for Madeline, who was just looking at him, shocked.

"I… I'll go… not for me, but for my daughter…" she agreed, nodding and heading towards the main door with Shin.

"_You're on a good path little grasshopper."_ Shinryu told Shin, who just told him to just the hell up.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes, they both found themselves at the entrance for the living room, both stopping in expectation of different things. They looked at each other, half-hoping the other took the initiative. Once it became obvious none was gonna step up, thy nodded at each other and put their hands on the door, pushing it open at the same time.<p>

They were met by shock and bliss. Terra had wasted no time in jumping from her chair and lunging towards her long lost mother, wrapping her arms around her as she cried out her name. Unable to resist any further, Madeline took her daughter in her arms and broke down crying in bliss.

Maduin and Shin shared a very tense staredown, with Maduin projecting as much anger and disgust as possible and Shin just trying to get him to not want his head. It didn't quite work out. He did, however, break off to talk to his wife.

"Madeline, I thought you… couldn't come," he probably had not told Terra exactly what had happened, which was logical in Shin's eyes. One would not want to taint their reunion. Madeline took her eyes off Terra if only for a second and looked unto Shin.

"Shinryu helped me come here." she stated, much to Maduin's utter shock. Terra looked up to Shin and smiled warmly, stopping the embrace to take her lover into her arms for a few moments.

"Thank you Shin, you are the best boyfriend I could ever wish for." Cold sweat. No. Frozen sweat appeared all around Shin. Terra had let the moment give away info that he'd rather stay hidden.

"Excuse me… what did you say my sweet?" Madeline asked, Terra catching up to what she just said. Before Terra said ANYTHING, Madeline had a gun to Shin's head.

"Hey! I thought we were on good terms!" Shin exclaimed, holding up his hands up in the air.

"I was on good terms with you as a person. I was not on good terms with you as the possible life partner of my baby!" Madeline exclaimed, cocking the gun, her voice scaring even Maduin, who seemed to be taking this in very, very, very slowly.

"Mama, stop it! Let's just sit down and talk about all this!" Terra exclaimed, pulling on Madeline's and Maduin's hands at the same time. Maduin didn't even respond, however, this caused Madeline to take a better, deeper look into her pleading daughter's eyes and then one big one back at Shin. Suddenly, she dropped the gun, which vanished into thin air and started leading Terra towards the door.

"We're going for a walk sweetie," she said in a tone of voice Shin had yet to hear for himself, the same one Terra remembered with such foundness. The one of a true mother.

"But-"

"I talked with your… boyfriend before entering. He seems to be someone I'd call a nice kid, but your father needs to trust him too. And Shin needs to earn that trust, by himself. Let's leave them to… bond." She knew exactly what bounding meant, and she enjoyed it. There was still a trace of who she was before on Madeline, that Shin was sure.

"I… okay. Shin, Papa, please get along…" she said, using her puppy eyes the best she could on her father. Maduin surprisingly smiled back, which gave Shin some weak false hope. Of course, the moment the girls got out of the room, "bonding" began.

"**You Son of a Kaiser**!" Maduin roared, grabbing Shin by the collar and burying him on the wall.

"_My brother really did make a number on them, didn't he?"_ Shinryu commented.

"What have you done to my daughter?! And to my wife!" Maduin demanded, pushing his hands so hard against Shin's chest he could not even breathe. "ANSWER ME!" he exclaimed, using the same stellar interrogation moves Batman uses, where he knocks the guy out before he can speak.

"I… did nothing!" Shin exclaimed back.

"Bull!" Maduin deflected, slamming him on the ground and holding a sphere of violet energy next to Shin's head. "You lie, you deceive, you use! That's who you are Shinryu, everything for your own goals, with no regards for others! You used humans to destroy your brother! You used entire worlds to further your power. You used and took powers from my daughter! And yet you expect me to believe she just fell in love with you?!" Maduin roared, his burning violet eyes screaming bloody murder.

"What are you implying?" Shin growled back.

"That you are using my-"

Crash.

Out of sheer principle and instinct, Shin just punched his girlfriend's father through a wall.

"Don't you DARE insult what I feel for her!" Shin shouted back at Maduin, hoping Terra had left already.

"_Damn Shin, didn't think you had it in you!"_ Shinryu said, he was not even taunting, he was just as shocked as Shin was.

Not that this lead to peace, no, no, Maduin suddenly emerged from the dust and tackled Shin to the ground, the towering colossus now looking down at the "poor" guy that tried to date his daughter. Pulling his arm back, he started to deliver a series of slow, powerful punches onto Shin.

"You used an entire race, you toyed with countless lives, including my daughter's, you put her through her worst nightmares all over again, and yet she just fell on her knees on your very presence?! You aren't only using her, you're manipulating her!" If the last accusation was the straw that broke the camel's back, this was the piano that fell on the camel.

"I… am not… SHINRYU!" Shin shouted back, punching and pushing Maduin back, giving him enough space to get back on his feet. "I was born of Shinryu!" he shouted, punching Maduin yet again after sidestepping his punch.

"Then you are an unwitting slave!" pushing through Shin's punch, Maduin grabbed Shin's arm and held it in place, kneeing Shin in return.

"No! I am my own person! Shinryu is his! I carry his sins but…" grabbing the knee with his spare hand, Shin pulled it back, causing Maduin to lose balance, enough for a swipe of Shin's right leg to floor him. "I live my own life! I myself decided to help Terra, as she helped me!"

"My daughter is too forgiving for her own good!" Maduin then swept with his own leg, catching Shin by surprise and causing him to hit the ground with the back of his neck. Still, much to his chagrin, Shin performed a jump up from his lying position, which stopped him from capitalizing on his blow.

"I know, but still, I saw her hurting and she saw me. We helped each other through all of it. Never did it pass through my mind we'd end up this close!" Maduin tried to punch Shin at the same time he did, however, Shin threw a counter taken from a Black Belt's book, locking Maduin's arm in place with his attacking arm and capitalizing with an uppercut from his left one. "We cried together, we laughed together, we grew together! By the time I realized what I felt, Terra had already been taken!" Shin roared, punching Maduin down with all the power of his dominant arm. Maduin landed heavily on the ground, but didn't try to stand back up. He was shocked.

"Taken…?!" Maduin asked, his knowledge of the world having being cut after Jenova's awakening.

"She was taken by Jenova and controlled… like everyone on the planet. I'm sure you heard about some of it, right?" Shin asked. Maduin nodded.

"Only the basics. But you mean my little star…"

"Yes… I couldn't stop it…" Shin confessed, not even blocking he punch that came with Maduin's wrath. He deserved it.

"You… you let her go through something like it?! And you DARE try and court her?!" Maduin blared, to which Shin cried out:

"I DIED FOR HER!" Maduin stopped mid-punch, eyes nearly bulging out. "I… I used the Lia Fail to create the "The Crying Battlefield". I had planned to either seal her there or die for her if she came to her senses… she did, just as she killed me."

The Lia Fáil… the crying stone. Then that means you were sealed in said stone after you died?" Maduin asked. Shin cringed but said yes.

"For one thousand years as Masamune forged the Final Fantasy to break it…" Shin began, the very notion of a thousand years boggling Maduin's mind. "One thousand years in nothingness. I…I fell into a trance. I saw every memory Shinryu ever collected in me. The lives of countless warriors. Their sorrows, their joys, their deaths. All of them passed through my mind at every passing second. After decades, maybe centuries, it reached a time where I didn't even know who I was. Maybe I was Cecil. Maybe I was Leon, who knows, maybe I was Aerith. My mind was in tatters. The only thing I held on to all that time. The only thing that kept me sane were my moments with Terra. They were few and short… they may have appeared meaningless. We only confessed on my death bed. But they were the greatest memories of my life. They were what made me myself. If nothing else, I won't let you take that away from me."

Shin looked back at Maduin, who was shocked by the development. Even though he didn't speak, Shin realized he wanted to know more.

"After she freed me, Tina's soul caught up and the mutual clash caused both souls to have to be removed. Lezard stole Tina's soul and the body, but we managed to use an homunculus to get her back. That night… I told Terra I loved her. After one thousand years of clinging to her memories for a sense of identity, I knew exactly what I felt. She, honest to god, told me she felt the same. That is how our relationship started. Yes, we've slept in the same bed all days after it, but we've done nothing but kiss during it. The reason why we share beds is because…" Maduin's prodding eyes bore down on Shin. He had not told this to anyone, not even Terra, but it was time. "I am unable to sleep otherwise."

"Continue…" Maduin told him. Taking a deep breath, Shin explained:

"Whenever I sleep without Terra by my side, I am assaulted by the same nightmares had inside the Lia Fáil. When I lay with her, my nights are perfect. It's the same way as the time inside the stone. Not only that but… Terra says my company lets her get over Tina's disappearance better. It's a mutually beneficial thing." Shin said, finally sitting back up. Maduin and him exchanged stares, stares designed to deconstruct the other and realize what the other was thinking. The tension could be cut with a knife. Then… Maduin relaxed. He shook his head and extended his hand, pulling Shin up.

"As long as my little star keeps her smile true, I can't argue. If you are not lying to me Shinryu… no, Shin… You are not the person you once were. Knowing my wife as I do, I realize that people can indeed change, so, until she stops smiling, I will not actively oppose this relationship. I don't LIKE it! But I won't interfere… much." Shin felt a big, fat grin come up. How could he not? He had just won Maduin over… at least partially.

"Papa! Thank you!" Terra exclaimed, bolting into the room, jumping on Maduin's arms, who grabbed her and lifted her up like a child, the massive size difference letting Maduin spin her in midair like one would do to a baby.

"You were listening the whole time?" Shin asked Madeline, who answered in a matter of factly tone:

"Someone had to make sure you two would not end up killing one another…" She then looked at Terra, who happily "flew" on Maduin's arms. "Take care of her, will you?"

"I will, even if it is the last thing I do." Shin stated with all the confidence his mind had.

"Don't worry. It will be the last thing you do either way." Madeline replied in a bone-chilling casualness. Shin didn't mind that much. He never expected to have a normal family.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Atop Elysium:<strong>

"Your greatness?" a knight of God exclaimed as he arrived at the throne room. It was empty. The man in silver armor then rushed down the hallways of Elysium, suspecting where his God could be. He found it making its' way towards the gardens, into the main gate. "My Ruler, please reconsider! We can stop the advance by ourselves. Reinforcements are coming!"

"No… you do not understand. None of you understands, not even Tyrael knows the potential that man has." God told the God General as the deity looked onto the horizon. "Lezard Valeth… his greatest weapon is his intellect. We cannot allow him time to understand our world and formulate a plan."

"Then what do you suggest?" the man with brown hair asked.

"I shall go and eliminate him at the fifth ring… where the Crystal Primo's influence is felt!" God exclaimed wings erupting from the deity's back.

"You cannot hope to face Lezard by yourself fairly. They are too many," four more men, the God Generals stationed at Elysium then landed nearby.

"We shall cut open a path for you with our existence," the blue haired man stated.

"You will most likely fall into the reincarnation chamber…" God said, not even phasing the five.

"For us, there is no death." The blonde one stated.

"We shall stand by you, the greatest of Gods." The one with green hair added.

"No harm shall befall you from the back! We are your shadows!" the final, black haired one finally added. God was unreadable normally, but for a moment, the transcendent being felt a very human emotion in gratefulness. One that seemed forgotten in the midst of the ascension.

"Very well then. This shall be it then. Heaven's final and largest gamble! To the skies!" God ordered, wings extending and leaving behind of pure white feathers.

Destiny would be forged at the fifth ring.

* * *

><p><span>Next Chapter:<span>

_"We finally meet, daughter of my kind and humankind."_

_"The true nature behind your synch was beyond my own understanding."_

_"I knew so! I knew you'd become God!"_

**In Order to Acquire the Light in That Hand **

* * *

><p><span><strong>Post-Chapter Note:<strong> This chapter turned out a LOT different from what I thought it'd be. From a small, comedy based chapter to a MASSIVE world and character building one. Honestly, I prefer it like this. Maduin and Madeline have a lot of time to be the "annoying in-laws" latter. Bet none of you saw Madeline coming, did you? Well then, you know the drill, drop your thoughts down below, I'll see you next time, where the identity of one of the biggest mysteries in this series will be revealed!


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